Cobra iRadar iRAD-100 Radar Detector for iPhone and iPod touch

The Good:
- Brilliant concept by using the iPhone as a display unit
- Excellent display: speedometer, car voltage, compass.
- Easy to read while driving (I mounted it below my factory GPS unit)
- Easy installation of iRadar app
- Locations of Photo Radar
- Power adapter with iPhone power USB plug in

The Bad:
- Too many false alarms, X & K bands
- Ka alert did not beep until cop was in sight, about 50 yards
- Lack of sunvisor clip
- Black mirror finish scratces very easily


The Ugly:
- Display often resets to iPhone home screen, between 20 minutes to an hour
- Have to reset functions to your liking after display resets to iPhone home screen; city/highway mode, turn on/off multiple bands, auto mute etc.
- Power cord is too short for a cleaner installation.

I have tested the iRadar for 2 road trips in the last 10 days (LA to San Diego and LA to Las Vegas) and both...Read more

Do a little research before you purchase this radar detector. Don't buy this for someone for Christmas. They WILL be disappointed unless the promised app update fixes all of the problems.

I have personally had this unit in my car for well over a month. It worked well for about the first week, maybe two. After that, it was nearly useless. The detector intermittently communicates with the iPhone which disables your visual alerts so that the detector basically becomes a stand-alone radar detector. So, when the detector beeps, it's a guessing game as to what the detector is detecting, unless you can memorize the different beeps. Since there is no users manual included with the unit, you have to guess and then remember the different types of beeps if you want to know what the detector is picking up. From my count, there are at least 8 different types of beeps, probably more.

Just look at Cobra's own website to see the frustrations that customers are having...Read more

I believe this is the first combination of 360 radar detection with visual mapping and controls through an iphone/ipad running an app. The relatively low price plus the visual coordination/control/mapping functions of the app on the iphone/ipod make this an attractive purchase for someone who already owns either an iphone or an ipod. Be aware, however, that some features are ONLY available on the iphone and NOT the ipod. Specifically, location based alerts used for red-light cameras and GPS settings are only available for the iphone. In practical terms, this means you really should use this device with an iphone.

Why not five stars then? Two reasons: 1) The AURA database used for mapping the stoplight cameras, while claiming updates every 12 hours has been found to be in actuality far less often updated than its main competitor, the Escort Defender database and moreover, tends to leave previous sites in the database even after they are no longer active. 2) The actual...Read more