But be warned, the beam2 is large and lacks a drivers viewscreen.
This leaves the app as the only way to control the camera and view its clips.
Its may be big but the Nexar Beam2 does a lot with its eye on the road.
Other models offer up to 256GB of storage and include rear-facing cameras that top out at $300.
In other words, pick carefully.
Still, its hard to argue with the devices video quality, which was generally pinpoint sharp.
This lets you see all the action while also allowing for a wide variety of camera configuration changes.
The beam2s built-in 4G radio taps into LTE data networks and made the connection automatically during set up.
It communicates with the phone app via Wi-Fi.
Despite that boosted connectivity the beam2 still lacks safety features like lane departure alerts speed camera warnings.
The dashcams 540 milliamp hour internal battery keeps the bump alert active and ready to record.
That said you’re free to still use an off-the-shelf cigarette lighter adapter if you prefer.
The Nexar beam2s warranty lasts for a year.
It does without a formal DIY section but the Community can answer most questions.
Inside you’ll find a hardwired OBD power connector, small 5-volt transformer box and 11-feet of power cabling.
It works with a cigarette lighter adapter as well.
The best part is the included plastic tool for pressing wires into dashboard crevices.
Its a welcome upgrade from my worn out tongue depressor.
I installed it, picked my hardware and created an account.
I connected my phone to the camera via Wi-Fi.
After a moment, it was streaming video and showing my location on a map.
Total setup time: 7 minutes.
A small icon on the right shows its Live and connected.
Tap it to wake the camera up and start streaming its video.
It took about a minute to connect.
It quickly responded to me bumping the car.
In addition to whats going on at the moment, I was able to review older clips.
The More tab has lots of options, like emergency contacts for streaming video to after an accident.
Theres a direct link to the companys support crew in case you have a problem.
Theres a place to delete all saved videos after closing an account.
The Support section has a slew of articles about how to get the most out of the dashcam.
There was minimal barrel distortion and the field of view covered the entire windshield.
It also does without HDR video enhancements, but the beam2s clips had a true-to-life neutral feel to it.
