Cheetah GPSmirror
The GPSmirror is a rather cool bit of kit it comes preloaded with locations of enforcement cameras and it warns you with a voice and visual reminder whenever you are approaching a camera. You can keep the GPSmirror's memory up to date by downloading new camera locations from the Trinity database on speedcheetah.com.
You can also add 100 of your own personal locations. For a limited period, they tell me all new customers will receive free camera updates for life as well.
I have been testing the GPSmirror now for a good few weeks and I think its great bit of kit. Ignoring the GPS part for a moment, the rear view mirror is just great, a super wide-angle view is given from the Cheetah GPSmirror with its NIGHTblue Anti-Glare finish giving a good clear view. You will wonder why car manufactures don't use this type of mirror with the view it offers.
Fitting is easy. It clips on to your existing mirror with two fixed and two spring loaded brackets and once on, it is going nowhere. The power is fed by a cable that was long enough to go from the original mirror along the roof, down the side pillar, along the floor by the door, under the seat and into the rear power socket.. Fantastic I could still use the front socket.
Powering up is easy, a simple on off switch is on the top of the GPSmirror next to the power inlet. It then goes through a self test and then starts to acquire satellites. Once its locked on you get a voice announcement to say its ready. There is an option for a remote antenna should you need it. I did not need one. We even tested it on a on an athermic screen and the SiRF star III chipset, which is very sensitive, managed to lock on.
On the top of the GPSmirror is the power button, remote antenna and USB socket for the updates. You get everything you need is in the box for downloads, cable and CD ROM. The downloads are very straight forward.
On the underside are four buttons and one volume control. It does not take too long to get used to the position of the buttons. They control the Menu, displaying the time, driving direction/rescue me and also the city mute. Keep the instructions handy for a while to make life easy. Once the GPSmirror is set though, you'll tend not to adjust anything after that apart from the volume from time to time.
On the mirror face your see the screen, its a bit like a two way mirror. It shows you the digital compass, Digital Speed/distance display and external alerts section.
Warnings are great, they are given in plenty of time by a good clear voice. You get a voice warning with speed limit advisory and a countdown. Your speed is shown on the display as well.
You can set an overspeed alert if you wish, to warn you that you have gone over your chosen speed.
Overall this is a great bit of kit for £150 and offers a refreshing change from the usual stick on your windscreen stuff that's easy to see and steal. I say that as I had my car broken into and they never even saw the GPSmirror to steal!!
I have listed the features below It can be integrated to other equipment to make a complete system as well. It's worth noting Cheetah do this on most of their equipment and it allows you to construct quite a powerful system of GPS warnings, Radar detection and Laser jamming.
Manufacture Feature list