Something on the Side: Garmin’s extra eye on the road

In this week’s Something on the Side, SEAN BACHER highlights Garmin’s Dash Cam, the iSpy Wi-Fi Tank, Transcend’s JetDrive 500 SSD, the Phillips HTL9100 soundbar and the Huawei E5730 Mobile Wi-Fi.

Garmin Dash Cam

The Garmin Dash Cam is a high-definition camera that mounts to a vehicle’s windscreen to continuously record a 120 degree wide-angle view of the road while driving. Once the Dash Cam is installed, the camera remains fully automated and it will start recording when the engine is turned on and stop when it is turned off. The Dash Cam records a drive in full HD 1080p, with incident detection that saves footage of collisions and incidents automatically. The camera can be removed from a car and allows a user to use the Snapshot feature to take still images. The Garmin Dash Cam is available in two models – Dash Cam 10 and Dash Cam 20, which includes a GPS.

Stockists: Electronic retail outlets nationwide.

Expect to pay: The Dash Cam 10 retails for R2 599 and Dash Cam 20 retails for R2 999

iSpy Wi-Fi Tank

The iSpy Wi-Fi Tank is operated via the gyroscopes in an iPad or iPhone. The tank has a built-in microphone and camera and streams video footage to the phone. The camera can be put into night-time mode and is able to take infra-red photos, which can be saved to the phone’s memory. The iSpy Wi-Fi Tank has a range of up to 60 meters and, because of it streaming video to a phone, can even be driven around walls. The tank is powered by 6AA batteries.

Stockists: www.have2have.co.za

Expect to pay: R1 335

Transcend JetDrive 500 SSD

The MacBook Air range of notebooks has gained huge popularity among users who are looking for a notebook that offers power and portability in one bundle. Although the MacBook offers this, it has always had one shortfall – a lack of hard drive space. Transcend’s new JetDrive SSD addresses this problem by giving users the ability to upgrade the hard drive space either by replacing the SSD chip in the notebook or by connecting to the computer as a secondary hard drive. The kit comes with step-by-step instructions on how to migrate data from one drive to the other and also offers instructions on how to install the drive. Overall, a very simple upgrade that can be done in a matter of minutes. The drive is available in capacities of 240GB, 480GB and 960GB.

Stockists: za.transcend-info.com

Expect to pay: R2 800 for 240GB, R5 100 for 480GB and R9 000 for the 960GB.

Phillips HTL9100 soundbar

The Phillips HTL9100 soundbar offers virtual surround sound with the use of detachable wireless speakers. In addition to connecting to a TV, the device has a HDMI input and offers Bluetooth and NFC connectivity. The soundbar uses EasyLink, which lets users control all connected devices with one remote.

Stockists: Dion Wired stores nationwide.

Expect to pay: R9 999

Huawei E5730 Mobile Wi-Fi

The Huawei E5730 Mobile Wi-Fi modem with a power bank is able to connect up to 10 devices to the Internet. The modem sports a 5 200 mAh battery which, when fully charged, will provide up to 16 hours of working time and a massive 500 hours when in standby. The modem also acts as a charger for smartphones and tablets, thanks to the USB output.

Stockists: Contact Drive Control Corporation on 011 201 8927 for a distributor in your area.

Expect to pay: R1 300

* Sean Bacher is editor of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter on @SeanBacher