I remember when the original SX chips started coming out and a lot of us were excited because some of those chips were going to be user upgradable. Problem is, it's become nearly pointless. Why? Because as soon as you get your YiHi-powered device the next chip is coming out next week.
So in reality the upgradable chips ...at most ... are nothing more than a slight wattage upgrade they release shortly, with no upgrade of any sort coming later due to the chipset being obsolete in less than a month.
Personally, I'd prefer if they spent a solid amount of time R&Ding their latest chipset and making it more future proof. Take the SXMini for example. They sold the SXMini knowing dang well there was a new chip design in the works. Instead of rushing product to the market, they should have at the very least put TC hardware on the current chipset inside the SXMini. They could have THEN released firmware to unlock this feature later on, as well as release the SXMini in "new and exciting" colors to promote new sales of the product.
Had they done this, it would have proven that their user upgrades are a legitimately useful feature that the competition can't hang their hat on.
China has come a long way and YiHi is one of the biggest players here right now. But this whole "New and improved mod/chip coming out next week/month" stuff has got to stop. When you're producing $30-$40 devices, people are less likely to care that their mod is already on version 4 within 2 months of owning their v1. But when you start charging high end prices, people are going to start getting irritated. At those prices, your business model should/needs to change. It can't be about churning new models for the sake of profit or because of slight improvement. At high end prices, you need to THINK of those features before hand and give the customer the best chip possible, even if it will take firmware changes to take advantage of them.
And no, this isn't a SXMini rant ... as I don't own one. I just think it's getting pretty crazy at how quickly they are pumping out chipsets with significant changes. And it's not just YiHi them selves .... look at P4You. They release the ipv Mini and within weeks you have the IPVMini 2, which has a better chip and higher wattage. I own an ipv Mini v2 and I genuinely feel bad for those who had JUST purchased the IPVMini.
We got use to all the revisions when you were producing flawed chips and you had no choice but to quickly fix them with a new version. But now ... now you're just taking the consumer for a ride down the money train. Spend more time adding features and testing your current developmental chip and stop worrying about changing your assembly lines for next months chip. We want thought out innovation (and are willing to pay for it) ... not an endless revolving door of chip revisions.
/rant
So in reality the upgradable chips ...at most ... are nothing more than a slight wattage upgrade they release shortly, with no upgrade of any sort coming later due to the chipset being obsolete in less than a month.
Personally, I'd prefer if they spent a solid amount of time R&Ding their latest chipset and making it more future proof. Take the SXMini for example. They sold the SXMini knowing dang well there was a new chip design in the works. Instead of rushing product to the market, they should have at the very least put TC hardware on the current chipset inside the SXMini. They could have THEN released firmware to unlock this feature later on, as well as release the SXMini in "new and exciting" colors to promote new sales of the product.
Had they done this, it would have proven that their user upgrades are a legitimately useful feature that the competition can't hang their hat on.
China has come a long way and YiHi is one of the biggest players here right now. But this whole "New and improved mod/chip coming out next week/month" stuff has got to stop. When you're producing $30-$40 devices, people are less likely to care that their mod is already on version 4 within 2 months of owning their v1. But when you start charging high end prices, people are going to start getting irritated. At those prices, your business model should/needs to change. It can't be about churning new models for the sake of profit or because of slight improvement. At high end prices, you need to THINK of those features before hand and give the customer the best chip possible, even if it will take firmware changes to take advantage of them.
And no, this isn't a SXMini rant ... as I don't own one. I just think it's getting pretty crazy at how quickly they are pumping out chipsets with significant changes. And it's not just YiHi them selves .... look at P4You. They release the ipv Mini and within weeks you have the IPVMini 2, which has a better chip and higher wattage. I own an ipv Mini v2 and I genuinely feel bad for those who had JUST purchased the IPVMini.
We got use to all the revisions when you were producing flawed chips and you had no choice but to quickly fix them with a new version. But now ... now you're just taking the consumer for a ride down the money train. Spend more time adding features and testing your current developmental chip and stop worrying about changing your assembly lines for next months chip. We want thought out innovation (and are willing to pay for it) ... not an endless revolving door of chip revisions.
/rant
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