PADI E-Cards

[scubamarketing]

Gets better folks - geek here, so I bought the ecards, loaded up the app on my Galaxy 10.1 just to see what they looked like before bothering to type on the friggin miniture keyboard on my phone [no one would ever carry a tablet out to dive] but I wanted to see them before bothering to load the app/ecards to the phone, they looked kinda cool. Next I downloaded the app to my phone, message came up that I didn't have any ecards on file to download! After digging around, found out that it's not just $50 for your ecard, it's $50 for every different type of device you have !!! So if you have Bberrys, iPhones, iPads, Droids etc. you'll have to pay $50 for each ecard for EACH device. As you can imagine, I don't really get to pick what device each person in my family gets, so we have phones/pads with three different operating systems, to PADI that translates to $150 per ecard [times at least two for Adv OW and Nitrox as a min] if I want my cards for everyone's phone. I'm going to try to reach PADI and see what's up - the cost is silly enough, but having to pay for every type of device is just insanity. I guess I'm going to have to stick with plastic if this is how it's going to be with PADI.

What kind of phone? I'm curious to see if your experience matches with what they claim (below).

Here's the PADI link to the answer on charges by device - to find it you have to search their site or Google - no where is this stated during ordering and there is no link to this FAQ from the ecard pages.

https://www.padi.com/scuba/login.aspx?id=17962&terms=ecard

Way down at the bottom is the Q/A that says you have to buy multiple vers of your ecard for each device. I just ran a dummy order for another card to see if I just missed reading some fine print along the way - no where did I see where it said I was buying a single OS licence.

Technically it's per device family:

Q. What if I download my eCard, but switch operating systems?
A. You can download eCards to multiple devices within the same OS family (for example, Apple’s iOS 3.x, 4.x, etc) or redownload cards when upgrading devices within the same OS family. You will need to repurchase your eCards if you switch operating systems.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Cha ching! So you become the slot machine. Pull your arm at the right time and they hit the jackpot! Genius.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

 

[Chris Horn]

Here is the thing. all of this money that is "could" be funneled to them, is taking directly away from the LDS. Like someone else said, that is a shirt, or dive knife or hood, or some extra fills. come on, they need so be supportive of their dive community, not selfish.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

"Gets better folks - geek here, so I bought the ecards, loaded up the app on my Galaxy 10.1 just to see what they looked like before bothering to type on the friggin miniture keyboard on my phone [no one would ever carry a tablet out to dive] but I wanted to see them before bothering to load the app/ecards to the phone, they looked kinda cool. Next I downloaded the app to my phone, message came up that I didn't have any ecards on file to download! After digging around, found out that it's not just $50 for your ecard, it's $50 for every different type of device you have !!! So if you have Bberrys, iPhones, iPads, Droids etc. you'll have to pay $50 for each ecard for EACH device. As you can imagine, I don't really get to pick what device each person in my family gets, so we have phones/pads with three different operating systems, to PADI that translates to $150 per ecard [times at least two for Adv OW and Nitrox as a min] if I want my cards for everyone's phone. I'm going to try to reach PADI and see what's up - the cost is silly enough, but having to pay for every type of device is just insanity. I guess I'm going to have to stick with plastic if this is how it's going to be with PADI."

So wait, what you are saying is you don't even get a card of any type. Only a link to it. When I went from my blackberry to a droid I had a bunch of files and downloads I just transferred to my laptop and then to the new device. You can't even do that? Like buying a picture to hang in your duplex, then having to buy it again when you move to a ranch because the walls are different. Stupid does not even begin to describe it. What was the name of Michael Douglas's character in "Wall Street" ? Can't remember but he has to be dancing a jig to this.

 

[PSVADivers]

What kind of phone? I'm curious to see if your experience matches with what they claim (below).

Loaded it first to my Galaxy tablet, then tried to load it to my Storm2


Technically it's per device family:

Q. What if I download my eCard, but switch operating systems?
A. You can download eCards to multiple devices within the same OS family (for example, Apple’s iOS 3.x, 4.x, etc) or redownload cards when upgrading devices within the same OS family. You will need to repurchase your eCards if you switch operating systems.

Doesnt seem to be an issue loading to another Android device since the first device I loaded the ecards to was droid based.
Waiting to hear back from PADI.

 

[PSVADivers]

"Gets better folks - geek here, so I bought the ecards, loaded up the app on my Galaxy 10.1 just to see what they looked like before bothering to type on the friggin miniture keyboard on my phone [no one would ever carry a tablet out to dive] but I wanted to see them before bothering to load the app/ecards to the phone, they looked kinda cool. Next I downloaded the app to my phone, message came up that I didn't have any ecards on file to download! After digging around, found out that it's not just $50 for your ecard, it's $50 for every different type of device you have !!! So if you have Bberrys, iPhones, iPads, Droids etc. you'll have to pay $50 for each ecard for EACH device. As you can imagine, I don't really get to pick what device each person in my family gets, so we have phones/pads with three different operating systems, to PADI that translates to $150 per ecard [times at least two for Adv OW and Nitrox as a min] if I want my cards for everyone's phone. I'm going to try to reach PADI and see what's up - the cost is silly enough, but having to pay for every type of device is just insanity. I guess I'm going to have to stick with plastic if this is how it's going to be with PADI."

So wait, what you are saying is you don't even get a card of any type. Only a link to it. When I went from my blackberry to a droid I had a bunch of files and downloads I just transferred to my laptop and then to the new device. You can't even do that? Like buying a picture to hang in your duplex, then having to buy it again when you move to a ranch because the walls are different. Stupid does not even begin to describe it. What was the name of Michael Douglas's character in "Wall Street" ? Can't remember but he has to be dancing a jig to this.

You get plastic too if you want it. I consider a smartphone a throw away item now, so it goes everywhere, my electronic dive log is on the smartphone too, it's a luxury, but I'd prefer to never have to carry the plastic or the paper dive log since I don't really mind if a phone gets trashed once in a while on a dive/vacation, everything is backed up in the cloud or at home. If PADI gets this right, I'd never take the cards out of the binder again, but they have to support all the common devices that the typical dive buddies might share so that if one device gets trashed, you don't have to depend on your dive buddies having the exact same MOS, otherwise I'm SOL and need to just carry the plastic.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

But how hard is it to carry one card? Or maybe two.

 

[PSVADivers]

not hard at all - did i forget to mention i'm a geek i do own pencils still, i just keep them in a frame on the wall choices are what make life cool !

 

[fjpatrum]

Why do you need electronic cards? Either keep your cards with your gear or in your wallet. Most of them don't need to be carried, just one or two. If you need mixed gasses, carry your highest mix cert. If you need solo, carry your solo card, and if you need deep carry your AOW card. If you're an instructor, carry that card instead of your OW/AOW card. That's 3... do people really demand to see other cards?

 

[Scott]

But how hard is it to carry one card? Or maybe two.

It's not hard at all but it will affect your SAC and trim if carried improperly.
Card carrying is no longer DIR.