INTRODUCTION

   People say a picture is worth a thousand words so if one day we could record every single thing our eyes see (and why not even more than that) on a daily basis that should simplify our lives quite a bit. For now however what we can do is record certain things using action and car dash cameras with the second being much easier to use and far more beneficial especially in you live in a country where car insurance companies offer incentives just for having one. In a sea of car dash cameras however with models featuring recording resolutions from regular HD (720p) all the way up to UHD (1440p) and various features like built-in GPS, image enhancement and driver assist it may not be the easiest task to pick the right one. PAPAGO! is a name we haven't heard in a while (3 years since our last review) but they recently released their feature-rich high-end GoSafe 30G model and they wanted us to have a thorough look at it.

   PAPAGO! Inc. was established in Taipei, Taiwan in 2001; with more than 10 years GPS related background both in software and hardware. PAPAGO! Inc. has become the leading brand in Taiwan, China, Russia, South East Asia, Japan, Australia, and now America. To provide a more localized product and service, PAPAGO! Inc. has set up branch offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and has plans to extend to new countries worldwide. In 2011, PAPAGO! Inc. became an IPO in Taiwan and has begun to invest more in the car safety arena. Being a pioneer in the car dashcam market, PAPAGO! Inc. for years has dedicated itself to promising drivers the most comfortable and safest journeys when driving on the road. PAPAGO! Inc. tries various advanced technologies to fulfill this goal. PAPAGO! strives to develop products that are user-friendly and promote safety as a key component. When creating our products our goal is to ensure that the consumer will enjoy all the benefits that our research and design team have created at an affordable price. Safety meets technology to provide drivers and sports enthusiasts a high-tech experience when capturing their life in HD.

  Unfortunately although most manufacturers have released both 1296p (2304x1296) and 1440p (2560x1440) models in recent years the GoSafe 30G is actually based on their latest PPG8031 chip which can record at 60fps with a maximum resolution of 1080p (1920x1080). This is not particularly bad since we've seen quite a few strong 1080p models which can easily go up against 1296p ones (it's really all about the chipset, bitrate and lens used) but it does seem that PAPAGO! may fall victim of marketing since consumers tend to make up their minds solely based on numbers. The reason i say this is of course because the GoSafe 30G is so much more than its recording resolution since it also features 140 degrees wide angle lens (F 1.9), 2.7 inches color LCD screen, built-in GPS and G-Sensor (automatic file save and protection in case of an accident), built-in 250mAh battery to ensure the safety of your recordings and the camera itself, compatibility with their latest tire safe D10E TPMS and several driver assists including FCWS (front collision warning system, LDWS (lane departure warning system), stop sign recognition (not something we see a lot), stop and go, driver fatigue warning and headlight reminder. Only question now is just how these translate to real use and that's up to us to check.