Snooper Syrius, Indago or Garmin Nuvi

dickie10 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 07, 2007 Posts: 3

Hi Everyone

I'm new to this so please forgive my ignorance...

I've been looking for a replacement to my Snooper S6 Neo detector, and have been looking at both Snooper Syrius and Indago. I was a little confused that the Indago costs slightly more than the Syrius - expecially bearing in mind the Syrius has a widescreen over the Indago.

From what i can gather - having trawled the internet, it sounds like the Indago may be slightly better GPS quality as well as better build quality (less plastic). Can anyone corroborate this?

Also, should i be looking at the Garmin Nuvi - is that good for speed cams (don't know much about Cyclops).

I meant to say, i don't actually need sat nav at the moment, as my car has it built in - I'm currently just in need of a camera detector - but with Snoopers being able to be used as detector only, i thought it would be wise to spend the extra - just in case i ever need nav.

All thoughts gratefully received!

Bluepork · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 08, 2007 Posts: 1

I have never bought a gps device before and was also drawn towards the Snooper units. They also have the "Strabo" out now, which is slightly cheaper than the Indago, but I'm not sure why.

Anyway, it seems that Snooper seems to be largely overlooked by people on this site. I'm new to all this... Can anyone tell me why Snooper, and a load of other manufacturers don't seem to get a look in, between the TomToms and Garmins?

nuttynurse · Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 9:35 am Post subject:

I bought a 'Pogo Drive' a while back (a conbination unit like the Snooper Syrius) I wanted a good speed camera detector and thought that having the benefit of navigation for an extra £100. would be worthwhile. It wasn't. If you look under the "Origin Technologies" thread, further down the column at the moment, you will be able to get better idea of the views and experiences of people like "westewoo" and "BBQKing" both pioneers in owning a Pogo Drive and also my comments for returning it. I then though about just having the "Pogo Alert" but this doesn't have the "Mobile Camera's" included in either of the two unit and Origin don't seem prepared to include this omission into any new database updates either. Don't get me wrong, I liked the Pogo Drive. The speed camera alerts were very good on the whole just lacking the mobile sites, and the visual display and tone were also excellent. The navigation side however was at times diabolical and just to basic and bug-some compromise for the extra money it cost. I see the price on the "Drive" appears to be dropping in price.

During my search, I considered buying the "Snooper Syrius" but could not find anyone to commend it apart from one person. I do remember hearing a story about the plastic casing warping in the heat no doubt intensified by the windscreen. Also there was a comment about the reflective chrome casing being a great target for the laser targetting you. Nothing very much on how good or reliable it was, either in use as a detector or navigation unit. Hence I didn't buy it.

I have now decided to buy a dedicated unit rather than a combinational one as the best of both worlds don't seem to be yet combined in one combination unit. Currently I am considering the "Talex Lite" as this get high praises and can be got for under £80.. Don't consider the MicroGo, it useless.

If you are set on a Sat Nav with a speed camera database, consider installing the PocketWorld database on a Nuvi or TT device, this gives you much greater flexibility both in the sat nav unit you buy and the part you can play in helping to keep its database up to date. Also the database is only £19 per annum.

Darren · Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:08 am Post subject:

We haven't reviewed them because they won't supply us with review samples. I have had the opportunity to try an Syrius and it was very poor. The navigation software lacked features that have become standard long ago.

My advice, get a decent navigation system that supports safety camera warnings such as TomTom, Garmin and Navman. Then try their official camera offering or subscribe to ours. Many here will vouch for the quality of ours in comparison.
_________________
Darren Griffin

dickie10 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 07, 2007 Posts: 3

Hi Darren

Thanks for your comments. I have briefly looked at the Garmin Nuvi 660 - which has been mentioned on this site before i think.

The only downside for me (I think) is that it only seems to have the option of being mounted to the windscreen via the typical 'suction cup' method. Currently, my Snooper S6 is neatly mounted via a 'slot' attachment on the back sliding down onto a clip fixed to a brodit bracket on my air vent.

Do you know of any such availability for a Nuvi?

Br.

Darren · Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:09 am Post subject:

IIRC Brodit have solutions for the Nuvi. Personally in that bracket I'd choose a TomTom but many like the Garmin's. For me their UI is too simplistic.
_________________
Darren Griffin

nick_j007 · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:56 pm Post subject:

So to summarise, would it be fair to say that a Garmin i3 with the full database from here would be as good as these pogo units or the Syrius unit?

Thanks,

Nick

trancer · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 24, 2005 Posts: 26

Found this thread during a search and thought I would resurrect it in the hopes that there have since been new users of these units that could shed some more light. Snooper also have the Strabo out now, but all their offering seem to do the same thing with only marginal differences in form factor etc.

I am currently running a Fujitsu Loox PDA with TT, but after a few issues with it not communicating with its own in-built GPS (eh?) and the fact that the battery goes flat far too quickly when not used for a few days I would like to upgrade.

I have tried the Speedcamera database before, but found it missed a temporary roadworks camera while a dedicated Snooper camera detector picked it up. Also the Smart-mute, Auto Ranging and directional features are quite desireable which I don't think the POI database can offer...or maybe it can and I don't know how to enable it?.

Any other combined units that I should be looking at?. The Road Angel Navigator seems to get slated so I am not sure I should consider them.

Thanks

ChopperHarris · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 24, 2007 Posts: 2

trancer · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 24, 2005 Posts: 26

Thanks for the reply, Stu, look forward to the full write up and further experince with it.

I know of a few online places that allow full money back etc, but nothing beats actually picking up a functional one and having a play just to see how I get on with it before going through the process of buying then having to return etc.

I tried Halfords today as they usually have some up and running but they will no longer be carrying any camera detectors as they claim they will become illegal next year (were taking apart their display stand) and didn't have one in stock for me to try. A couple other local retailers listed on the Snooper site didn't have working demo models and weren't interested in opening a brand new one just so I can try it.

When you consider that Satnav and Speed camera units can vary so widely when it comes down to user interface and user preference it is a shame that more retailers aren't willing to have working models for potential purchases to try out.

Its a bit like buying shoes based on what someone else thinks of them rather than how they actually fit on your own feet.

Darren · Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 3:41 pm Post subject:

dickie10 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 07, 2007 Posts: 3

I agree about Halfords. They know about as much about sat nav and speed cam detectors as i do about fly fishing (not much by the way).

I bought a Garmin Nuvi back in July and downloaded the 3 month free trial of their cyclops speed cam detection software. The sat nav is fantastic (the unit even gets a satellite signal in my house). The cam detection software is ok - all fixed units are recorded, but it has an annoying habit of continually bleeping near mobile cam hot spots (i probably shouldnt moan).

I'm going to try uninstalling cyclops and install pocket gps. My friend has that on his tt and swears by it.

	PocketGPS
	Web