Just came across this product where it leverages your smartphone as the display for the sonar results.
https://buydeeper.com/deeperInitially, I thought it was cool, but then, I think it has drawbacks.
Problems I see when ice fishing with this:-- It appears the device floats. I would assume the cone angle is quite narrow, otherwise, thick (non-clear) ice would interfere with the sonar signals.
-- Almost
all ice fisherman use their electronics/sonar devices constantly
while they fish. Doing so with a smartphone would drain its battery pretty quickly.
-- Smartphone's are not built to handle cold temps (let alone being near water). So the battery would perform worse/drain faster when exposed to cold temps for lengthy periods of time.
-- You would also need a mount to hold the smartphone as well as some protective case to shelter it from the elements (water, snow, etc.)
-- Price point is high considering you provide your own phone as the display.
Hit or miss?
My verdict: It's a miss for me.
What do you all think?