The Nextbase 622GW is a dash cam with life saving smarts

Aside from capturing footage for the next edition of Crash, Bang, Wallop! What a Video!, dash cams are, to all intents and purposes, pretty boring gadgets, but the Nextbase 622GW (£249) does something other dash cams don’t and it could be enough to save lives. It’s the world’s first to offer​ what3words​ and SOS alert capabilities, meaning it will call the emergency services for you, providing a precise location if you’ve suffered a serious accident and are incapacitated. What’s more, if you’ve really stacked it in dramatic fashion, the 622GW has 4K video recording at 30fps and image stabilisation to ensure the footage is usable even if you’ve been bumped around. A generous 3in touchscreen gives you more display real estate than most rivals and you also get Amazon Alexa, night vision and intelligenent parking assistance integration too. Dash cam sales have reportedly increased by massive 850% in just four years – we can’t decide whether they encourage motorists to hoon it about and watch back their antics (there’s super slow-mo at 120fps) or they’ll eventually make everyone drive like a saint so they don’t get caught on camera. Either way, if you’re on the right side of the law you’ve got nothing to worry about, and the Nextbase 622GW might just be the difference between you being able to prove it and staying alive to tell the tale. It’s on sale now from Halfords or Nextbase direct.

James Day

About

You’ll find me covering every area of consumer electronics and technology alongside new and inventive ways to campaign for the return of the MiniDisc. A borderline audiophile, I DJ digitally to a mildly acceptable standard at weekends and tend to surround myself with smart home tech at all other times. In short, I’m hackable and likely to be wearing headphones and distracted while it’s happening.

Areas of expertise

Consumer electronics, audio kit, smart home devices and fondly remembered forms of removable media