Initial impressions

SgtRemo

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Bought at best buy @$129. From the parking lot, unboxed it, followed the picture quick guide to install it, used the Garmin drive app to connect to it (yes you must create a Garmin account). I used this app to view the live feed so I could position it well on the windshield & stuck it on (seems quite sturdy and yes cleaned the windshield spot for maximum bondage.) and then routed power. I had no issues on the Garmin Drive app, which I was a bit worried about since that seems to be the most complaints. My iOS 11 pro connected to the cam via the Garmin drive app via Bluetooth/Wifi just fine, each and every time.

I played around in the app and downloaded a couple parking lot videos to my phone just to see how it worked, and yes, you wouldn't want to download a very large 10+ minute plus video as it would take quite a while, but a few shorts one here and there wasn't too bad. I liked the trim feature and I found the app easy to use. I also updated the firmware via the app while sitting in the car, took less than 2 minutes. I don't plan to use the parking feature, so I disabled it. The "Vault" feature requires wifi at your house or office for it so I don't really see that coming into play since mine shuts off when the car shuts off which is just fine for me. Audio works just fine and the two buttons on the cam are all I would need. An audio mute toggle button (led indicates on/off) and a "Save Event" button to mark that this video should be save and not written over. So if you're driving and you see some shizzzz go down, you can just reach and press this button to mark it saved if you'd like. This cam boots up fast (less than 7 seconds) and shuts down faster (capacitor, no battery).

Not a lot of options to tweak, and the 1080p@30fps is about what you would expect. The footprint is quite small, & no GPS on it. Install took 20 minutes and then I was off to the races and it's the first dash cam I've ever touched. I may try out the Garmin 57 with the marginally improved 1440p@30fps and move the mini to the rear. I know my wife would like the simplicity and size of this dash cam in her car. I'm also tempted to to take a chance on the Viofo A129 dual pro for some 4k love, however, wow those amazon reviews (especially the most recent one) are pretty negative on the reliability of it.
 
Yep- it's a very very small and very simple cam, and the app is OK but can be clunky to open; I had to fet a security code from my email after trying to sign in to my account in order to proceed. No other cam makes you do this and it's a PITA since my phone is also my internet hotspot and I use my laptop for email. Going to install shortly and will do some side-by-side vids with the 57 and a review either tomorrow or the next day. Hoping it doesn't have the overheting while using parking mode it's predecessor did, but will find that out this weekend too.

Phil
 
yeah 2 factor authentication is becoming more common these days, once I entered my code my Drive app opens all the time without needing to do it each time. Maybe a first time setup thing?

Heard about the overheating on the first gen mini. I saw another guy mention putting a little mini heat sink on the back for additional cooling. Something like this. https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07D4DY2MZ
 
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