Pogo Drive Review

Overall Rating

Accurate safety warning mode.
Attractive.
Easy to use.
Software updates via PC are easy.

Manual could be more in-depth. £50 yearly subs for camera updates are a bit steep.

I wanted a device to advise me of upcoming speed cameras. Now I know nothing about GPS systems and this is my first. I found out about Pogo on the internet, and after reading about how good they are regarding speed camera alerts, I purchased a Pogo Drive. I have only had the unit a few days however, I am very happy with it. The feature I love about this unit is its 'Safety Warning Only' mode... This means you don't have to have a destination programmed in etc... It simply alerts you to speed cameras and other warnings. Like everyone, my mind wonders whilst driving, and sometimes I don't remember going through a camera. A feature I like about the Pogo Drive is when you approach a camera, it emits 2 loud (and it is very loud... can be heard over loud music) beeps. If you are going over the limit, it will then flash red and beep, with the beeps getting more frequent as you get nearer to the camera (like a sonar). The 'Safety Warning' mode (which is also active when navigating, just in pop-up mode, is very good and accurate. Its a shame that for the money you spend on the unit you don't get free subscriptions for life, or even at a more 'resonable' rate like '£29.99 (as most others are). Still, you are paying for very accurate info which could save you a speeding ticket. However, the Pogo Drive cannot detect radar or laser... Just fixed cameras which are in the database. Apparently, mobile camera hotspots are going to be added to the database very soon. For me, the navigation section is more of a bonus as I still prefer to plan a route with a map. This section is still good. Easy to use and easy to plan a journey. I have only used it once at the moment. I found it a little tricky to set the home point. But it is set now. Also, it appears you can only add a favourite position when you are actually physically there. You only get one voice (a woman) for the sat nav (and the safety warning mode) but this isn't really a big deal. The one thing I was dissapointed with was the manual. When I unpacked my unit, there was a sticker on the screen saying to charge the unit before use. However, there is no mention at all about how long to charge it for, how long it will take etc. Even for normal charging, it dosen't say. And when you do decide to just go for it and stick it on charge, it switches itself on. I didn't know if it should stay on to charge or turn off. I had to email the online shop I purcahsed it off for help... Which is, for the first charge, you should give it a good 10-12 hours. After that, a normal charge should take about an hour. You can charge it on or off apparently. Whilst on the subject of the battery, you don't appear to be able to see how much battery life you have left... Under 'System Settings' (or whatever its called), it will simply say 'charging' if it is charging or just show a picture of a battery if its not. Mine is still charging every time I use it (and every time i've used it has been plugged into the car... And it had 12 hours before first use.) Back to the manual, for someone like me who is new to GPS systems, I found it a little tricky to follow as it is not all step-by-step. There is a lot of 'what it can do' but not telling you 'how' to do it. You have to play around with it and use common sense on some of the menus. Overall, I like it. I would recommend it to anyone who wants an accurate safety warning device with Sat Nav. If you just want it for navigation, I would look at something else. But like me, if you do find yourself sometimes thinking "I hope I went through that camera at the right speed!", then I recommend this. Look around to... Some good deals around where carry case and a charger is chucked in for free.