Are e-skates the next 'hot' personal transporters?

The next-gen transporters move smoothly as the previous years' trendy hoverboards and has started catching the interest of many.

We've witnessed the industry go crazy over electric hoverboards in the recent years and how these mobility devices became even more popular in consumer electronics shows. Now, another next-gen type of personal transporter is emerging, some seeing it as a possible hot trend in the near future. Roll in e-skates – transporter devices that move flawlessly like hoverboards but come as a pair, one for each foot.

A new electric skate model going to be released soon is the Segway Drift W1 from US-based EPT provider Segway. To use the e-skates, the owner needs just to step on them and balance through body movements. Drift W1 is said to be lightweight and nonslip.

While e-skates will most likely have a good following from inline or roller skate enthusiasts, there seems to be a long road to take before they become as widely-adopted and hot as self-balancing hoverboards used to be. Typical initial reactions point out user safety, as it is perceived harder to balance on two transporters with a single wheel each. In addition, quality of parts themselves will probably be in many buyers’ minds as well. Remember, EPTs drew a bit of flak when certain models were reported to suddenly catch fire. How products like Drift W1 will be easy to use and safe will be interesting for many when the electric transporter debuts in August and more details about it get unveiled. Perhaps if features regarding these are well demonstrated, consumers would be jumping on another big electric transporter trend soon.

While the popularity of this new electric transporter line remains to be seen, e-skates and -boards supply is poised to increase. Aside from the US and Europe brands, makers in Asia are also starting to introduce their own innovative models, including some mini one-foot drifting boards that feature convenient remote controls.