Taser to sell leopard-print gun, combine MP3 player with holster

[Drizzt]

Taser to sell leopard-print gun, combine MP3 player with holster

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Taser International Inc.'s newest weapons for the public will come in leopard print and fit in a holster embedded with an MP3 player, the stun gun maker said Monday.

Taser wants to make it easy for people to integrate its C2 "personal protector" stun guns into their lives, company spokesman Peter Holran said.

"If people buy the C2 Taser and leave it in a drawer or under a shelf, it does them no good when they need it," Holran said.

The Taser C2, which shoots two electrically charged darts with the same shocking power as the police version, was launched last year. It previously came in four colours - silver, black, blue and pink. The company said Monday that it would also make the guns available in leopard print, "fashion" pink, and "red-hot" red.

"Women want whatever they're carrying - from a lipstick case to their eyeglass case to their Taser - to look nice and be something they won't mind if it falls out of their purse," Holran said.

The Taser MPH (Music Player Holster) will hold 1 gigabyte of music, enough to allow wearers to listen to a variety of songs while carrying a stun gun on their hip.

Holran said the company didn't do any extensive marketing to see what their customers wanted. The new products are largely a result of the manufacturer responding to customer suggestions, he said.

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hbhW2QxgcMtyPZOu9lD_c6Sb_Ecw

 

[hso]

I'm happy to see any sort of personal responsibility safety product (even those in questionable taste).

 

[armoredman]

Gah. This reminds me of the Photoshopped Glock/Cell phone.

 

[Heavy Metal Hero]

Is this the new "high speed - low drag" version?

 

[Joe Demko]

I don't see the downside. Not everybody is a gimlet-eyed, chilled-steel lifetaker like all of us. If this appeals and they carry it as a result, that's good. Your personal taste in weapons decor doesn't matter.

 

[dbarale]

Whatever helps people taking responsibility for their security is a good thing.

 

[dhoomonyou]

I see a lot of trouble on the horizon , when these design idiot fashionista's TASE the valet for scratching the car.

 

[Joe Demko]

Do you shoot a clumsy valet for scratching your car?

 

[Pax Jordana]

TASE the valet for scratching the car.

You know, there's been a lot of talk about whether or not tasers are lethal/harmful or just incapacitants.

I personally would like to see tasers become wildly popular, since it'll be easier to make charges stick to a fashionista than an LEO - resulting in a better picture of what effect they actually have.

Clinical/lab testing/statistics aside, you have to put them in the hands of the people to see the full range of possible outcomes.

 

[dhoomonyou]

Joe Demko

Do you shoot a clumsy valet for scratching your car?

OF COURSE NOT.
but I dont use a gun as a FASHION accessory either.

 

[Joe Demko]

OF COURSE NOT.
but I dont use a gun as a FASHION accessory either.

Why are you sure that you are to be trusted with a weapon but others are not?

 

[Warren]

What Taser needs to do is come out with a O/U or SxS version, just having one chance is not good. Better than no chances, but still one and done?

 

[Geronimo45]

when these design idiot fashionista's TASE the valet for scratching the car.

"Don't tase me, babe!"

 

[gym]

Stun Gun/MP3 Player Unveiled

Stun Gun/MP3 Player Unveiled At CES In Las Vegas

------------------------------------------------------------------------------thought this was a hoot--

An Arizona-based electronic company has unveiled a new gadget which integrates a Taser stun gun with an mp3 player at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dubbed as the iTaser, the new gadget features a 1GB player in the stun gun's holster.

A spokesman for Taser International which sells the hand held stun guns bannering the slogan 'Changing the World and Protecting Lives,' says their invention "allows the user both personal protection and personal music."

"Personal protection can be both fashionable and functional," said Rick Smith, founder of the company.

Smith claims the company has designed the gadget especially for women as evidenced by its red, pink and even leopard print designs, all intended to make carrying a stun gun fashionable.

The new gadget will be on display for the whole duration of the exhibit which is expected to attract more than 140,000 visitors this week.
__________________

 

[RyanM]

My main problem with the Taser is you have to drop the stupid thing after tasing someone. So nice Mr. Rapist gets a new toy, that he might not have otherwise been able to afford, to try out on the next victim. Just buy a new cartridge and probes and he's set. Now isn't that a great idea?

 

[Pax Jordana]

So nice Mr. Rapist gets a new toy, that he might not have otherwise been able to afford, to try out on the next victim. Just buy a new cartridge and probes and he's set. Now isn't that a great idea?

Honestly, I never thought of that. They could try to stop it by not honoring order forms without a serial number on 'em.. since you get free replacement from the company if you send in a police report, they could just blacklist any tasers that've been used in a crime. Not that that'd be entirely effective either.

 

[feedthehogs]

all intended to make carrying a stun gun fashionable

A marketing ploy to sell products that should be taken a lot more seriously when dealing with personal protection.

Darwin devices designed to thin the herd one unsuspecting person at a time.

 

[Joe Demko]

I'll agree to be less scornful of tasers as fashion accessories when no more engraved, plated, scrimshawed or otherwise decorated guns are produced. After all such embellished pieces, any other barbecue guns, all holsters made out of anything but plain kydex or nylon, all knives that are the bit decorative, and any other weapon or weapon accessory that is not completely utilitarian are eliminated from the pool of serious users like us, then I'll sneer at these tasers and the people who carry them.
The poor "sheeple" don't stand a chance with you guys. They're damned if they don't take any steps toward responsibility for their own safety and they're damned if they do. Apparently the only possible way for them to be right would be to email you personally and ask exactly what you think they should own and do.

 

[mdao]

What Taser needs to do is come out with a O/U or SxS version, just having one chance is not good. Better than no chances, but still one and done?

Taser's primary market is still the LE market where firearms function as an immediate backup for the Taser. Multishot capability is much less of a concern there. There is the new shotgun based Taser projectile they're developing though. A water downed version might make it to the civilian market eventually. It'd make for a decent double barreled derringer style weapon.

My main problem with the Taser is you have to drop the stupid thing after tasing someone. So nice Mr. Rapist gets a new toy, that he might not have otherwise been able to afford, to try out on the next victim. Just buy a new cartridge and probes and he's set. Now isn't that a great idea?

If Mr. Rapist is dumb enough to do that, great. With the background checks and microdots, tracking him down if he does use it during the commission of a crime would be much easier. If he doesn't get the probes, then he really doesn't have anything more than a well built version of a $10 cheapie contact "stun gun".

 

[RyanM]

Honestly, I never thought of that. They could try to stop it by not honoring order forms without a serial number on 'em.. since you get free replacement from the company if you send in a police report, they could just blacklist any tasers that've been used in a crime. Not that that'd be entirely effective either.

I'm sure probes and gas cartridges turn up on the used market from time to time, though.

Also, isn't it possible to just stab someone with the probes, then pull the trigger, and have the taser still work? Not using the stun gun contact points, but the actual, already-shot probe. If you've got the drop on someone (i.e., criminal assault rather than self defense), that wouldn't be too difficult.

That would be even worse than if cartridges are easily available. Who knows what kind of blood-borne (and not necessarily sexually transmittable) diseases the criminal (who was already shot with that set of probes) might have?

-------------

If Mr. Rapist is dumb enough to do that, great. With the background checks and microdots, tracking him down if he does use it during the commission of a crime would be much easier. If he doesn't get the probes, then he really doesn't have anything more than a well built version of a $10 cheapie contact "stun gun".

Think that statement through for a second. Try to imagine a scenario, maybe. Do you seriously think that "microdots" will do a thing?

Let's say this guy's name is Ray Ping. So Ray gets tased by a victim, who doesn't get an especially good look at him, and he's a pretty bland, generic looking guy anyway. He recovers from the tasing after a couple minutes, long before the police show up, and he keeps the taser.

A month later, Ray buys a new probe and a gas cartridge on e-bay or at a gun show or flea market or something. Like maybe someone bought a 3-pack of probes and cartridges for practice, and decided to sell the other two after doing one test shot. He looks for a new victim, finds one. He shoots her in the back with the taser, rapes her, strangles her with her own panties, etc. He then keeps the taser, because why would he leave it behind?

So now the police have a dead body with two taser probe holes in her. A microdot and background check will help catch the perp... how?

 

[feedthehogs]

Joe,
I can't answer for anybody else but my problem with it for what its worth is not that people want to start taking their personal protection more seriously or even that they choose a taser as the weapon of choice.

As a firearms instructor for 25 some years, I take personal protection real serious.

A weapon is a weapon is a weapon. Not a multi layered electronics widget so the company can sell more products.

I'll leave that up to the I phone.

A good percentage of my younger students who come to me for their ccw come to me after an incident has already taken place. In the majority of those cases, attacks came while they were distracted by their cell phone, I Pod or lap tops.

I explain to them that people who want to take their personal protection seriously can not be distracted by items like those and need to be aware of their surroundings at all time. Not paranoid mind you but aware.

Having one of those distractions as part of your defense mechanism is just a bad idea.

The color, print or any other embelishments is a matter of personal choice and won't affect the operation of the weapon.

 

[mdao]

Think that statement through for a second. Try to imagine a scenario, maybe. Do you seriously think that "microdots" will do a thing?

Let's say this guy's name is Ray Ping. So Ray gets tased by a victim, who doesn't get an especially good look at him, and he's a pretty bland, generic looking guy anyway. He recovers from the tasing after a couple minutes, long before the police show up, and he keeps the taser.

A month later, Ray buys a new probe and a gas cartridge on e-bay or at a gun show or flea market or something. Like maybe someone bought a 3-pack of probes and cartridges for practice, and decided to sell the other two after doing one test shot. He looks for a new victim, finds one. He shoots her in the back with the taser, rapes her, strangles her with her own panties, etc. He then keeps the taser, because why would he leave it behind?

So now the police have a dead body with two taser probe holes in her. A microdot and background check will help catch the perp... how?

No, microdots won't work in every situation. But even in your situation, the use of a Taser makes Ray easier to catch.

First, it makes Ray decide whether or not to move the victim. If he does, moving bodies is time consuming, possibly difficult, and increases his odds of getting caught. If he doesn't, the police will be able to easily link her death to the microdots scattered on the ground.

If he bought it off of eBay, craigslist, or similar site, the original seller will be contacted in reference to the microdots and there will be a nice paper trail through eBay that leads to Ray. If it's through a second hand retailer, it may still be possible to track the sale back to Ray, but admittedly, the odds are a whole lot lower.

Just as important, would a Taser make Ray significantly more effective? I don't think so. It doesn't have nearly as much of an intimidation factor as it can't do lethal or long term damage and incapacitation ends as soon as the darts are removed or Taser cycle ends. All it does is give him an extra dozen or so feet of threat range at the cost of weapon reliability.

 

[GuyWithQuestions]

In the hypothetical situation of "Ray the Rapist", air taser air catridges shoot about 30 microdots with serial numbers all over the place. It'd take a little while to make sure you've found each and every single one wherever they may be laying or blown around. Since the C2 only send a current through the target for 30 seconds, a criminal is going to have limited time. Having serial numbers does help in some situations. In Virginia Tech, even though he tried to get rid of serial numbers, law enforcement was still able to find it and then track down where the firearm was purchased. If someone buy an air catridge, one of those microdots with a serial number can be used to track where it was bought from.

Even in the example of Ray the Rapist, he'd still probably cause a lot less damage than if he found a gun. What amuses me is when I hear a police officer say that civilians shouldn't have air tasers because they may use it against police. I just think to myself, "Hmmm, so you'd rather have them use guns on you?" I always carry my handgun cocked and unlocked on my person, but an air taser could have some uses for me too if they weren't so expensive.

 

[GuyWithQuestions]

I think the fashion may/could be a good thing. There's still quite a few places/states in the U.S. that have tasers as a prohibited defensive device because of paranoia. If they became as popular to women as pepper spray is, then some may change their laws/rules because women with things like that generally aren't seen as much of a threat than men carrying them. Then if they become legal in more areas, if I buy one, that would be a good thing because I could carry in more places. That would also help many others out who want to exercise their human right of self-defense. I just wish that Tasers could have more than one shot.

 

[mossberg]

Aww isn't that cute zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzaaaap.