Major Version Upgrade policy

Ken - NM9P

Here is a question/suggestion related to the future "Major Upgrade" policy...

Has FRS considered a reduced price "Upgrade license" for those who buy a 6000 series very briefly (as in 2 or 3 months) before the release of a major version upgrade which would be included with a new rig had it been bought a couple of months later?

This would be similar to MS offering a special upgrade to Win8 if you had just bought a computer with Win7 within a certain time window.  It might also be a logistics nightmare.  

This wouldn't affect me because I have had my 6500 for quite some time, and already bought an extra upgrade ticket a year ago.  But I would hate to be the guy that bought a 6700 a week or two before V.2.0 came out and kicking myself for not waiting a bit longer to get the latest Version.

SteveM

No kidding. All customers should receive one free upgrade ticket no matter when they purchased a radio in relation to the release date. Then there will be no supposed "logistics nightmare".

They could introduce this new policy as a special deal that never goes away. This would prevent complaints from current customers that didn't get the deal (they probably received an early-bird deal, anyway).

Ken - NM9P

I wouldn't go quite that far myself, Steve.  I have been receiving free upgrades all year since before V.1.0 was released.  My $199 "extra year" that I bought was converted to a "Major upgrade ticket"  for V.2.0.  A fair deal, I think.  having owned my 6500 for over a year, I wouldn't expect an automatic free pass to the next level.  But I do think that perhaps their could be a pro-rata upgrade price that kicks in at some point for those who purchase close to the time of the Major Upgrade.  

SteveM

Eh. I guess we see things differently. My thoughts are that the free upgrade would help to mitigate the moral dilemma you mentioned, take away misgivings from the customer regarding upgrade costs, and improve overall sales of these rigs. Maybe not.

DrTeeth

The problem is as always, where does one draw the line? Somebody is always going to feel let down. I'd say leave things as they are. The upgrades are optional. I would like to see fixes like noise filters that should work being fixed for those who chose not to upgrade - but no new features.

KY6LA_Howard

I know HAMS ARE CHEAP and most hams are Employees who have little idea of the financial needs of a company...

BUT... Flex needs to stay in Business...to do so takes money....

Giving things away for FREE is not the way to stay in Business and in fact is a sure fire way to go out of business


Frankly to me the most ENCOURAGING THING about SSDR was that Flex was going to Charge $ for Upgrades... this meant that they would have a financial incentive to provide support and create new upgrades and more important that they would have a secure cash flow to enable them to stay in business

So please stop all the whining about Free....

SteveM

Yes, your right. Stick it to 'em. Dern whiners. You should sternly reprimand Flex-sales for the various promotional gimmicks over the past 2 years, e.g., FREE Flex-Controls, introductory radio price, etc.

KY6LA_Howard

Obviously you have never run a business

Promotional gimmicks are One Time Business Opportunities to buy Market Share which do not negatively impact your cash flow as they increase your installed base and increase your cash flow... Perfectly good business practive.

Software Upgrade Fees are Recurring Annual Revenues...forgoing those negatively impacts your cash flow.

JB

I suspect that once a target date for 2.0 is released, Flex will want to have continued sales until the actual ship date. The way to do that is to offer those who purchase in that limited "window" an automatic upgrade to the 2.0 version. That's the way Microsoft does it to keep inventory moving as well as other companies.

Flex seems to be laser focused on their customers, I'm sure they plan on doing their best to keep us happy and excited to be part of their success.

SteveM

Frame it however you want, all of it "negatively impacts your cash flow". Nobody argued forgoing the annual upgrade. Ken presented a dilemma, and I floated a possible solution - proposed as a sort of promotional gimmick, I might add. You make it sound as though I'm trying to destroy Flex-Radio.

Heh. You keep pulling out the "I've run a business. You haven't. So shut up!" card.

KY6LA_Howard

Seemed like a good idea to play a winning card

SteveM

That card is wild only once per thread. :-)

Ken - NM9P

Jon, that was behind the reason for my question/suggestion.  No whining about free stuff here... I have already received for my money a year's worth of some of the best fun I have had in 40 years of Ham Radio! And I have already paid for the next level, V.2.0.  (rats... I missed the free FlexControl Knob offer, and was too late in ordering to get the initial promotional price!  hi hi!)

And with a nod to Howard... Understanding the cost of doing business was why I suggested a time window and a pro-rata in order to keep the sales going in the "Pre-release" time frame without negatively impacting the cash flow for development.  Somewhere is a balance point between cash-flow and sales/support incentives.  I am shure that FRS will find it.  

JB

Totally agree. Now, a question; was that a subliminal message to buy Shure mics for our FRS radios or was it spell check HiHi

Charlie

I have no problem with Flex charging for major upgrades but I just hope that any bug fixes from pre-version 2.0 features and basic features like a working NR and NB are provided at no cost. 

Ken - NM9P

hi hi, John, I use a Heil PR22 and EV-664!  Spell check strikes again!

KY6LA_Howard

I think I only use it this once in this entire reflector

SteveM

73

SteveM

Ken,

I was trying to figure out what caused the thread derail. I don't think it was anything you said. I think it was because I wrote:

"All customers should receive one free upgrade ticket no matter when they purchased a radio in relation to the release date."

What I was trying to say was:

"All new customers should receive one free upgrade ticket no matter when they purchased a radio in relation to the release date." - as in a promotional gimmick at the time of purchase, value of $200. Much like the earlier gimmicks for FlexControl and reduced sale price.

Sorry for wrecking your discussion.

Ken - NM9P

Still a productive discussion, in spite of misunderstandings or misstatements.  
I always choose to see the positive in any post and ignore the rest.  I have made enough misstatements, unclear statements, and overreactions to fill a good sized book!  So I'm not one to cast the first stone.  (Amazing how the omission of a single word can lead to a completely different impression of what was meant!)

Howard brought out some good points that illuminate the difficulty of balancing bottom line, sales, customer service, ongoing software revenue and managing customer morale/product satisfaction that I think few hams indeed ever appreciate.  

Others have added additional insight from marketing or customer support, or just a concern for "fairness."

Let's all just call it good and stay friends!  I have a great deal of respect for most everyone in this community.  It is amazing to me how many different ways so many different people add to the whole project.....myself, I'm an optimist, a dreamer, and a diplomat.  It's part of my job!

Dale KB5VE

I talked to matt about what I had as far as upgrade. I was one of the first to buy, number 50 on the limited issue. I recieved a two years of upgrades which has been changed to two upgrades with 1.0 being the first then all of 2.0 which is going to surpass the two years I was given at the beginning. So if you got the extra year free with your purchase you will get 2.0. Now most of you know I have been vocal about what we should have based on why we bought our radios. I bought mine based on the advertisement and as long as I get everything that was listed on it I am fine. At this time the only thing I am missing is remote over the Internet and that was the reason I bought the 6500. Otherwise I was really happy with my 5000. So if 2.0 gives me wan remote Flex will have given me what they promised, does that mean everything is working as it should, maybe not but at least it is there. So what I am saying is when you buy the radio and 1.0 is what is with it then that is the soft ware you get, I was told that any bugs in a previous version would be addresses so you could have a issue with 1.0 and Flex came up with a fix there would be a update release. Sounds fair to me. So if you are buying a 6000 series undperstand that version is what you are buying and without buying the next version that is all you should expect.. I feel Flex is being fair and you always have the option to wait for the next release. It might be that flex would see this happening and make a agreement to offer the new version. That is called the "Power of the consumer". I do like my Flex.

DrTeeth

I bought into Flex after > 25 yrs QRT for various reasons. The big ones were the layout of the controls, the flexibility (no pun intended)* and the frequent software updates. I saw how infrequently the big-hitters updates the firmware in their radios and it was an immediate negative.

*This has caught me out on a few occasions with there being so much I can adjust, like trying to TX a 3500 JT9 signal with the TX filter set at 2900 cut-off.

W9OY

There is NO annual upgrade.  It is driven by version change not passage of time.

73  W9OY