Snooper S280 Sapphire Plus Review

If you could sum up the Snooper S280 Sapphire Plus in one word it would be "Tiny" with lots of exclamation marks. It is marketed as a 3 in 1 device; Satellite Navigation, Speed Camera Alerts, and Golf Shot Saver. The problem with multi-function devices is always that one aspect is included at the expense of another - never in life do we get everything we desire, there is always some price to pay.

The Snooper S280 Sapphire Plus is obviously intended for portable use and is only 90 mm high, 55 mm wide and a scant 16 mm thick and weighs only 124 grams, but the screen is equally small at 2.7 inches. This makes it easy to carry but not so easy to view. Although the map display is clear, you need to bring it in quite close to see it properly. The speaker is correspondingly small and so the audible warnings are rather quiet and tinny.

As with other Snooper models on the road, the emphasis is on speed camera detection and warnings. The range of cameras, both fixed and mobile, that the unit can advise you of is very impressive - when the unit picks up an alert it relays both the camera type, the distance to get there and the speed limit it is currently checking for. As with the Syrius models, the alert system is very logical and will ignore cameras that you are not speeding towards or are on the other side of the road.

Once you have arrived at you golfing destination, the Snooper S280 Sapphire Plus uses the latest GPS technology to calculate distance to bunkers, lakes and other hazards. It will also give you individual distances to different areas of the green so you can pick the correct club for the shot. It appears that the PGA recently made a landmark ruling that GPS rangefinders are legal in competitive play, but hang on - what happened to sportsmanship?

It seems to be an odd compromise to have a unit with three functions, one or two of which are always obsolete in any given moment. It would be hard to believe that speed camera alerts were necessary on a golf course unless you drive like a maniac in a golf cart.

The S280 version price includes a lifetime subscription to the speed camera updates, which alone is worth £100, and access to information about 2000 golf courses across UK and Ireland.

As a sat nav the unit does a fine enough job (if you can navigate on the small screen and see the results). The technology includes built-in SiRF III GPS antenna, 2D and 3D map views, a route planner and maps of UK and Ireland pre-loaded. In addition, the unit boasts an MP3 player and MP4 player, so if in the end it does not improve your golf game, you can still enjoy a few tunes as you hang out at the 19th hole.