"Attractive price points" are subjective. An attractive price point, to me, is buying the
M2Z for $1250, and using the 7.85"
CS that I use for my other drones, or an iPad mini that most members use for their other drones, or my S9+ that is bigger than the
SC and less bulky. So, no additional cost of $249, in fact, a cost savings of $249+.
I dont think people should buy a first-run, all-in-one device if the detriments outweigh the benefits. This is the case for most people who are opting not to downgrade to the Smartcontroller, and keeping what has always worked for them, and continues to work for them. iPad mini, Tab, Android,
CS all are proven technologies, bugs have been worked out, and there are countless threads on how to connect, diagnose and efficiently operate them. For new users, I wouldnt touch the Smartcontroller until it has been on the market for a few more months, all the bugs have been ironed out, and even then, consider other options. If you are in tech, then you will know that you never let your customers be the beta testers on a first run device unless they are aware of the bugs, know how to fix it themselves, and are willing to compromise. For first time users, my answer is
M2Z and their phone, tab or iPad. KISS.
If you look at all the experienced users comments and reviews, there are only a handful that have successfully navigated the Smartcontroller without issues. Firmware problems, connectivity problems, you name it. These are experienced drone pilots. So, Im guessing that it's not the "person," its the equipment. We are not all engineers, nor should we have to be to use something we just bought. DJI is good at blaming the user when their equipment is not up to par, just look at the recent DJI Assistant debacle. First they didnt acknowledge the problem, then they said you have to use it on a Windows 7 machine until DJI finally got it cleared up. So, best not to blame the "person" when in fact its the equipment thats the problem. In your IT career, if software is glitchy, do you blame the customer? Thats a good way to whittle down your customer list, for sure.
Um, not exactly. Litchi was designed for ease of use, and far surpasses the
SC and DJI Go 4 in terms of waypoints, and many other aspects. "Pushing the boundaries" by using Litchi? No, not really. I and my colleagues have thousands of flights using Litchi, and I can tell you that DJI Go 4 has crashed multiple times but Litchi has not. My choice of apps? Litchi comes first, then DJI Go 4, especially in drone search and rescue ops.
Talking about using non supported devices in a car, my car came with Android Auto, which I hate. It is easier for me to just use Google Maps on my S9+. So, using the OEM apps that came with your car or device is not always the best or easiest thing to do.
The whole Jim Jones thing was a tragedy to anyone there who died, and it might not be a good idea for you to reference that sad sequence of events when trying to make a point. Not everyone there was a willing participant or follower, in fact, most were victims and unwilling participants.
Oh, by the way, did you buy the Smartcontroller? I thought from your last post that you bought the
goggles, not the
SC. Just asking.
ok... so we're just going to have to disagree on some points, you really have a passion against this thing and it's strong enough no one is going to change your mind.
on the cost front - Mojo already did the leg work and it was exactly what my point was, not sure how you can look at that and still state the
CS is cheaper, BTW - the $1250 INCLUDES the controller so, yes, you paid for it thus you need to account for it in your argument.
fine - you're not an early adopter, and you're in a unique position as you engage the public as a business owner, a expert in the field not only through life experiences but you live in it day to day so you are in a position of authority and your customers will listen. For this reason you should be objective, maybe you think you're being objective, my opinion is you aren't entirely.
Going from the standard controller to the
SC is most certainly not a downgrade; now if we personalize this, then yes, for you, it's a downgrade; not everyone has your exact setup.
be careful when referring to people as "experienced users"; experienced in drones and the application of a drone, absolutely, but technologically experienced? i would argue the latter. and you're correct, everything should be stupid-proof, but the beta tester comment is so 1990's tinfoil hat wearer; we have too many environment variables to make a perfect tech product, "Buyer Beware" is a real thing and if there's someone out there that thinks technology will always work perfectly, well then, they're quite misguided; its a fact of our tech lives today, learn, adapt and live with it and it's been like that for years. and if you think Litchi started out perfectly, well then, my apologies... lastly - DJI did their best to create a managed environment so they can do their best to support the product yet people still do what they can to mod, root, etc. and they still want support, this just doesn't make sense to me.
missed my point on Litchi entirely - i don't have any experience with it so i will not opine on if it's better, the same or worse than DJI Go4 but my point was, its not native, plain and simple - it's not designed by the manufacturer, for the device, etc. it's not native thus you are now part of a consequence model; if you choose (see below) to use a non-native OS then you have to accept the consequences. and i'm not sure i think it's right for the experts to push non-native environments that works for them on less knowledgeable and experienced people; hence the posts "my drone crashed while flying Litchi"; they are only following what the big boys are doing so it should always work right? now enter the "pilot is guilty until proven innocent" because it can't possible be the awesome non-native software.
missed my point on the car OS also, i was thinking much deeper than your center console, but your comment is telling, back to the "Power to the People" scenario, not everything can be open source and still provide excellent support- remember that beta tester comment? running off and installing anything you want kinda puts you in that position. anyway - Google maps isn't an OS, but we'll just disagree here. what i don't understand is do you or do you not like Android? didn't you say you have a 9+? nice phone BTW.
on the Jim Jones point -I will not be held accountable for how you interpreted it; was it tragic? absolutely, but they made a choice and thus a consequence; if i load a gun, point it at my foot and pull the trigger am i absolved because it was tragic? no, it was a choice and i have to live with the stub on the end of my ankle that was once my foot. i now understand my audience and going forward i'll use words like lemmings, or blind leading the blind; still you're an expert in this space so people look up to you, i look up to you, heck, i have your website bookmarked; just because i don't agree with your disdain for the
smart controller doesn't mean i won't listen to your advice or utilize your services but i will do my research. it's obvious your passion flows and that cool, just be aware of your blindspots and know people are following your words, be as objective as you can be, honestly i think you're about 80% of the way with the
SC, just got some hangups.
on March 20th i took delivery of my very first drone (well not really but i don't count the 6 flights with the eHang Ghostdrone 2.0 vr; that was an experience i trying to forget- much lost $$'s) and it was the
M2P with the
Goggles RE bundle and the standard controller because i though the phone piece would be cool (i have a Xs max). approx 2 dozen flights and being directed to this site by someone on my project team i learned about the
SC, and coincidentally the
CS; reviews were good on both, yes i saw the "update & Managed OS issues) but the
CS was also an managed OS so i opted for the "all-in-one"
SC, bought it 2 weeks later. the iPhone simply didn't cut it and i wanted my device to be dedicated.
i like it, it combines everything and while the device is new the components are tested, at the end of the day it's a
CS 5.5" and RC hardwired together, i've not laid eyes on nor touched the
CS but i'm assuming it's the same, 1k nits, same memory, battery operated, 1080p, not sure the screen is gorilla glass or not and the
SC might have an upgraded processor i've not researched it. ultimately the all-in-one is why i went with the
SC.
since i received the
SC i've done 2 updates (out of the box and the other day) and have not experienced a single update issue, i even factory reset to redo it in an effort to recreate some of the issues i was reading, at the end of the day i only got network error when my device (and laptop BTW) wasn't connected to my wifi/hardwire (duh!); i imagine a spotty connection could give this prompt also or even if you try on cellular/hotspot, my back yard is the everglades. i did the updates with everything i read and saw on video's not to do (SO much
BAD information out there), leave the MicroSD inserted, different cables, etc. and i don't think i got a 'perfect' device, back to my aforementioned point, i believe this is on the users - see what i did there? i'm my own worst enemy and said what i hate about this site most "the pilot is guilty until proven innocent and even then it's by someone's (you've never met) accord"
so anyway - i'm endorsing it, yes i'm a neophyte drone pilot, but based on my experience in technology, it's a solid device as long as you have (and to your point i'm not going to say "basic") understanding of how the environment plays into software/firmware updates/installs on a mobile OS; i believe in this so much if anyone that lives within 100 miles of me and is having issues i'll go to their house and assist/troubleshoot and establish a rock solid process that will work in the future, pro-bono. and if you don't want me at your house i'll meet somewhere with wifi or i'll bring a dedicated hotspot (i have both Verizon and AT&T). i simply don't think the issues we're reading are the device nor DJI's; it's environmental and potentially settings (how the MicroSD card is set). Now, if you have modded, rooted or have 3Party files 'forced' on the device; I bet you know what my response is going to be.