Drift Innovation

[Phmode]

Some years ago I had two SMIDSY moments in the same week. Some eejit managed to almost kill me while I was stopped at lights on the bike, followed two days later by a daft twit on a bike pulling out into my car's nearside wing despite the fact I had been trickling alongside him in stop-start traffic on the old Newbury by-pass for the previous 200 metres...

I bought my first dash cam the same day.

I didn't fancy the form factor of the Go-Pro and plumped for the Drift HD Ghost and despite some initial glitches it was soon up and running doing sterling duty on both my car windscreen and my bike helmet.

So far so good.

So good in fact, that I then stumped up for the much smaller Stealth 2 when it was on offer but was somewhat disappointed by its fixed battery life, unlike the Ghost for which I can carry a load of batteries in my tank bag and keep going all day and night if need be.

So, imagine my dismay when I discovered that the Drift app on my iPhone would no longer work.

Oh well. Turns out there's a new one, Drift Life which, as Sod's Law dictates, no longer supports my 'ancient' camera.

I contacted Drift who assured me that it was never their intention to leave their early adopters high and dry and that if I used the following code I would be able to buy a new camera at 20% off.

Gee! So, I have a perfectly good camera which may well last another 10 years but which is now virtually redundant as far as the great user features in the app are concerned.

So, one wonders how long before my Stealth 2 is no longer supported.

We are all used to built-in obsolescence but this new-age, new fangled tangential obsolescence is a new one on me.

So, in the market for a new dash cam? Well, you know what to buy...

[Matt]

Arg, that's a bit rude!

I occasionally look at this stuff but then fail to make a decision.

[drumwrecker]

I had exactly that same experience.

[raesewell]

I occasionally look at this stuff but then fail to make a decision.

I used to be indecisive but now, I'm not so sure 

[Swindon Andy]

My old TomTom rider 2 is also obsolete, they have stopped map updates for it. Really annoying as not only do I have the battery cover mount installed for it, I also much prefer the clunky graphics for clarity in sunlight.

[TomL]

My old TomTom rider 2 is also obsolete, they have stopped map updates for it. Really annoying as not only do I have the battery cover mount installed for it, I also much prefer the clunky graphics for clarity in sunlight.

That is very poor.

Let's hope that Garmin maintain map updates for all their sat navs.

[raesewell]

Tomtom consider 10 years to be the life of a unit. I've never had a sat nav for more than about 3 to 4 years before I upgrade

[Phmode]

I can 'sort of' see the point in upgrading a sat nag.

But a digital video dash camera is a camera is a camera.

All the fripperies that the newer models have, mean nothing to 99% of users for whom it is a go to jail/get out of jail device which they fit and forget.

The few who ride/drive, review, post, watch, comment on and argue over their rides or drives are the total exception, not the rule. Those few are the ones the newer Drift app are targetting.

Perhaps Drift make more money out of the FOMO brigade than all the rest of their customers put together.