Where is Seth?

[thorin33]

Just wondering where SkyTrak_Seth is these days? I chatted with Skytrak support to see when the next version was available and they gave me a canned response of "It will be posted to the website when it is available". Really hope to see something new soon.

[ajax5184]

He hasn’t logged in since April 11th, maybe he got a new job?

[jrz]

Has anyone from SkyTrak logged in since then?

[Paul Logue]

Skytrak_Jordan replied to a post on 5/21

[GungHoGolf]

SkyTrak_Jordan actually logged in today.

[trumb1mj]

Anyone rushing to re-up their software plans?

[jrz]

SkyTrak as a company is probably not going anywhere. Seth, who I believe manages ST's relationship with the forum, also goes above and beyond to providing some tech support to forum members. I often forget that he has an internal facing job as well, and it seems that he is involved in product management. ST is still advertising and stroking Hank Haney's ego, and their current promotion isn't any better than every other time they have offered promotional pricing. Plus, Seth has historically gone quiet in the weeks before something is being released. Since the Uneekor has shifted the sim market in the US, and Rapsodo has for a while had a patent for the hardware that could possibly power the speculative ST version 2.0, my bet is they are scrambling to adjust timelines and working on something interesting.

[Mirek_62]

Since the Uneekor has shifted the sim market in the US, and Rapsodo has for a while had a patent for the hardware that could possibly power the speculative ST version 2.0, my bet is they are scrambling to adjust timelines and working on something interesting.

I don't know the Uneekor prices in the US, but the basic setup price in Europe is 4 times higher than the Skytrak price. There is no competition for Skytrak from this view. In addition, Uneekor is not portable and cannot be used outdoors.

[calebm1001]

I would agree 100% - it is the same price as the GC2 but with more features (from what i gathered in the other threads)... If anyone has something to be worried about in their respective market place, it's Foresight, not Skytrak.

[simmb]

I don't know the Uneekor prices in the US, but the basic setup price in Europe is 4 times higher than the Skytrak price. There is no competition for Skytrak from this view. In addition, Uneekor is not portable and cannot be used outdoors.

$6000 for the base package in the US, so being a Skytrak owner I was tempted but having seen the European pricing there is no chance around, £7500 - £9000 depending on package so as you say no threat to Skytrak's price point in Europe.

[StanMI]

I would agree and disagree with it being competition for ST. It is less expensive the Foresight but more then ST. If your on the fence looking at price UK is an option now. Defiantly more competition in the market. Better for us and should make them all more aggressive in promotions and pricing!

Cudos to Protee for creating a platform the works with all ! (Excluding the quad of course)

[calebm1001]

This is perfect statement - my two cents (I love talking about this kind of market competition) Overall, the entire market is getting a shake up. The thing about skytrak is that if you bought one, you didn't need anything more than what it offered OR you couldn't afford/didn't want to pay the higher price tag for a higher-end system. That is where the competition moves into a whole new realm.

In relative comparison, it's like going with Boost Mobile or Metro. It's either bc it's cheap, or you don't need the coverage/speed that ATT or Verizon offers. Much like Skytrak vs GC2/Uneekor. Those two options are not on the same level, in my eyes at least. Skytrak is the perfect starter vehicle into the sim world. Sooner or later, you're likely to jump ship to the next level. That is where Uneekor is going to start taking market share from GC2 more so than it will from Skytrak.

I for one CANNOT wait to (hopfeully) be able to sell my ST unit for the current market price and eventually get a GC2 that has become discounted on the market because they finally have relative competition to a product that, on paper, looks to be superior.

If we're unlucky, from a consumer standpoint, only Flightscope and or Trackman will have to drop their price points, which would still keep it way out of reach for majority of us.

[Neepster]

Well at least something is going on at ST... question is, will it be exciting or not later today?!

[trumb1mj]

Re: Uneekor: If the SkyTrak 2 was not portable, it wouldn't work for tons of users. I know the portability (and iOS integration) is a huge feature for me.

[jrz]

When I say that Uneekor has changed the landscape for ST, I'm not thinking apples to apples. In my mind I am assuming that the ST will evolve and include shorter delays and more club data. This evolution, which I suspect is being hammered on now, would come from the thing that Rapsodo patented a few years ago.

The market kind of looks like this:
1) Entry level - basic simulation that is closer to video gaming (Optishot, PhiGolf, etc.)
2) Entry level for real simulation - SkyTrak
3) Mid level, with limitations - ProTee
4) High mid-level - GC2 standalone
5) High level - GC2 with HMT, GCHawk
6) Professional - Trakman, Foresight, etc.

The sweet spot I'm referring to is the popluation of us wanting to move from 1 or 2 to 4 or 5. The pattern for newbies is to get a SkyTrak bc of the price point, built out a sim space, and then start to want more and better data. Up until now the only option for consumers was GC2, and to really make the upgrade worth it an HTM is kind of required. This is a big price jump from the SkyTrak. Uneekor, for the moment, kind of owns the space between ST and GC2. I can now get a new launch monitor that gives me measured ball data and real club data for a price much less than GC2 and HTM.

[calebm1001]

I’m interested to see/understand the different price points Uneekor is offering. I haven’t seen anything in depth about that.

[jrz]

calebm1001 The pricing is known. The hardware starts at $6k and there's an option for $7k and $8k. Differences are the software that you get from Uneekor. They have their own sim software (which looks impressive), but for me I'll be complete with Uneekor and TGC, so all I'll need is the base offering. I'm already collecting change from under the cushions (turns out no one uses cash anymore and all I found was an old potato chip...). Assuming I can sell my ST for $1k it's a $5k upgrade for everything I would get if I paid $10k for a used GCT/HTM combo. I like those numbers.

[calebm1001]

OHH see... now I'm understanding. I missed the software part in the pricing tiers. So, base price has just a range, but all the data points needed, but I won't get any courses?

What makes you think you can only get 1K for your ST? Is it as old as your join date, 2015? I would hope to get more for mine after purchasing in January.

[Morini]

My few cents:

1. Seth is busy. The upcoming update involves a firmware write, and needs extensive testing.
2. Uneekor is not direct competitor to ST due to being higher priced, and targeting the serious game improvement market.
3. I don't think that ST is pursuing club data. It requires different technology than what the ST uses. I am not saying it is impossible, just not likely.
4. At some point, I think there will be an incremental upgrade. Hopefully it will bring improvements in accuracy, and read time. Perhaps it will allow for a lower price point.

[Igor-247-golf]

I think I can see him...