new radar detector by Escort incorporates GPS navigation

[rallysquirrel]

http://www.escortradar.com/iq/

 

Passport IQ is a 5-inch, full-color, voice controlled touchscreen GPS unit featuring NAVTEQ 3D maps and live traffic. If that weren't enough, this bad boy also sports protection against radar, laser, red light, and speed camera ticketing. Cost $650.

[TSiWRX]

Some interesting stuff about the antenna horn orientation/configuration - the antenna is a standard M4, but it's "pointed funny," due to the physical constraints of the unit. No-one really as-yet have a good idea as to what this may imply, in terms of performance, both quantitative as well as "real-world."

 

Sadly, it's only VG-2 cloaked...which in the RDD game means absolutely nothing.

 

The bells-and-whistles are intriguing - enthusiasts/hobbyists, aside from the Escort faithful, currently see nothing truly game-changing about this unit (as-based on its *currently* released features) aside from the fact that it may allow them to combine two instruments in one: but those to whom even this appeals somewhat carry reservations as to how well the GPS will be implemented. That the GPS will be consolidated with the Defender Database is a giant plus, for those of us who live in fixed-camera threat areas...but if the standard GPS functions cannot compete with now very affordable in-cabin standalone units from the powerhouses like Garmin and TomTom, there's not going to be many who will seek this unit, particularly given its price.

 

The one agreed-upon thing about this unit, that truly stands out, from a speed-detection countermeasures enthusiasts'/hobbyists' point of view?

 

It integrates display of SpecMode with ExpertMode, in fully rendered bright color, no-less. This display also addresses one of the biggest complaints of the ExpertMeter in that it's been limited by display resolution to 4X/2K/2Ka - this display can show 4 segments of the same band. Ancillary to that is the display of TrueLock'ed signals as gray bars.

 

Whether or not glare-during-operation will be the undoing of this unit, as well as how well the GPS will be implemented, are definitely going to be a determinant as to how well the unit sells, even to the lay public.

 

Whether or not the unit is responsive to Quick-Trigger (historically the undoing of Escort/Bel products of the last half-decade or so), as well as the potential for future integration of advanced features (i.e. band-segmentation) ... and potentially even a "locator" development (given the expiring patent of Valentine Research) - that's what most enthusiasts are looking at.

 

The display is certainly a step forward, in terms of the information it conveys, when it comes to encounters.