Nexar Beam2 sprint cam evaluation: LTE comfort is offset by app glitches

Value When Reviewed

Entrance/inside 128GB: $289.95 I 256GB: $299.95

The very very first thing I observed concerning the Nexar Beam2 is how massive and handsome it’s. It’s acquired model for miles, and we love the ideas of LTE uploads and emergency companies. However, as with the Nexar One, the overly phone-centric design proved an exceedingly irritating expertise with Android.

What are the Nexar Beam2’s options?

The Beam2 I examined is a two-channel, entrance (GC 4653 1440p sensor)/inside (720p GC 2053 sensor) sprint cam, although there are less-expensive front-only fashions accessible as nicely. The digital camera lens physique (entrance/rear) hangs from a relatively massive brick that accommodates all of the electronics together with the GPS and LTE (on-line connection) and a relatively huge (for a touch cam) 540Mah battery.

As you would possibly guess from the LTE, the Beam2’s main promoting level is securing video within the cloud and maintaining observe of your well-being through the optionally available Nexar Join service. Because the Beam2 detects bumps, door openings, and different shocks, then instantly uploads the video, you would possibly stand an opportunity of truly catching the offender within the case of car automobile theft. If the thief is wise and fast, maybe not. However with a non-connected sprint cam, your likelihood is nil, until the thief is totally mind lifeless, or drug-addled.

Along with computerized cloud uploads, the Nexar Join service options geo-locating, trip-mapping, alerts, and accident-sensing — i.e., the Beam2 points alerts if the G-sensor detects a extreme impression.

The massive electronics module attaches to your windshield utilizing semi-permanent adhesive, and being massive, there’s a whole lot of sticky stuff. Nexar gives a skinny, clear, adhesive movie that’s simpler to take away as a buffer. Good contact since 3M adhesive usually must be scraped off utilizing a razor or knife.

The precise digital camera is mounted on an arm on the facet of the principle module and swivels up and down maybe 120 levels. It’s not adjustable facet to facet, or clockwise/counter-clockwise, so that you’ll need to be very cautious aligning it earlier than urgent it into place.

For extra recommendations on sprint cam set up, learn this to keep away from my ache. Observe that on the dual-camera Beam2, the entrance digital camera lens physique can swivel up and down an extra 35 levels or so by itself, and has a helpful slide change on the underside to facilitate this.

However there’s a problem. An particularly pertinent one for myself and my city-street-parked convertible. The digital camera doesn’t detach from the mount. I’m certain you’ve examine San Francisco. A lot of it’s exaggerated and localized, however nonetheless, leaving an expensive digital camera like this within the automobile isn’t one thing I really feel comfy with. I examined, and eliminated the unit that night time as I didn’t need to clarify its disappearance to the corporate.

The one port on the Beam2 is the Sort-C jack on the highest of the unit. Nexar continues with the state-of-the-art {hardware} by offering an OBDII energy cable with passthrough so you should utilize different OBDII related gadgets. In case you’re not acquainted, the OBDII (On Board Diagnostics) is a standard-issue port on all trendy automobiles. Usually it’s used to learn data from and program your automobile’s onboard pc, however pin 16 additionally gives a relentless source of battery energy.

The OBDII port is often discovered someplace to the left of the driving force’s facet footwell. It’s simpler to cover cable arising the facet of the dashboard and fewer of a ache than an auxiliary (cigarette lighter) connector which is often within the middle.

The one energy connector extra handy is a splitter that makes use of the juice from powered rear-view mirrors. These connectors have, sadly, develop into pricier since I first found them a pair years in the past.

There’s additionally a single multi-function button on the left facet of the unit that performs varied actions comparable to on/off and activating the unit’s Wi-Fi hotspot. Most settings will likely be set utilizing the app. The Beam2 additionally makes use of Bluetooth for some capabilities.

How a lot does the Nexar Beam2 price?

On the time of this writing, the front-only Nexar Beam2 was on sale for $200 with 64GB of inner reminiscence, and $250 for 128GB. The entrance/inside was accessible with 128GB for $290, and 256GB for $300. This may increasingly change within the close to future.

We suggest the utmost storage as it is going to prolong the helpful lifetime of the Beam2, as there’s no microSD slot. Sure, the interior NAND will ultimately put on out, so the extra the higher.

After all, it is going to take a while to succeed in a failure level. The 720p video makes use of round 100MB per minute, whereas the entrance digital camera at 1440p makes use of roughly 200MB per minute. Meaning you’ll be writing both 12GB (720 x 2) or 18GB (720 + 1440) per hour, 288GB or 432GB per day, or 1 to 4 occasions your complete reminiscence capability each 24 hours the sprint cam is operating.

Assuming high-quality TLC is sweet for about 5,000 writes, dividing by three hundred and sixty five days, you’ve acquired someplace between 3 and 13 years earlier than failure with fixed use. Not horrible, however I nonetheless preserve that it’s smart to get as a lot NAND as you possibly can afford.

The Nexar Join service is $10 month-to-month, or a little bit beneath $96 if you happen to pay by the 12 months. In case you’re going to purchase the Beam2, get the service. As good because the {hardware} is, you will get equal or higher captures for lots much less.

Problematic apps

Sadly, Nexar has made the Beam2 utterly dependent upon your telephone to dump movies. No detachable TF card, no performing as USB mass storage when hooked up to a pc, and so on. The folly of this turned obvious once I was unable to get the digital camera to hook up with the Android app after taking my check drives. This regardless of simply connecting to the Beam2’s Wi-Fi hotspot.

After a day or two, the digital camera magically related to the app. However I then discovered that my early daylight check drive hadn’t been recorded regardless of the sprint cam having knowledgeable me that it was activated. Therefore the parked photographs within the upcoming capture-quality dialogue.

Much more exasperating was the Android app failing (after one success — go determine) to obtain movies (known as rides) to my Android telephone. After the preliminary success, recordsdata got here by zero size, or in no way. This shortly turned tedious as you could first “Watch full video,” which invokes the sprint cam connection routine each time.

Even after switching to an iPhone, smaller recordsdata offloaded however massive recordsdata (as soon as I switched to 1440p) remained a problem. Additionally, the sprint cam would fall asleep, even once I was related with the app, which additionally killed the Beam2’s Wi-Fi hotspot. Recordsdata had been in hurry to indicate up in viewable kind on-line, although they had been typically listed shortly.

Briefly, my testing of the Beam2 was an ongoing train in frustration. The digital camera wants a solution to offload movies that doesn’t rely on a telephone app and Wi-Fi. As I’ve tried to inform any variety of wi-fi fanatics — wires are good, wires are environment friendly, wires are safe, wires work!

How good are the Nexar Beam2’s captures?

Again to the excellent news. The Beam2’s captures are fairly good: day and night time, exterior and inside. The colour is spot on, and element in all fairness sharp. Much better than the Nexar One’s, and on condition that I initially examined on the the default 720p, I used to be impressed.

The entrance digital camera is able to 1080p and 1440p, and the uptick intimately is noticeable, if not sensational. The entrance in 720p and 1440p are proven beneath so you possibly can choose for your self. I present the area/wear-saving default 720p as many customers would possibly by no means get round to altering the decision.

Now the 1440p entrance day seize.

Entrance at night time in 720p.

An evening entrance seize at almost the identical location in 1440p.

The inside is 720p-only. Right here’s the daylight shot.

And the night time time inside. Observe that the infrared didn’t kick in for about 5 seconds giving me a extra colourful, if not as shiny picture.

So far as nocturnal use is anxious; headlight flare is dealt with adequately by the forward-facing digital camera, if not fantastically. The identical goes for any shiny object you hit along with your headlights. Particulars are typically obscured.

Nonetheless, typically talking the Beam2 processing and optics are excellent. They must be to provide the 720p you see right here, although we’d follow 1440p for travelogues. A lot of the 720p captures we see are grainy and severely missing intimately.

Total, the Beam2 is greater than serviceable when it comes to captures. Significantly upgraded from the Nexar One.

Do you have to purchase the Nexar Beam2?

The Beam2 is a improbable, intelligent idea, and the {hardware} is top-notch. I need to suggest it, however that is the second straight evaluation of an expensive Nexar product the place the Android app has given me suits. Pre-release unit or not, bugs ought to give one pause.

In case you’re rocking an iPhone, I give the Beam2 a (tentative) thumbs up.

For Android? Because the Beam2’s capabilities are alluring, you would possibly take an opportunity… However earlier than the return home windows expires, be sure to can efficiently offload movies to your telephone and that the cloud uploads work accurately. If not, ship it again and wait till you hear that the water is protected.