Nextbase 522 GW Review: Versatile and with SOS Emergency Features

There’s a lot of dashcam brands on the market and now Australia has another brand – Nextbase Dashcams entering the market with a range of versatile products and unique features.

I’ve been testing the Nextbase 522GW and right from the get go this is something different.

Need a rear-view camera? The NextBase 522GW has that, but in a very different way. Rather than running a cable through the roof lining to the rear window, the Nextbase has an accessory camera which plugs into the side of the main unit mounted on the front Windscreen.

The view from that rear-facing camera is very similar to that which you see through your rear-view mirror. The only real disadvantage to that is any slight extra view from a wider angle looking rearward.

In my testing, the rear camera easily captured the action behind me on the roads, and while the quality only really allowed for number-plate recognition when cars were in great light and really close.

However in reality the action you need to capture is the location of vehicles and what happened in an accident.

Up front the view is excellent. By no means the highest quality picture you can get in a dashcam, but you’re getting 1440p HD at 30fps. The sensor copes pretty well with all light conditions and you’ve got a 140 degree viewing angle.

In reality, the real stand-out features of this device are the plug and play accessories and software.

If you are an Uber Driver you could take the Cabin View camera instead of the rear view – this gives you a constant recording of what’s happening inside the car.

Software wise, this is in the upper level of dashcams. The App allows you to view and download recorded vision, but also link with Amazon Alexa.

The camera then uses it’s microphone to trigger your phone’s Alexa input.

Nextbase Dashcam Emergency SOS

Having any form of Emergency alert is a unique and compelling feature for a dashcam. When enabled, the SOS feature monitors for serious incidents.

In the event of an accident the camera waits 60 seconds then if there is no response, a package of data is sent to an operations centre who will then attempt to phone the Dash Cam’s owner.

If there’s no response, Emergency services are dispatched with Nextbase feeding information to a triple-zero operator which could include everything from location of the accident to vital medical information about the driver which is shared during setup.

Richard Browning, Director of Nextbase says “We are thrilled to enter the Australian market with our Nextbase Dash Cams. We are looking forward to helping Australians not only drive smarter, but crucially, safer,”

“2020 has seen limited air and sea travel for Australians, and for those states where it’s permitted we’ve already seen increased interest in holidaying by car. As COVID restrictions hopefully continue to ease and allow further intrastate and interstate travel nation-wide, we are determined to make sure that those families are staying safe on the roads with the correct tools to do so”

If you’re wondering who Nextbase are – they have a huge share of the UK market, over 80% of dashcams! So, solid base to start from when entering the Aussie market.

While there are better quality dashcams in terms of recorded vision – there aren’t many dashcams as versatile or smart as this. An easy clip on attachment for your windscreen, Alexa smarts and the simple plug-in rear-view or cabin-view camera are outstanding features.

You’ll find the Nextbase 522GW at Harvey Norman, Camera House, Officeworks and many more for $399.