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Nexar Beam2 mini Dash Cam: two-minute review
I tried the original Nexar Beam dash cam around three years ago, but I seem to recall that it did everything I wanted it to do at the time. Things have moved on since then, though, and for the Beam2 mini Nexar has tweaked the design and features in a bid to stay up there with the best dash cams.
In fact, none of the latest crop of Beam models bear much resemblance to the original incarnation. The Nexar Beam2 Mini is my pick of these products – there are also Beam2 (road only) and Beam2 road and cabin model variants, plus an optional rear view camera.
The others are chunkier, and might suit folks with space on their windshields and the willingness to spend more for a beefier array of features. The Nexar Beam2 mini is right up my street though, especially when I need to fix it to the small screen of my sports car. I’m looking for compact, which was a key part of the appeal with the first edition.
However, the Nexar Beam2 mini isn’t quite as dinky as I’d anticipated, at 6.86 x 6.49 x 3.83 inches / 17.4 x 16.5 x 9.7cm. It feels quite hefty too, weighing in at 1.74lbs / 0.8kg, but that’s no bad thing, as it helps make the package feel like a quality purchase. Perhaps some of the additional weight comes from the internal storage, as there’s no microSD media card slot available on this model.
This model features a landscape-oriented body design, with a 160-degree field of view lens that can be swiveled to get the view of the road suited to any type of vehicle. It attaches to the windshield in standard fashion, using a self-adhesive pad that sticks the base of the camera unit to the glass.
The Nexar Beam2 mini is available with 4G LTE connectivity, which means that it can deliver ‘always on’ performance including remote video live streaming. There’s 1080p resolution and internal storage of up to 256GB, though as mentioned there’s no external microSD storage. It features GPS tracking, a parking mode with real-time alerts plus 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and comes with an ODBII pass through connector cable, rather than a 12V plug for power.
Nexar offers the Beam2 mini with three different storage options: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, which offer recording storage times of 30 hours, 62 hours and 130 hours respectively. The internal storage can work harmoniously with Nexar’s unlimited cloud storage option, plus there’s the option to invest in an ongoing LTE Protection Plan that boosts this model’s appeal for just $9.99 (about £8) per month.
Due to its core ‘always on’ functionality, the Nexar Beam2 mini is ideally suited to folks who want to be sure they can keep tabs on their vehicle from anywhere, and at any time. The Nexar app helps here, enabling you to check in on your vehicle, as long as connectivity is retained. There are quirks, though, such as the need for a permanent connection, which can present power implications and add extra hassle during setup.
Performance is solid enough, and the features and functions do what they’re supposed to do. Nexar has tried to make purchasing the Beam2 mini as easy as possible too, with an array of plans to suit all budgets. There are cheap and cheerful models out there though, that offer greater plug-and-play simplicity, which might make the Nexar Beam2 mini seem a little too quirky for some needs.
Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam: price and availability
- Price starts at $149.95 / £113
- There are three storage capacity variants: 64GB, 128GB and 256GB
The Nexar Beam2 mini is available in three storage variants. The base-level edition currently costs $149.95 / £113 (down from $199.95) and features 64GB of capacity. The 128GB model is $169.95 / £128, while the range tops out in terms of storage at 256GB, which costs $199.95 / £151.
An optional LTE Protection Plan is also available, and costs $9.99 per month or $71.90 annually, which at the time of writing represents a 40% discount. The latter delivers live streaming capability, unlimited cloud storage, a 24/7 Live Parking mode, real-time GPS tracking, and real-time emergency alerts too.
Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam: specs
|
Video |
Front 1080p FHD |
|
Field of view (FOV) |
135 degrees front |
|
Storage |
Internal 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, Cloud |
|
GPS |
Yes |
|
Parking mode |
Yes, with constant ODBII power cable |
|
App support |
Nexar app |
|
Dimensions |
6.86 x 6.49 x 3.83 inches / 17.4 x 16.5 x 9.7cm |
|
Weight |
1.74lbs / 0.8kg |
|
Battery |
Yes |
Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam: Design
Anyone who needs something fairly compact will find the design of the Nexar Beam2 mini one of its most appealing aspects. This is a landscape-oriented box of tricks, with very little on its exterior to either fiddle with or go wrong. The design might not work for everyone, though, firstly because there’s no rear screen, so everything has to be done via the Nexar app. Second, until you have the app installed it’s quite tricky to get the angle of the lens correct.
The lens itself is housed in the front of the unit, and can be swiveled up or down, depending on the angle of the windshield in your vehicle. The power cable port is up on top of the unit though, which means it’s easy to get this out of the way during installation. The dash cam can be fitted to the windshield in the usual way, either using an anti-static film sheet first and sticking the adhesive mount to that, or directly to the glass itself. There’s no suction-cup arrangement though, and no removable option in the mount design either. Again, not for everyone.
There’s a small blue/green indicator light that flashes during setup and stays on when the camera is doing its thing. Power to the unit comes from a supplied ODBII connector setup, which is why this model is good if an ‘always on’ setup is required. However, the Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam will also work if it’s plugged in via a sufficiently high-powered USB port, which widens its appeal somewhat, especially if a user doesn’t require constant surveillance. Don’t bother looking for a card slot though, because there isn’t one. My review unit came with a 64GB internal storage drive instead.
Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam: Performance
I have to admit that initial setup and installation wasn’t as seamless as I’d hoped for. Sure, the power cable procedure is simple enough, just as long as you know where your ODBII connector is under the dash – these can be quite tricky to find in some vehicles. The Beam2 mini can be powered by a cable running into the 12V socket if preferred, although this isn’t supplied with the package, which only contains a ODBII adapter. Hard-wiring it is also an option, but you’ll need to pay for this additional accessory.
The main problem I had was connecting and verifying the app. Downloading it was easy enough, but the country code listings for inputting my number weren’t listed alphabetically. I then twigged Nexars lists by country codes on the right-hand side of the menu. Even then, with my country code and phone number entered, I couldn’t get a verification text to come through. Curiously, right after I’d tried this, I also got a couple of spam calls, so I’m hoping this was coincidental rather than anything to do with the Nexar setup process.
As it turned out, and after I got in touch with Nexar directly, I was told that there is currently an issue with UK cell phone companies blocking the verification codes. This appears to be a country-specific issue, so for US users this should hopefully not be an issue. A note on the Nexar website to explain this would have stopped me wasting a lot of time though.
One other thing that appears to be a potential issue, especially for anyone wanting to use the Nexar Beam2 mini in the UK, is that a strong mobile signal is needed for it to function correctly. As I drove off on my first journey, while the camera was doing its initial setup procedure, I kept on getting an audible alert suggesting I find a stronger cell phone signal. However, after a reboot, things seemed to settle down somewhat and the message stopped.
Maybe I was just unlucky, but the various teething troubles tainted my experience of the Nexar Beam2 Dash Cam somewhat. Nevertheless, this is a very decent dash camera, with results that left a positive impression. It’s great at capturing video in a wide variety of scenarios, and the audio quality seems really good too. Things look slightly less impressive on finer details, such as license plates, but this model is affordable, so some element of compromise is inevitable.
Should you buy the Nexar Beam2 nini Dash Cam?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
How I tested the Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam
- I installed the dash cam in one test car for an initial period of two weeks
- I used it for a wide range of journeys during the day and at night
- I connected it to my phone and downloaded recordings to assess their quality
I was sent a loan package of the Beam2 mini Dash Cam by Nexar, which also provided me with the LTE Protection Plan for good measure. The camera was installed in a car I was testing at the time, and powered using the setup described in the review above. I also installed the Nexar app on an iPhone, which required me to follow a verification process that required the phone to receive a text in order to proceed.
I then tested the Beam2 mini over several days and in a variety of driving conditions, including local roads as well as larger highways. I was able to explore its capabilities in various weather conditions, including rainy days and in low-light as well as after dark.
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