Pogo-Drive Review

The Pogo Drive is a small neat unit which appears to make every effort to keep you driving safely on today's roads. Like Road Angel, the emphasis is on keeping up to date with speed camera locations and getting alerts to stop you dashing through them at a pace that will eventually lose you your licence.

Pogo Drive benefits from the award winning Origin360 speed camera database which is pre-loaded onto your unit when you buy it. This database is the most comprehensive that the UK has to offer, and after the initial 6 month free period an annual charge of £50 applies for updates.

The great thing about a unit that has this much dedication to safety cameras is that the alerts are clear, up to date and reliable. A directional feature also ensures you will not be constantly warned about cameras that do not affect you - for example on the opposite carriageway. And it is not just speed cameras, but traffic hotspots such as schools (during weekdays) and congestion charging cameras.

Thousands of points of interest (POIs) are included and your choice of route can be optimized for your speed of car, or even your speed as a pedestrian. It will also take into consideration your choice of fastest or shortest route.

The display is a high quality 3.5 inch TFT colour touchscreen and shows detailed maps of UK and Ireland with the major European roads included. Maps are viewed in 2D or 3D and clear turn by turn instructions are given over the dual full range speakers.

Pogo Drive is positively plug and play ready straight from the box - the simplicity means one can use it from car to car with ease. It comes with a 12V cigarette lighter style power adapter and weighs less than 190 grams. Dimensions are 105 mm wide, 78 mm high and only 20 mm deep.

This unit does not include Bluetooth connectivity for hands free calling on your mobile phone, nor does it include an MP3 player or picture viewer. All of these features are obviously not as important to the manufacturers as speed and safety, but it is surprising that TMC (Traffic Message Channel) is not included. For all the emphasis on traffic blackspots and camera alerts, it would seem a natural addition to have congestion alerts, accident reports and weather issues included as well.

On balance, with the emphasis so strongly on speed and safety cameras, it would seem that other areas have been glossed over or forgotten completely. It is £50 more expensive than the Road Angel Navigator 7000 which at least has the Bluetooth and the MP3 player but still with the emphasis on speed alerts, and for a paltry £10 more you can get the Mio 520t which has everything including a bigger viewing screen. £250 might be a fair price to pay if you are on the verge of losing your driver's licence, otherwise just slow down a bit and get a Mio.