The Giz Wiz for the week of October 9th, 2012, Netcast 1385
October 7, 2012 Post a Comment Turn your smart phone into a full-featured Radar Detector.
Cobra Electronics introduced their new iRadar 200 at the CTIA Wireless 2012 trade show. This is an updated version of their popular iRadar 100. The new device is designed to detect all models of radar and laser guns on the market, although you can pick and choose if you like. All iRadar app versions are supported, including those with iRadar Community. This allows users to share alerts with one another in real time. The iRadar 200 can be paired with either the iPhone or most new Android smartphones. The previous models were platform specific. They’re still available and about $40 cheaper. The iRadar 200 works hand-in-hand with your iPhone, iPod Touch, or Android device to become a full-feature radar detector. If you do not have a compatible phone, you can still use the iRadar 200 as a standalone detector, but you’ll miss out on a lot of the important features. The unit itself is about the size of a pack of playing cards. It’s sleek black, with almost no noticeable switches or lights. After you download the free app, there’s a switch on the side of the unit for iOS or Android operation. When you set up the unit you choose between city and highway modes to help filter false alerts. One thing that doesn’t come with the iRadar 200 is a car! Those who know me, know I have never owned a car. (I have owned 26 boats, though!) But I figured I’d try this device anyway. It was easy to pair with both my iPod Touch and my Galaxy 3 via Bluetooth. A red LED on the iRadar 200 turns blue and sounds a chime to tell you they’re paired. No pass code was need. Once paired with my phone I had a local map (via my phone’s GPS), a car battery voltmeter, speedometer and a list of driving hazards. I used a 12-volt converter to power up the iRadar 200 in my apartment, but I was to see there were traffic cameras at two major intersections near me. The iRadar 200 comes with a suction cup windshield mount and an 12 volt cable that has a USB port so you can power and charge your smart phone as you drive. Cobra says the iRadar 200 app gives you access to speed and red light camera location alerts. These locations are 100% verified and updated daily through Cobra’s exclusive AURA Camera & Driving Hazard Database. The display shows the type of alert and the strength of the alert in proximity to you. You can operate it in Dashboard mode or Map View. If you like, you can keep a history of your alerts on your smart phone and display them on a map. On Amazon, the iRadar 100 is about $85 and the new iRadar 200 is selling for it MSRP of $129.95. Once it’s in the marketplace for a while, I expect discounts will be available.
More info and phone compatibility is the company website:
https://www.cobra.com/detail/cobra-iradar-smart-detection-for-iphone-and-android-devices.cfm
It’s available on Amazon here: I haven’t shopped at this link:
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