Cobra irad 230 for free#
Cobra irad 230 upgrade#
Cobra irad 230 android#
Cobra irad 230 free#

This was vital, since most of the Cobra's functions are controlled by the free smartphone app. There's a handy pass-through USB port on the power cord so you can keep your phone juiced as well. Be careful where you mount it-though most radar detectors are perfectly legal, you can be dinged for 'obstructing vision.' A detachable power cord plugs into your 12V cigarette lighter port. The $100 unit, a 5.5-ounce plastic box about the size of a pack of Marlboros, attaches to the windshield with a pair of bra-shaped suction cups. To test iRad, I plotted a circuit north out of San Francisco and through Napa Valley, on roads known to be littered with radar detection equipment and red light cameras. It's like Siri for giving Smokey the slip. But if you use a detector that pairs with your smartphone like Cobra's iRad 230, you get a host of fringe benefits too: crowdsourced speed trap warnings, live maps with traffic info, and a more refined experience overall. Sure, use one and you'll be better equipped to avoid any number of very expensive moving violation tickets. The Cobra iRadar 230 gets our seal of approval.I've recently learned that mounting a radar detector in your car isn't just about fooling the fuzz. Plus, at only $100, you only need to prevent one speeding ticket to make it worth the purchase.

Once you pair the unit to a smartphone, it's a great addition to your arsenal on the road. So what's the verdict? This is a great radar detector for the money even as a stand-alone unit.

Cobra irad 230 android#

PROS: The Cobra iRadar works with or without an Android or iOS smartphone - the car charger has a USB port to charge a smartphone - the app is free and works well - the iRadar 230 does a great job for the money.ĬONS: There are false positives, especially in a city setting.

Cobra irad 230 for free#

The apps can be downloaded for free here for Android and here for iOS. Power Cord (works with your car's power plug/cigarette lighter).One nice bonus for the unit is that it includes a USB port on the charger so you can charge your smartphone along with the radar detector. Then feel bad about yourself for blaming the golden generation for your problems.

Again, it's not perfect, but that's not the fault of the radar detector - blame your local Wal-Mart for making it easy for older people to enter their stores. Usually the false alerts come from automatic doors, and the city setting tries to weed those out as best as possible. The highway/city mode (accessible through the app) helps get rid of those false positives as well. When you crowd source red-light cameras and speed traps, you can supplement the radar detector's built-in controls and boost your chances of being made aware of the radar gun before it's aware of your excessive speed. And if other things like automatic door systems at grocery stores are using radar, they'll detect it. If a cop doesn't have his radar gun on, a radar detector can't detect it (it sounds simple, but some people don't get this). At a $99 retail price, it includes a fair amount of bonus features for the cost, especially if you're pairing it with a smartphone.Ĭaveat: if you're new to radar detectors, the first thing to know is that radar detectors aren't perfect. The app also comes with Google maps, music control, a traffic map, and more. And when you run into a speed trap or red light camera, you can upload it to the cloud and share it with other iRadar users. Once paired, the unit uses both the radar detector unit itself, and an online database with real-time speed trap and red light camera notifications.

Cobra irad 230 upgrade#

The iRadar 230 is the upgrade to the iRadar 200, and comes with built-in bluetooth to pair up with an Android or iOS smartphone app. If our review was based solely on that situation, the iRadar 230 would have our seal of approval, but let's dig in a little deeper. The cops had him pulled over, and I felt a strange sense of satisfaction. Three-quarters of a mile down the road I waved at him as I passed by.

Instead of speeding up like I had planned, I moved into the other lane and saw the tail-rider fly past me. Last weekend I decided to go a different route, and when one of those tail-riders approached my bumper I was ready to hit the gas hard when the Cobra iRadar 230 that I was testing on my dashboard started beeping. Have you ever been driving down the highway, minding your own business, when someone comes and rides your tail? My typical move in this situation is to slow down, since it's a safe move and will really upset the tailgater. Let me start this review off with a story.