James Dyson Sold Us on a $400 Hair Dryer. Now He's Trying a $499 Toothbrush(www.wsj.com)
20 pointsby fortran775 hours ago10 comments
  • traceroute664 hours ago
    Not a fan of Mr Dyson politically or "inventor" wise.

    Politically he was a loud backer of Brexit and then disappeared off to Singapore when it actually happened – he moved back two years later, perhaps having seen the bad PR but that's irrelevant.

    "Inventor" wise its always the old story of over-engineered stuff of questionable practical quality. For example his "strawberries" are grown by some hyped-up heavily roboticised methodology, but they taste like crap compared to properly grown strawberries, and they are not much better than your average supermarket strawberry either – I did a comprehensive double-blind taste test with some friends. Meanwhile Dyson sells them at a vast markup.

    He should have stopped at the vacuum cleaner, really. Preferably before then.

    • glitchcrab4 hours ago
      Could not agree more on the political side of things. I don't buy Dyson products on principle.
  • m4635 hours ago
    It's a good hairdryer, and cheaper at costco.

    And I know people who have sprung for those detect laser vacuums and they all seem to love them.

    EDIT: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49525964

    • nancyminusone4 hours ago
      I fished a dyson vacuum out of the trash some time ago. It works good, but I probably wouldn't buy a new one
  • ElijahLynn4 hours ago
    The 10m interview (video) embedded on the article was a great watch (no toothbrush mentioned).

    https://www.wsj.com/video/series/in-depth-features/how-dyson...

    I found it educational on product development (as a new startup founder/product developer myself).

  • qwerpy5 hours ago
    Needs special toothpaste and rinse, both of which Dyson will conveniently sell you. Don’t know if it’s actually good or not, but it seems everyone wants in on the subscription model.
  • pretendgeneer3 hours ago
    At the repair cafe I volunteer at. Dyson vacuums are the only items I've had to hand back without being able to open up fully to find the problem.

    I like our Dyson vacuum but now knowing what to expect when it needs fixing. Not a chance I'd buy a dyson anything again.

    • nomelan hour ago
      I bought had one Dyson vacuum, and it was the last. There was no way to access clogs in the main internal bend. It was very clear nobody involved had kids. Companies used to tout that products were "mother approved" for good reason, but I suppose suggesting something adjacent to that would be difficult in modern company, and could probably not be advertised easily.
  • TitaRusell3 hours ago
    The oralb Io is 300 euro.
  • dysonophobic124 hours ago
    After buying one of the first bag-less vacuums (animal ball?) I am staying away from anything that man touches. Interesting technology (at least the vacuum, hair dryer less so), but anti-ergonomic and plastic crap that breaks easily.
  • mandeepj4 hours ago
    But, he failed to sell us their electric car, which honestly looked great.
  • add-sub-mul-div3 hours ago
    The only Dyson product I've used is the hand dryer in public bathrooms. I don't know if part of its purpose is to sell people on the brand, but it has the opposite effect on me because I hate using them. Regular old hand dryers work much better.
    • Symbiotean hour ago
      Yeah. I associate Dyson with having my face sprayed with a mist of other people's dirty water while my ears suffer a blast like a jet engine.

      Generally I wipe my hands on my clothes or shake them around instead.