Garmin 010-02504-00 Dash Cam Mini 2, Tiny Size, 1080p and 140-degree FOV, Monitor Your Vehicle While Away w/ New Connected Features, Voice Control, Black

Just installed it in my car, played around with the app a little bit, and so far so good! One thing that surprised me is just how small it is!! I read reviews of people complimenting the size and discreetness but I didn’t realize HOW small it was until I opened the box and was pleasantly surprised. It mounts well and is pretty well hidden behind my rear view mirror. I have just enough space to hit the save/mic button if needed or I could use the voice commands. I checked from outside and it is difficult to see it especially because it blends in well with the black mirror backing and also the sun glare on the windshield. I agree with another reviewer who said it’s hard to see unless you’re looking for it.As for wire management, I had to snake the long wire around the side of my windshield using those tiny Command hooks but I had a bunch on hand because I recently hung up some fairy lights using them as well. They’re clear so they don’t stick out too much, and the wire is able to hide snuggly along the window like in my pictures. I ended up routing it all the way to underneath my glove compartment and stuck all the excess wiring between the passenger seat and the middle console.In terms of functionality, I’ve only tested it a little so far but it starts recording about 5-6 seconds after I turn on the car, and stops right when I turn off the car. I tried the “ok Garmin” voice commands to turn on/off audio recording, and also take a picture. In the live view on the app the video isn’t as high quality, but I read on other reviews once you save video it uploads to correct quality. Also the picture I took via voice command showed up crystal clear in the app when I viewed it. Could perfectly read my mom’s license plate that was sitting in the garage in front/diagonal left of me. I imagine it would be as good on the road to take a quick pic.Also the beeps it makes are very subtle and satisfying to know that it recognized something. It beeps to turn on/off, also when you say “ok Garmin” and then once again after the command following. I could see it getting annoying if you use it a lot but for me it’s very comforting to know that it heard 1) me calling it and 2) what I wanted it to do.I’ve read people complaining about the app and while it’s a little slow, it’s not that bad. Like another review said, give the camera a minute to connect to your phone when you’re pairing it. I haven’t tested video download/upload speeds yet but I don’t think it’ll be that hindering, even if it is slow, because the only case you’d want to download videos is when something happens. By then you just gotta be patient, the whole process of an accident is going to be stressful and video download speed is not the top of the worry list I’m sure.

Use case. Bought this device for our daughter's car, so she has evidence of road events and can defend herself against scoff laws trying to pin fault on her. More and more nowadays, ppl run lights, are aggressive and lack civility on the road. Then they try to blame others.Wants: small form factor, no display on device, multiple means to access files and playback. Reasonably priced.Needs: Hardware and software reliability. Automatic impact event recording with storage in protected memory. No paid subscription.Positive surprise: Saved files are stored both on the Garmin cloud (they call this feature "Vault") and on my phone's storage. The Vault is limited to 24 hours for their free service. This is plenty adequate. Saved files on my phone can be kept as long as I want.Negative surprise. The housing was warm to touch. Too warm in my opinion. Not sure why it is so warm, but this will shorten the life of the components. Upload latency takes too long on wifi (wifi 6, 450mbps bandwidth) when parked at home, well within range of our strong wifi signal, the app seemed to.take many minutes to connect and upload files.Initial impression.after one day .Order delivery was exceptional. We ordered the part around 2pm. It was delivered to our porch about 5 hours later. Nice.Box came with the camera, power cable, 12V DC plug with 2 sockets. Cable is 4 meters long. This is adequate for most passenger cars. Also, they include a data cable to attach device to a PC and a spare mounting bracket .I bought a 128GB microSD class 10 chip which is easily formatted on the device. The Garmin app, "Drive" downloads from Google Play (used an Android S23). Didn't try to pair with an Apple phone, yet.You can save 30 second clips in two ways. One, press the save button on the device. Two, say, "OK Garmin, save video". The device confirms the command with an audible chime. I understand the device will also automatically save a file in the event of an impact. This is essential as you cannot assume you can issue a command or be able to press a button if struck by another vehicle. I didn't test this feature, obviously.Overall, I'm pleased. Garmin has clearly thought this through, and have executed pretty well. The only negatives so far are the excess heat and wifi file upload latency.Will follow up in a few months after we've have some more time to really judge.