I am reading a lot of debate within the various Home Patrol threads where folks are debating the intended customer for the device. I thought I'd make a thread where we could talk about it. In the 'cost' thread I started, folks are talking about how price points will effect the product's success. And in the main thread, folks are talking about how the ease of use will effect the product's success.
Here is a place where we can talk about who might buy the radio, and how it might get used.
I saw the video of the launch, and I admit that I'm lost about all of the 'names' attributed to folks with various degrees of capability and interest in programming the radio. UPMan's premise was that programming was a limiting factor.
Now on the boards, people are rightly discussing how a price point will effect a product's success. We really haven't talked about it, but the featureset and usability will also play a factor. And I think here, Uniden has made a wise choice. While the GRE entry might be cheaper, due to lack of digital, and perhaps choice of 'legacy' button-based UI... The GRE cannot receive digital.
Out of the box, you can take the uniden *anywhere* and listen to the radio.
Clearly the downside is that the all-purpose digital costs more, but it also reduces the confusion from folks who don't know/understand their local public safety is digital.
The other question I have is that if you beleive that price is the primary barrier to entry, then why isn't that served by craigslist or ebay? So the more I think about it, the more I think Uniden has a winner...
Price challenged folks will go to the used market.
Technically challenged folks (with resources) will go for this radio.
And if in six months or a year, the radio flops as a introduction to scanning, you update the GUI to provide an interface more attractive to the advanced user. (Pro-2006/optiscan anyone?
My only reservation is my admitted frustration in Uniden's ability to provide software support for their latest radios. My hope is that the folks writing the 'firmware' are in a different group and better funded to provide better support than the folks in the 'software group', writing the UASD.
So to wrap this up, I think Uniden is going to go after the more affluent buyer that doesn't have the time/resources to preprogram the radio. Price sensative folks will go used. And the tech gurus are going to be buying this for friends, family or travel (as I will be) and hopefully will benefit from a GUI change later in the production...
Here is a place where we can talk about who might buy the radio, and how it might get used.
I saw the video of the launch, and I admit that I'm lost about all of the 'names' attributed to folks with various degrees of capability and interest in programming the radio. UPMan's premise was that programming was a limiting factor.
Now on the boards, people are rightly discussing how a price point will effect a product's success. We really haven't talked about it, but the featureset and usability will also play a factor. And I think here, Uniden has made a wise choice. While the GRE entry might be cheaper, due to lack of digital, and perhaps choice of 'legacy' button-based UI... The GRE cannot receive digital.
Out of the box, you can take the uniden *anywhere* and listen to the radio.
Clearly the downside is that the all-purpose digital costs more, but it also reduces the confusion from folks who don't know/understand their local public safety is digital.
The other question I have is that if you beleive that price is the primary barrier to entry, then why isn't that served by craigslist or ebay? So the more I think about it, the more I think Uniden has a winner...
Price challenged folks will go to the used market.
Technically challenged folks (with resources) will go for this radio.
And if in six months or a year, the radio flops as a introduction to scanning, you update the GUI to provide an interface more attractive to the advanced user. (Pro-2006/optiscan anyone?
My only reservation is my admitted frustration in Uniden's ability to provide software support for their latest radios. My hope is that the folks writing the 'firmware' are in a different group and better funded to provide better support than the folks in the 'software group', writing the UASD.
So to wrap this up, I think Uniden is going to go after the more affluent buyer that doesn't have the time/resources to preprogram the radio. Price sensative folks will go used. And the tech gurus are going to be buying this for friends, family or travel (as I will be) and hopefully will benefit from a GUI change later in the production...