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$499!?!?! For $130 I can buy two really good quality 1080p dashcams and two 16GB microSDHC cards (I know, not the intended function of this...) and mount one facing forward and one to the rear.
You still have to run wires to power your dashcam and display video where the driver can see it -- that's what $500 buys, the need to not have to add wires to your car.
Why does it matter that it's solar powered if there's already a ready source of electricity (i.e. your car battery)? Seems like it's only solar powered to be facilitate being an after market add-on you can click onto the car. Otherwise it'd require wiring.
Why does it matter that it's solar powered if there's already a ready source of electricity (i.e. your car battery)? Seems like it's only solar powered to be facilitate being an after market add-on you can click onto the car. Otherwise it'd require wiring.
I'm more curious how that built in LiOn battery would stay charged while parked outside for a full work day on a super cold day in winter, when decent sunlight is scarce. Has it been tested in a place where temperatures can dip to -20C / -40C with wind chill?
$499!?!?! For $130 I can buy two really good quality 1080p dashcams and two 16GB microSDHC cards (I know, not the intended function of this...) and mount one facing forward and one to the rear.
A "good quality" dashcam for $65? Which one? You still have to run wires to power your dashcam and display video where the driver can see it -- that's what $500 buys, the need to not have to add wires to your car.
search youtube for "G1W-C" for sample videos.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm more curious how that built in LiOn battery would stay charged while parked outside for a full work day on a super cold day in winter, when decent sunlight is scarce. Has it been tested in a place where temperatures can dip to -20C / -40C with wind chill?
The camera stays in low power mode (polling with BLE?) until woken up by the OBD controller to tell it that the car is in reverse. It doesn't need much power to stay charged.
Interesting product, but I just don't see how the inconvenience of opening up your phone, the concerns about using the ODB port, and the price point are going to make this a starter. You can get an easy to install backup camera + screen for half that, and no fumbling with a phone needed. If you already have a screen in your stereo, you can get a camera for less than $100.
The advantages of mounting your smartphone, with the cutting edge hardware and active software ecosystem that come along with it, are truly huge. When I rent a car now I am incredibly frustrated without the mount. Luckily ours has a magnetic pluggable backend, so I can pull it off my adhesive mount and attach the vent clip for use in other cars.
That said - it seems it is 2-3 years too late to be launching this.
1)By 1 May 2018, all new US Cars will have back-up cameras by law [1]
2) Most Cars sold since 2011/12 seem to have integrated back-up cameras
3) $500 for a Car accessory (!) that by definition will be fitted on a lower end car older model (since high end cars had this for a while) aka Low sales.
4)OBD port contention
Pivot Idea - Dash cam recorder (go in front plate) with AI for alerting based on User set rules (in addition to Dash Cam recording)
[1]: https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/nhtsa-announces...
Edit: Why in the name of funk did you design your website to take away manual scrollability? If I want to quickly skim it I have to endure the pointless transitions - I get that you want to enforce a certain flow - but let me cleanly escape out of it as well,
Great Product - Congrats on thinking thru and designing for a "Wire-Free" experience, with Solar batteries and the clever hack of the OBD port connector to offload some functions (wake-up on reversing etc). That said - it seems it is 2-3 years too late to be launching this. 1)By 1 May 2018, all new US Cars will have back-up cameras by law [1] 2) Most Cars sold since 2011/12 seem to have integrated back-up cameras 3)…
1. $499 is a lot. A lot of people who would be willing to pay that probably already have backup cameras built into their cars.
2. I'd rather have a fixed screen that's 100% always there and ready. Sometimes I just want to hop in my car and not have to worry about pulling my phone out. The magnetic mount looks nice though.
3. ODB port may already be consumed by another gadget (e.x. Automatic). Could you use a low-power accelerometer/gyro to detect backups instead?
So, this is really cool, but I park underground both at work and home. I have doubts morning and evening sun is enough to charge this. Also, what if I have something else already in the ODB port? It looks like I have to get a Y splitter or something, but having dangling cords under the steering wheel doesn't seem like a good idea.
Thanks! Based on our design and testing, the solar should keep the vast majority of users charged up (it has for me!). As a backup we do support USB charging as well.