Modern gadgets for the motorist

Garmin Nuvi 50

A navigator is an indispensable device for a modern driver. It is quite possible to find a GPS navigator in top-end car configurations, but if this is not available, then it can be easily purchased separately.

As an example, you can pay attention to the Garmin Nuvi 50, which has a 5-inch touch screen with a resolution 480x272. With its small size and light weight, the navigator can be used both in the car and on foot or by bicycle. True, the battery will last no more than 2 hours of battery life.

Please note that the quality of any navigator directly depends on the topographic maps installed on it. Even a relatively inexpensive model with a good map on board can serve no worse than an expensive and advanced model, but with bad or outdated maps.

The basic package of this device includes cartography from NavLux, Navionics and Aeroscan - all of them offer sufficiently detailed maps with the possibility of laying a route. Depending on the base you choose, the Garmin Nuvi 50 can search for nearby hospitals, police stations, gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and a variety of other points of interest (POIs). The level of detail and ease of use also depends on the manufacturer of the card. According to user reviews, Aeroscan maps are preferable, but NavLux and Navionics products received a lot of positive feedback. Most importantly, stay tuned and download the latest releases.

Driving and talking on the phone at the same time is a very dangerous activity. More than one study has shown that a driver holding a phone in his hand has a sharp decrease in reaction speed. But if for many of us these are just dry numbers, then it is worth remembering that talking on a mobile while driving is also dangerous for the wallet. A few fines issued by the inspector can easily exceed the cost of a hands free headset or speakerphone.

The latter option is preferable if the headset that you have to wear on your ear makes you uncomfortable. On the contrary, the Jabra Drive system is easily attached to the sun visor. Using the Bluetooth interface, it connects to a mobile phone, and the possibility of simultaneously working with several phones at once is also provided. Thanks to the latter, for example, the passenger will also be able to take advantage of this comfortable function.

Of the useful features of Jabra Drive, we additionally note noise reduction, the ability to manually or automatically adjust the volume, as well as the voice dialing function. The handsfree system can be paired with a GPS navigator. Thanks to a special adapter, the device can be connected to the car's on-board network or work autonomously for up to 20 hours of talk time. In standby mode, the system is capable of staying up to 720 hours, but if you leave the car, it is better to turn off the device to avoid battery drain.

Perhaps the only drawback of such a device is the lack of privacy, since everyone in the cabin will hear the conversation . However, for a very secret conversation, you can always just stop and get out of the car.

Professional drivers are known to pull into parking lots with their 6th sense, while inexperienced drivers perform a good dozen manoeuvres, but also quite newcomers sometimes park by the sound of a cracked bumper. All these options can be considered acceptable to some extent, but they can be easily simplified if you use the parking assistant.

parking with a gap of up to 30 cm. And if you can place the indoor unit and the unit with the display anywhere and install it yourself, then 4 sensors that are installed in the rear bumper, most likely, can only be carefully installed by specialists. But it's worth it.

The device tells the driver the distance to the obstacle behind the left or right in the range from 0.3 to 2.5 meters in 10 cm increments. At the same time, the indicator in the center of the panel can see the exact distance in digital terms, and on the sides there are segmented distance indicators for better perception. In addition, the ParkMaster 4FJ-47 duplicates all this with sound or even announces an approaching danger with a voice.

The accuracy of the four-sensor system is quite high, but if you are approaching a lonely post or a low paving slab, be be vigilant and better visually verify the safety of the manoeuvre - the system sometimes misses such "small" obstacles. Even the most advanced parking systems can't detect a bar sticking out of the ground or a stretched steel wire, and bumper repairs will cost a pretty penny.

Another alternative solution to make parking easier is a rearview camera. It is she who is able to distinguish even small objects that can be dangerous for the car, but at the same time she only conditionally shows the distance to obstacles. So here all hope is only on your perception and the ability to independently assess the distance.

However, such a camera can be conveniently used directed not only backwards, but also forwards. Generally, a plurality of cameras can be connected to an image output device at the same time. Please note that the image output device itself is not provided in this configuration.

The Falcon RC70HCCD camera allows you to increase visibility due to a large angle of 170 °. At the same time, the HCCD matrix produces video at a resolution of 640x596, which is quite enough to get a realistic and high-quality image on most multimedia monitors. The camera can be used both day and night, but with a minimum illumination of 0.3 lux and no additional illumination, you should not count on a very high-quality picture. Although even this should be enough for safe parking.

If you decide to use this camera for installation in front, then be sure to note that the Falcon RC70HCCD transmits a mirror image. Thus, you will have to flip the image programmatically at the expense of the output device. If it does not support such a function, then it is better to choose a different camera model.

No matter how hard radar developers try, radar detectors are improving even faster. Like one of the proposed gadgets of this review, the Sho-Me G-800STR radar detector.

The device scans the space around the car and detects the presence and operation of both stationary speed cameras and mobile radars thanks to reception sensors in the X, UltraX, K, UltraK, Ka, Ku bands, as well as laser signals and the VG-2 system. False positives are minimized with Intelligent anti-falsing technology. In addition, the Sho-Me G-800STR has increased the Smartscan frequency, so that radar detection occurs much earlier, which allows you to slow down in time and avoid a fine.

The highlight of the device is the built-in GPS module, which allows you to approaching an area where cameras have already been recorded, warn the driver, even if the radar is temporarily not functioning. In addition, it automatically captures the coordinates of the detected cameras and writes them to the database, which can later be shared with other drivers.

The radar detector has an OLED display that does not glare and is well read even under bright sun. But for safety, the sound accompaniment of events is also implemented. All functions of the radar detector are configured through an extensive system menu. The user can adjust the scanning sensitivity or turn off some ranges, select different operating modes for the highway or for the city, and much more.