12:09 pm, November 29, 2008
THIS little Pogo product is bound to make you jump! The speed camera locator emits such an ear-piercing warning as you approach cameras that you can’t fail to miss it.
From the makers of the Origin b2 – a former Auto Express product test winner – the new Pogo range offers a compact alternative to often-bulky rivals. The Alert is only slightly bigger than a ring box and packs in a host of impressive features.
Most important of the lot is the speed camera-locating GPS technology that uses satellite positioning and a comprehensive database of traps to keep your licence clean. The Alert flashes up a display of the type of camera you’re approaching and an audible beep as you near the location.
It warns of Gatso, Watchman, Specs, Truvelo, Speed Curb, as well as known locations of likely speed camera vans and accident black spots.
Included in the price is a six-month free subscription to Origin’s database – which the firm says is updated around three times a week – but after that it costs £50 a year. Updates are made via a computer, but unfortunately it’s not Mac compatible.
We did find the 1.8-inch TFT colour screen a little dull, especially in sunlight, and it was often hard to read information when driving. On our test route, which incorporated a number of different types of camera it spotted all of the traps and warned us of possible speed camera van locations.
However, on a couple of occasions the alerts were a little slow. Our only other complaint would be the menu system can be a little fiddly to navigate through.
The Pogo Alert does warn of congestion charge areas though, and we like the fact it can tell you when you’re approaching a school, plus this is time sensitive, so it doesn’t go off at night. We found it easy to mount and the compact size makes it very portable.
Price: £250
Contact: 020 7381 3000, www.pogogps.com
