Thinkware X700 Dash Cam – Touch and Go

This month is extra busy for Mr. Halloween. However, I did have time to put the Thinkware X700 Dash Cam into my Jeep Wrangler for a couple of weeks for a test run and a lot of test rides. I’ve been looking at a lot of similar products during the summer and every single device has a great purpose: To protect your property. The Thinkware X700 has some pretty interesting features. Let’s look deeper!

In The Box

The Thinkware X700 retail box is black with red graphics with a clear photo of the X700 Dash Cam and all the details and options which can be bundled with the device. Inside the box, you’ll find the Thinkware X700 Dashcam, a DC 12 volt power cord, a 16 Gb Micro Sd Card with Sd card reader body, the windshield mount with an extra sticky pad, and some sticky pads to cleanly install the necessary power cable or any optional cables. Unlike other units I’ve recently tested, the X700 does not include a suction cup type mount so this is a semi-permanent mount. The X700 Dash Cam uses SONY Starvis technology combined with a 142.7-degree lens to capture full HD 1080P at 30 fps. The view screen is 2.7 inch diagonal LCD touchscreen and you can easily play back your videos or navigate through the various menus and settings right on the screen. My test unit also included the rear camera, the rear camera cable, and the hard wire power kit. The Hardwire power kit allows you to ensure your vehicle’s safety when it is parked and your engine is shut off by supplying constant power to the High Capacitance power system in the X700 Dash Cam, with the ability to shut itself down if the car battery demonstrates low voltage.  You could also plug the 12-volt power supply cable to a non-switched 12-volt power socket if one is conveniently located near the dashboard. I did that in my Jeep with no battery problems. Thinkware also sells an optional GPS receiver which allows the X700 to track speed, time, and route history of the vehicle. This is a great option in case you are ever pulled over in a speed trap, or in an accident: It gives more information to your insurance company and any court when fighting tickets or suing the offending party. The Optional GPS system will also work with the onboard Advanced Driver Assistance System(ADAS) to warn you of speed or red light cameras coming up along your route. The ADAS built into the Thinkware X700 Dash Cam is designed to alert the driver about any potential forward collisions or lane wandering with a tone. There are two Front Collision warning systems: One is the Urban uFCWS when it is only triggered with the vehicle is traveling 19 mph or slower, and the regular FCWS which is triggered when the vehicle is traveling above 19 mph. The various alerts use very different tones. Thinkware realizes that the driver needs to understand these alerts when hearing them so they have a website where you can study the alert tones and better understand why you are getting the alerts here: Thinkware ADAS 101.

Take it Easy

The Thinkware X700 Dash Cam as tested was very easy to install. The optional rear camera also comes with several 3M sticky pads. I had no problem attaching it to the roll bar so I could monitor the back window and my two sons in the backseat of the Wrangler XJ. The included rear camera cable is more than long enough to reach the back in most vehicles and one could choose to mount the rear camera pretty much anywhere, including the 3rd brake light if you just want a view of the outside rear. The Rear camera is small and lightweight, and has some ability to adjust angle once it is mounted: Note: Before mounting the camera check the image in the X700 screen to make sure you have the camera mounted in the correct orientation or your images with being upside down. Since the Thinkware X700 uses a touch screen, the device is very easy to operate or move through the various menus. There is a power switch on the driver’s side when mounted along with the SD slot. On top of the unit from left to right are the 12-volt power input, the optional GPS jack, and finally the optional Rear Camera jack. That’s it, everything is done from the touch screen panel. I installed the Thinkware X700 Dash Cam and just let it run. As I never thought to drive like an idiot to test the alert systems, the only time I heard any tone was when my Jeep ran over a speed bump, pothole, or extra bumpy pavement. The sensitivity was left at a factory setting but can be changed to more or less sensitive impact alerts. When you power up the X700 you will hear a voice prompt asking to change the date so set the date and time now using the touch screen. The Voice prompt is one of the options available in the setting menus and can be turned off. The Thinkware X700 is designed as a “set it and forget” device so that’s what I did. I didn’t have any actual accidents but the sensitivity to road hazards did give me proper alerts every single time. The included micro SD card contains the Dashcam Viewer software for Mac users and PC users. I’ve installed it in my PC, updated the firmware and installed the latest version. It’s a nice interface and pretty easy to use. Note: without the optional GPS map location and speed won’t be recorded on the data stream. Let’s take a look at the videos!

Final Thoughts

The Thinkware X700 Dash Cam as tested demonstrated a company dedicated to their customer’s safety needs when traveling in the family car or really any car. The ADAS features can help a slightly distracted driver get back where they need to be without worrying about wandering around the lanes or following too closely. The touchscreen was easy to operate and very instinctive to find and change the settings or even just switch between camera views. I didn’t care much for the only option being a permanent windshield mount and the optional hardwire kit seems to be a necessity if you want to monitor any parking incidents. The same with the optional GPS tracking service, and optional Rear Camera. With children in a car, a rear camera isn’t really an option, it’s a necessity.  The price is average for such a device with costs increasing with every optional necessity. The videos were clear and easy to watch on the Dashcam Viewer utility included with the X700 package and I’ve included some screenshots. 7.5 out of ten: it’s costly, requires upgrades to really work properly but works exactly as designed.

*Average price is based on the time this article was published

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