Review on Cobra RAD 480i Laser Radar Detector - Enhanced Long Range Detection, Bluetooth Connectivity, iRadar App Compatibility, LaserEye Front and Rear Detection, Advanced Next Generation IVT Filtering, Sleek Black Design by Michael Schafer

I was looking for a second radar detector for another car and I can say that I've had radar detectors from all top manufacturers. I'm not going to give a history lesson on detectors, but back then it was a Cobra Trapshooter. They gradually lost ground to Escort, Valentine and Whistler due to imperfect technology. Cobra detectors have always been able to detect police radars and lasers at long ranges, but in the last 10 years they have also detected everything else. Their filtering skills either didn't exist or were terrible. They were still able to detect police radars at very long ranges, but the false alarms were driving them insane. Collision avoidance systems in modern vehicles constantly activate the detector, rendering it virtually useless. Until recently, with the advancement of technology from several other companies and Escort's acquisition of Cobra, the only option was to spend $300-$600 on a detector from almost two companies. Despite all this, this detector is unlike any Cobra I have ever owned. While the Escort retains the Cobra name as a distinct entity, as was the case with the Passport and Bel, the Escort technology is definitely there. I haven't even touched the filter settings on me and there are almost no false positives. All I had to do was drive about 100 feet from me straight to the automatic door. Filtration is great. I've only had 3 real warnings so far and the range has been exceptional at 2 out of 3. The 3rd happened to be going through a blind corner on the freeway, but I bet it was still nearly a mile ahead. You could see the cop as soon as you turned the corner on the wide, open center lane. I really like this detector and for its price range I don't expect much more. The only reason it got 4 stars is that it doesn't announce the displayed frequency when it voice warns you of the radar. Also, you can't set the radar frequencies, so only those that the police use when alerting you are shown. If it warns you about another form of radar, it will show its frequency as well. If you take a manual and remember the ones the police use for radar and laser then you're fine, if not you might be wondering if it's a police radar or not. Higher quality detectors will alert you by voice at a frequency filtered to those only used by law enforcement, so there's no mistaking it's the police. Just keep in mind that for the price you're still getting a great radar detector. I spoke to Cobra about the possibility of upgrading this unit. I have a great detector for other brands that is regularly updated. It has built-in GPS and the Cobra doesn't, but the upgrades are usually street camera upgrades. The folks at Cobra say the filter technology is being updated on this device. If other interference comes from changing cars or whatever, that should mean you don't have to buy a new detector.