12 Jul 2023, 16:57

@Con-Hennekens said in MRA Navigation vs MRA Gold:

@Matt-Flaming, yes indeed 🤣, but you can still use them ten years later. I don't see that happening a lot with smartphones.

Agreed that smartphones are currently good for 5 years tops - for most people probably it's closer to 3 or 4, and then pass it on / trade it in.

But few points:

  • the size and quality of your dedicated 5" satnav screen from 5 years ago is really going to annoy you for the final 5 of those 10 years
  • whereas I can run MRA on an iPhone, a Samsung, a OnePlus. A 6" screen, 7" even - and I get to choose, not Garmin or TomTom designers
  • you'll still to have buy a phone every 5 years anyway! 🤔

In terms of suitability, most modern mid-priced smartphones are waterproof enough not to need a special case, they can be charged off the vehicle battery with a 15€ USB adapter, and Quad Lock or equivalent solves any mounting problems. You may need to buy touch-sensitive gloves though, or use BarButtons.

I am pretty sure it's the future. MRA have bet on it, after all. 🙂