[EN] MyRoute-app Routeplanner Next (Beta)

[Karel76]

@Corjan-Meijerink

It would make more sense to give existing LIFETIME users trial access during the beta so we can test the new features. The current planner works fine for me and I don't feel I need anything extra, but a trial period might convince me to support your small Dutch dev team.

Unfortunately, with the current promotion and all the confusion around the new version, it feels like I'm talking to an internal IT department rather than a company trying to sell a product.

[SteD]

...
Lifetime access to the new subscriptions with the exception for commercial clubs, AI Routeplanner and Navigation Next
...

Sorry but this point is very confusing.
Starting from "Routeplanner Gold" what remain from the main function of the new product?

• list itemEarly access???? beautifull but unuseful!!

• list itemPrivate forum group where you help decide what we build? * The same. Driving the byke,what do I do with it.

What are the main evolution starting from my Routeplanner Gold lifetime?

Bye.

[Karel76]

Currently, there are three tiers: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

Starting next year, MRA expects €50 for "Platinum," another €50 in two years for "Diamond," and then another €50 two years later for the new Android app.

A LIFETIME model just isn't sustainable for online services. They lured users in with lifetime subscriptions, and now they're stacking new paid tiers to keep their business running. That's why competitors like Kurviger avoid it. LIFETIME is a tool to raise seed money, not a viable long-term business strategy.

[Travellexxie]

@Karel76 I wrote this in the Dutch part of this forum and it might be somewhat the same as your ideas and feelings, someone compared it with a car, that's why the painting ;-):
I signed up back then expecting (that was also stated in the Roadmap, which later suddenly disappeared) that a completely new website would be launched soon. Lifetime gold was purchased for that at the time. I was even a Route Expert for a while, and some beautiful routes were created by me. Of course, I can't help the fact that the planner isn't coming out until 4 years later. As I mentioned in my previous message, I don't want the new add-ons; that isn't an issue either, and if I have to pay for them, if I purchase them, so be it. No problem.
But who says that the existing planner will still be around in 4 years? A lump sum was paid (or otherwise acquired) with which I bought out that whole lot—as you call it, repainting, etc.—plus the development of that machine. The entrepreneur was able to invest that money in the development of the planner (which I essentially bought out), and now I'm supposed to miss out? That surely can't have been the intention! I can imagine that all the money is going into the development of the new site, which is very understandable. Just look at Basecamp. But the lifetime subscription played a part in making the new website a reality, and it would not be fair to the existing subscribers if they were to miss out now.

[Corjan Meijerink]

Nobody misses out on anything!
Everyone gets a free upgrade to a brand new platform.

Don’t want anything extra, you pay nothing.
You can just enjoy the new platform eventually keeping all the features you have now.

[Peter Schiefer]

I have Gold subscription since 2019 for both.
Want to buy the 49 € offer for the lifetimeof the next beta, regardless of a possible need of improvemnets which I do not see yet in total, but thinking to have now is bettet than pay to a higher price later. I cannot login with my current email and password to buy this offer. creating a new account with the same email and the same pw will also not work. So why can we not buy this offer on our current account?

[Karel76]

And that brings up a crucial question: What will be the price of upgrading to "NEXT" for existing LIFETIME subscribers after the beta phase ends? Will it stay at 50 euros, or will it increase? It's not about the 50 euros itself, but right now I have a greater urge to donate that money to charity than to support this development team.

For two years now, I've been listening to promises about website updates, POIs. The reality, however, is that core functions are failing:

A route planned in the route planner gets generated completely differently in the mobile app.

The navigation routinely leads me into temporarily closed roads, and once I get there, it claims no alternative route exists.

Real-time route recalculation is a absolute disaster—miss a turn in the city, and the app drives you 2 kilometers out of the way just to make a U-turn back.

These are critical, long-ignored issues. I am genuinely worried that the new version will just be the same broken core wrapped in a new UI design. Under these conditions, I see no reason to give the developers even a single euro, and I am considering warning other users on social media so they don't fall into the same trap.

[Tom Grzelinski]

I am happy to support a small Dutch company doing amazing things and making my adventures a joy to plan and execute. I'm just off to sign up now...

[Tom Grzelinski]

Well I would, but the site is not allowing me to create an account – no matter what I do it says "Please check the form and try again". And I can't log in with my current account details - says "That email and password don’t match", even though I am happily logged in to MRA Routeplanner and forums in separate tabs.

[Anonymouse]

It's great to see the app being refreshed.

But the pricing and communications are really very confusing -- as so many posters here have said. I've read and re-read the beta website, and all the posts, and still don't actually know what I will pay as a Lifetime Gold wanting all new features. And like others I tried to respond to the call-to-action by clicking on the beta button only to find my login rejected; elsewhere I see it isn't even open until next month.

This is why you need beta testing. To put things in front of real-world users and see whether your assumptions are the same as the users'. To find out what seems very straightforward sitting within the company, but completely confusing to your users.

And it is why it's unusual to ask those very users to pay to participate in the beta. We pay, we provide critique and feedback, the company gets the benefit of our work.

I'm happy to support MRA because I believe in the product and in a roundabout way we may all benefit. But this whole pay-for-beta thing is quite odd.