Reviews: Roadhawk HD Digital Driver Protection System

We last reviewed a Roadhawk product, their DC-1 Drive Recorder, in September 2011. In-car black box video camera systems have become increasingly popular in recent years, the increasing cost of motor insurance, crash for cash scams etc, make them a unique solution that can tip the balance back in favour of the motorist.

Now Roadhawk have improved the design with the Roadhawk HD, which now uses the same lens and 1080p sensor technology as the GoProHD action cameras and an improved GPS receiver with faster signal acquisition.

For anyone still unfamiliar with what a drive recorder (or in-car black box camera) is, the concept is simple. A windscreen mounted digital video camera continuously records whilst the ignition is on. Coupled with a GPS receiver in the unit, the data is recorded to an SD card in a continuous loop of one minute long 'events'. When the memory card fills up, the oldest data is overwritten. This gives you a record of all your journeys and, the larger the capacity of the memory card, the longer your drive history.

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Reviews: Otterbox iPhone 5 protective cases reviewed

Did you get a new iPhone for Christmas? If so then Otterbox can have it covered for you! The iPhone is a beautifully designed piece of technology, lovely shiny gorilla glass both front and back. And there lies the problem! the iPhone is essentially a small glass brick waiting to be dropped and have the screen shattered.

For the iPhone 5 Otterbox have a range of four different styles of case designed specifically for the iPhone: The Defender; The Commuter; The Reflex; and the Prefix. The Defender is the most rugged and the Prefix is the most accessible. Each of these is designed for a different usage model, and here designed is the operative word. These are not simple cases that enclose your iPhone, they are complex composite covers designed to absorb shocks and protect your device.

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Reviews: Magellan 5230T-LM

Magellan continue to be a major player in the North American GPS device market. They have been cranking out new Roadmate products on a regular basis.

And so we've been busy reviewing the RoadMate 5230T-LM, basically a 5245T-LM minus the portrait mode. T stands for Traffic, and LM for - hmm. Maybe it means Landmark Guidance - the reason we were interested in reviewing the device in the first place.

Apart from NNG (formerly known as Nav N Go) no other Personal Navigation Device (PND) vendor has yet offered this very functionality - the ability to include Points of Interest along the route in the navigation instructions, such as "after the post office turn left".

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Reviews: How TomTom Makes Digital Maps Part 4: HD Traffic

The final piece of the puzzle in the making of TomTom's maps is the dynamic attributes assigned to each road segment. By this I mean the real-time traffic information. Back in 2008 TomTom announced the then all new GO 940 Live SatNav. This had their latest innovation real-time live traffic known as HD Traffic. This fourth article in the series of How TomTom Make Digital Maps looks at how this traffic information is collected and distributed to the SatNav devices.

In the previous articles we have seen how the geometry of the map is created, then the attributes for each road segment have been added. With IQ Routes each road segment was assigned a 'real speed' based on historic average speeds in 5 minute intervals. Now with HD Traffic we can see how these IQ Route average speeds can be dynamically updated in near real time with actual current road speeds.

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Reviews: Reviewed: Crosskase Solar Laptop Backpack

Reviews: Akenori DriveCam trip video recorder reviewed

The Akenori DriveCam is a small device that records HD video as you drive in your car. It incorporates a GPS which is used to embed the time, location and speed of the vehicle into the video. With many incidents of bad driving, accidents and 'dodgy' insurance claims this device could both reduce your insurance premiums and also be used as evidence to attribute blame if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident. The Akenori DriveCam is priced at £269.95 and is available from Exeros Technologies www.exeros-technologies.com

The Akenori DriveCam is just over 2 inches wide and tall and just a tad more deep. The camera points out towards the rear whilst the front sports a 2.4" display. The whole assembly hangs off a mounting bracket that is glued to your windscreen with very strong double sided tape. The device does not have an internal battery for recording, but then it doesn't need one, simply wire up the the USB power lead to your cigar lighter outlet and the DriveCam will switch on with the ignition. This feature will only work for accessory power sockets that are activated by the car ignition.

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Reviews: Reviewed: Powertraveller powermonkey extreme

Powermonkey have earned a reputation for no-nonsense portable charger and power solutions. They're designed for travellers and are built with portability and ruggedness in mind. Their catalogue of products ranges from small battery packs intended to recharge your mobile phone to monster packs capable of running a power hungry laptop for hours.

Regular readers may recall that we have reviewed a Powertraveller product previously. Back in September 2008 I came across their powermonkey explorer in the in-flight magazine on route to Dubai. I was sufficiently intrigued to splash out real money to buy one for testing and it was an instant favourite of mine.

Fast forward a few years and we now have a much more powerful version in the powermonkey extreme which we are reviewing here.

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Reviews: TomTom GO LIVE 1005 World Reviewed

The TomTom GO LIVE 1005 world is the top of the range of TomTom SatNav devices. It combines mapping and navigation with online content using a built in SIM card. This takes the navigation experience beyond the AtoB routing and opens up a world of exploration and sharing.

The first thing to note is that the GO Live 1005 has a large 5" screen, but not only is it significantly larger it is now a capacitive screen rather than a resistive one.

The second thing noticed is the 'World' tagged onto the end of the product name. This effectively means that rather than regional or a multi-regional mapping the maps cover the entire world (or at least parts of it).

The third major area of improvement is in the LIVE services. In addition to the LIVE HD Traffic TomTom have added informational and social services. With the GO LIVE 1005 TomTom have changed the usage basis from AtoB routing to discovery and social interaction. Of course the SatNav still retains its core navigational functionality, but now content from Trip Advisor, and Expedia has been incorporated along with the integration of Twitter for social media.

Our full review contains 3 videos of the TomTom GO Live 1005 in action both in the UK and USA Click here to read more...

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Reviews: Garmin's connected PND: The nuLink! 2390 reviewed

It has been a long time since I last reviewed a Garmin SatNav so I was quite excited to look with fresh eyes at the Garmin nuLink! 2390. This is the top of the range Garmin PND which features live traffic, along with other live services.

The headline features of the nuLink! 2390 apart from the navigation are: 3D Traffic, Speed Cameras, PhotoLive Traffic Cameras, photoReal Junction views, voice controlled user interface, and bluetooth hands free operation. In addition to these features there are a whole host of other frills to keep you on the road and informed during your journey.

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Reviews: Reviewed: GlobalSat GB-580P GPS Bike Computer

GlobalSat's latest product, the GB-580P Cycling Computer, is entering the one area of the GPS market that continues to grow year on year, leisure and sports. With growing demand for products from runners and cyclists the market is more buoyant than ever.

Although the Global Sat brand may be a relatively unknown to many, they have a long history in producing innovative GPS devices and they've been at the forefront for many years. Some of you may recall they were the first to market with a SiRFStarIII Bluetooth GPS, a chipset that set the standard for speed of acquisition and sensitivity. In a time were previous GPS units often took minutes to get their first satellite fix and then frequently dropped it, SiRFStarIII, with its 20sec fix times and ability to achieve and maintain a fix in the most arduous of conditions was nothing short of a revelation

So we have high hopes for the GB-580P. Garmin have traditionally been the leader in the sports GPS market and their Edge range of dedicated bike devices have long set the standard. But GlobalSat's GB-580P comes in at a very attractive price in package with a wide range of feature. So let's take a look at what it has to offer.

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Reviews: Reviewed: Bracketron MobileDock Vent Mount

Sticky stuff seems to be in fashion at the moment, particularly when it comes to mounting solutions. Darren recently reviewed the Exomount which uses a sticky pad in conjunction with a traditional rubber sucker to attach the mount to pretty much any surface.

Bracketron, with their MobileDock, use the sticky pad at the other end of the mount - to hold onto the device itself. While officially designed, and sold, as a mobile phone holder I quickly saw the potential for this to hold a range of SatNav devices too. So I thought I’d give it a try to see how universal it really was.

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Reviews: Garmin GTU-10 GPS Tracker

Our family dog is a Lakeland Terrier. She's a dearly loved family pet and we'd all be heartbroken if she ever went missing. So Garmin's GTU-10 GPS Tracker is perfect for dog owners who worry that they may lose their dog whilst out walking.

But pet owners are far from the only target audience. Anyone who has something they want to track could make use of the GTU-10. Keep an eye on your children, attach it to your rucksack or leave it in your car.

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Reviews: Garmin Forerunner 610 GPS Sports Watch

Keen runners, cyclists and sports enthusiasts of other ilks will need little introduction to Garmin's Forerunner range of GPS watches. They've long been the number one choice and if you watch any marathon race you'd be forgiven for thinking that they were issued to every runner.

Garmin's latest flagship model, the Forerunner 610, supercedes the Forerunner 410 which attracted much criticism for its touch bezel. It was a finnicky control method and was almost impossible to operate.

Overlooking this failing, the 410 was a capable GPS watch with some well designed and considered features so the news that Garmin have moved to a resistive touch screen on the 610 brings promise that the bezel issues will be a thing of the past.
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Reviews: Exomount - A Rather Excellent Universal Gadget Mount

It's hard to get overly excited at the prospect of yet another car mount. I've tested dozens over the years and whilst some are better than others, they've all used the same windscreen suction design which, for the most part, does the job, albeit with the occasional failure to grip.

So when the Exomount arrived I was a little bit 'meh' about the whole thing. What could this mount offer that those that had passed before didn't?

The package proclaimed its 'patented suction technology' and its polyurethane lined grip but nothing screamed out as new or interesting. Until I opened it and tried it that is!

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Reviews: Roadhawk DC-1 Black Box GPS Camera Drive Recorder

It's been two years since we first reviewed a drive recorder, Roadhawk's RH-1 Black Box GPS Drive Recorder. It set the standard for value and features and in the intervening time nothing has come to market that offered anything better at a similar price.

That it was one of the most read reviews on our site at the time reflects the interest that exists in black box recorder technology and, if anything, the case for these devices has only grown stronger over time.

Massive hikes in the costs of insuring a vehicle, the rising numbers of uninsured and unlicensed drivers and the difficulty in apportioning blame when there are no independent witnesses to an accident mean that anything a motorist can do to protect themselves, their car and their driving record can only be a good thing.

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