Lionel cab 2L future

I'm bored this morning

At the time I write this there are:

38 Replies

16 people made the 38 replies

10 were multiple replies

6 were unique (one reply)

Of the 10 multiple posters, 4 were against iPhone/Android only

of the 6 one time posters,  2 were against iPhone/Android only

Of the 10, 5 were neutral

Of the 6, 4 were neutral

Overall

9 posters were neutral

6 posters don't want to use APP

1 poster gave no opinion, just a humorous post

Had to replace a string on the steel, which interrupted my morning practice session. So, thought I'd take a break and see what's going on here.

@EscapeRocks: Thank you for your summary/analysis of this thread. It will be interesting to see what Lionel does beyond its Base 3, if anything. 🤔

@Mellow Hudson Mike posted:

@RixTrack,

If you're being facetious feel free to ignore the following.  If not please read and consider this:

Thanks for dismissing the OP's comments as trivial and unworthy of serious consideration.

Using a smartphone for control of trains is not simple, it's definitely not a no-brainer, and it makes poor sense to too many people.

In case you haven't been following things on the forum very closely, a spirited discussion fires up at least once a week over the suitability of a phone in control situations.

Simply put many people maintain that a smartphone is a poor device for controlling things that move because of the need to take your eyes off a moving train in order to get your finger in the correct position to activate one of those many buttons, and the imprecision of the touch of a finger on glass.

It appears that you've conveniently left out the fact that this discussion exists, and you're also summarily attempting to close out the discussion because it does.

Know that the issue is far from closed, except maybe by two large manufacturers/marketers that have no problem ticking off their long-time customers.

Thanks for attempting to shut down the debate before it's finished but that's not going to happen, especially in such a flippant way.

Mike

Oooh, touchy aren’t you.   There’s nothing quite as sure as change.  All the fussing and fuming isn’t going to bully  the manufacturers into a scheme that will lose money.  This hobby is a niche market.  Production and development costs for such a small amount of customers just isn’t feasible. It’s estimated that 15-20%  of those participating in the hobby will exit it (and the world) over the next ten years. The number of new participants will not cover those lost participants.  New participants are accustomed to and embrace the new technologies used in today’s latest trains   If the manufacturers want to continue in business they need to look forward not back  

@RixTrack posted:

Oooh, touchy aren’t you.

If the manufacturers want to continue in business they need to look forward not back  

You bet.

Smartphones are good for many, many things, but using a phone when its not a good solution is not looking forward, it's more like being swept up in mass hysteria.

Ok.  So in your opinion their message to us is: To all traditionalists, and especially you older folks, thanks your many years of support but you're going to have to suck it up, or you can just go take a hike.

Until now over the entire life of this 120-year-old hobby there has always seemed to be the understanding that in we rail model enthusiasts are more alike than we are different, and that our varied contributions and interests are all good for the hobby.

Apparently no longer.

Please step aside and let the modern world take over.  You and your old-fashioned ideas aren't welcome here anymore.

The hobby made it to 120 years because it represents, and has always represented other than in the first few years, history and a synergy between the past, present and future.  Forcing out the past will kill it faster than us dying off.

Are we more alike, or more different?

(This reminds me of TCA's recent change in direction in anticipation of a need for it to retool itself?)

Mike