> People didn't put lights on their bikes at night until about 15 years ago when low-weight, bright LEDs became cheap and ubiquitous
Perhaps this is different in the US, but in the UK people were definitely putting lights on their bikes way before then, because if you didn't you were liable to get stopped by the police. Having a light on your bike in the UK has been the law for at least 30 years.
Re:GoPro Files For IPO
by erichurkman on Friday February 07, 2014 @07:28PM
(#7199742)
A light, maybe. Now it's not uncommon for a frequent night biker or city bike commuter to have several very visible LEDs on their bike and gear -- a far step up from the dim battery powered lights of 30 years ago.
Re:GoPro Files For IPO
by jesbickhart on Friday February 07, 2014 @06:21PM
(#7199454)
I think it is a law in the US as well? Pretty hard to corner the market though with a bike light...
Any city cyclist will tell you about all the close calls and accidents they've had, so it's just a matter of making a camera that's rugged and cheap enough to meet the demand. GoPro has rugged down, now they just need to come down in price and maybe up in usability.
I think it's different from the Red Bull example because red bull doesn't really offer anything that tons of cheap competitors don't already offer, and with taste being what it is there's no 'default' drink to capture the whole market.
If gopro just became 'the dash-cam' company, and any time you bought a new bike or car it was a $50 add-on at the register, I think they'd clean house.
Of course we're a ways from a stabilized HD camera being an impulse buy, but they're probably the best positioned company to get there. Then they just have to fight commoditization, which is a nice problem to have.