Cardo Packtalk Custom now with Added Subscription

Sadly, the annoying subscription-based way of buying things seems to have arrived for motorcyclists.

Rather than being able to buy something for a given price, subscription-based pricing requires us to pay an upfront cost for the item and then a continual payment to use its features and fancier functions.

Whereas we are all familiar with this when it comes to mobile phones – we buy the phone and then pay for the airtime – the subscription model becomes annoying when there is nothing to consume other than paying to enable a feature on the device.

Petrol isn’t an annoying subscription model because we get a new quantity to consume each time.

Neither is KTM’s pay to have the feature enabled on the bike because you only pay once, in the same way as buying an after-market quick-shifter. We pay once, and the option is enabled.

What annoys me is when I’m asked to pay for something repeatedly, and each time I get the same features. For example, imagine paying for access to a TV streaming service where the programmes never change.

Yet, this is what Cardo appears to have done with their pay-to-play options on the Packtalk Custom.

Subscription Based Cardo

Out of the box, the Packtalk Custom gives you Cardo’s Mesh communication with a maximum of 15 riders connected at any one time. You also get the ability to connect to one Bluetooth device at a time – pick your GPS, phone or another intercom via Bluetooth, but only one at a time. An FM radio and standard speakers are also included.

All of this can be ours for about £250 when it becomes available in the UK.

After that, the Cardo PackTalk custom offers you the option to expand the functionality by subscribing, paying either a month at a time or for a full year.

The Silver Subscription Package gets you music sharing, speed dial – something I never understand on a motorcycle – and audio profiles. Currency conversion rates will vary, but it looks like £2.50 a month or £17.50 for the year.

The Gold Package adds everything you get with Silver, plus a second Bluetooth channel, a universal intercom connection (the Obi standard, which works with Cardo, Midland and UClear intercoms), and Bluetooth Bridge, a nifty way of adding a Bluetooth intercom into the Cardo Mesh conversation. All yours for an additional £4 per month or £25 per year.

Top of the tree is the Platinum Package for £5.50 per month or £35 for the year, which adds in everything already mentioned, plus voice commands and Eco Mode that gives a claimed 20% longer battery life.

Doing the Maths

If I assume that I want the extra features for one month each year and a five-year operational life, then the Cardo Packtalk Custom with Silver for a month would cost £262.50, Gold £270 and Platinum £277.50, using today’s currency rates.

Alternatively, you can buy a Sena Spider ST1 Mesh for £150 from SportsBikeShop. That comes with Sena’s HD speakers, a 24-rider Mesh, single Bluetooth connection to blend your phone or GPS audio so you can hear it while using Sena Mesh to talk to other riders [See Achieving Audio Nivana].

This would save you £112.50, £120, and £127.50, respectively, compared to each of the Cardo packages.

If Cardo is your chosen intercom brand, then for the one-off cost of £290 (at today’s prices) SportsBikeShop will sell you Cardo’s flagship model, the Packtalk Edge, which I think does everything the Custom will do with the Platinum addon, but without the subscription.

I’m sure this makes sense to someone at Cardo, but I’m lost as to why this makes sense to me as the consumer.

However …

The twist in the tail is the need for repeat business. This trend was first recognised by Adobe Software, the authors of Photoshop when they introduced their subscription or purchase model.

For a while, you could buy the software or subscribe to their Creative Cloud. After about a year, those on the subscription model started receiving more updates and features than those who had purchased the product. Eventually, buying for a one-time cost was removed as an option entirely, and subscribing was all that was left.

Garmin recently had a sale on their Zumo XT GPS, but you had to choose carefully as the lower-cost offers might have looked like a bargain but didn’t come with lifetime maps. To get map updates, you needed to subscribe.

GoPro also has a subscription model. You can upload unlimited amounts of video to their cloud for safekeeping and benefit from several other “must-have options” just as long as you stay subscribed.

My GoPro Hero 8 Black produces amazing 4K video, although I did buy a Hero 9 Black in one of the super sales that happen around Christmas. The price was so low that it was too good to miss, and yes, I had to subscribe to GoPro Plus for a year to get the significantly reduced price.

From here, in the cheap seats where the sceptics sit, all of these deals are aimed at creating an ongoing revenue stream for these companies. Rather than relying on us buying another unit, they create services that generate a repeating income stream.

I can appreciate the problem the companies face. Billy is still using a Sena SMH-5, which is six or seven years old and cost £90 when it was new. Since then, Billy has not found the need to upgrade, and despite its age, the Sena is a reliable unit.

The road network tends not to change that quickly, so even if we don’t update the maps, we are unlikely to get lost. And 4K video is still 4K if it is from a Hero 8 or Hero 9. None of which get the companies more of our money.

Only when they make a significant step in technology do we think about upgrading. The Zumo XT was just that, a significant step forward from the previous models.

Yet, as a consumer, I find subscriptions an unwanted add-on to buying something. I want to pay cash for an item, own it and use its features. I don’t want to rent extra functionality.

It is an interesting decision by Cardo. Perhaps there is something I’m missing.

Photo Credit: The header image is based on an original work by @frankeethesledrider