A simple in-car camera that also grabs a rear view

Dash cams have long been windshield warts. With huge dedicated screens and large cameras, they took up a ton of space. That said, having a dash cam can prevent lots of headaches, especially in the case of a crash — and that’s what makes the 70mai A510 so interesting.

This tiny dash cam supports dual channels, so you can connect a camera to your back window for even better video coverage. It also has a system for taking video when parked and can even record emergency video in the event of a crash. And the best part? At only 3 inches across, the A510 won’t take up a lot of your forward viewing space.

Price, availability, and specs

The 70mai Dash Cam A510 costs $110 from 70mai’s site, jumping to $130 if you want to add in the rearview camera. Amazon sells a bundle with both cameras and a 64GB microSD card for $140. For $60, you can add a 4G connectivity package, which allows you to connect the camera to the cellular network with an AT&T SIM card (not included).

What’s good about the 70mai A510 Dash Cam?

Small and feature-packed

70mai might not be a household name, but they focus primarily on single and dual-channel dash cams. The A510 is the latest version of their 500 series and features an included rear view camera wired to a 6-foot cable that you can run through your car. The dash cam body has a small, 2-inch screen, four control buttons, and can hold a microSD card. The device is 83 x 60.5 x 37.9mm and very unobtrusive.

70mai also added some safety features, including ADAS safety voice alerts for when you’re too close to other vehicles or obstacles and parking protection that takes video when someone is close to the vehicle. This video gets stored on the microSD card while the device runs on an internal battery.

Video quality is excellent, even in low light. Here, for example, is a still from a drive in the rain where you can see individual drops hitting the windshield.

There won’t be any mistaking an oncoming car’s license plate with the A510, and the quality of the rear cam, though lower, is still more than sufficient. That said, what you really need a dash cam for is safety and protection while driving. That’s where this device shines and becomes an excellent upgrade for your vehicle.

Most of the other features I mentioned — the ADAS notifications and optional 4G networking — are fairly useless and seem like nice-to-have add-ons. The 70mai app, for example, makes little use of them, and you could be forgiven for forgetting that they’re there. All you need for this device is the dash cam and a microSD card. That’s enough to get you from point A to point B with maximum video coverage.

The installation was also surprisingly simple, almost as easy as a wireless car charger. The device includes an electrostatic sticker that goes over your windshield and protects it from the adhesive while the dash cam attaches to the sticker. To install it, clean the windshield, apply the clear sticker, and attach the mount to an adhesive square to the dash cam. Then you peel off a bit of paper, and you’re good. You obviously have run some wire from the camera to the included USB power adapter, but you can do that by squeezing the wire into the various cracks along the car roof and dashboard with the included screwdriver-like spunger.

Once installed, the device wakes up when you turn on the car and goes to sleep when you turn it off. In the interim, it records video of every drive you take, including GPS coordinates and, if you have the rear camera installed, a nice rear view of the trip. You can access the video from the microSD card or the included app.

What’s bad about the 70mai Dash Cam?

The screen is frustratingly small, and the app is bad

Spending $110 on a camera, which can mean the difference between a guilty and an innocent verdict in traffic court, shouldn’t be much of a problem. That said, do you want this particular camera? As a very simple dash cam, the A510 is just fine. If you never use the app or pull footage from the SD card, it works just fine. However, using the A510’s advanced features and app is a different story.

Unfortunately, the app is standard shovelware that comes with these kinds of devices. To view videos, you have to connect your phone to the dash cam’s Wi-Fi – an iffy process that rarely works – and then scroll through your various drives.

If you want global connectivity, you can add the 4G kit, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Essentially, it’s a Wi-Fi access point wired directly to your car battery — which means installation is much trickier than for the camera, and may require professional help. What you get in return is that it allows you to connect to the A510 dash cam from anywhere in the world. The device works just fine without that, so I wouldn’t spring for the upgrade.

If you don’t need a rear-facing camera, this is not for you. Getting the camera to the back of your car is quite a chore because you have to feed the wire all the way along the roofline to ensure it doesn’t fall onto passengers. In short, outside the very basic functions, the additional features are either difficult to use or overkill.

Finally, the screen is surprisingly tiny. You’re not supposed to be staring at the screen while driving, but in this case, you can barely see the screen even if you’re sitting in front of it. As I said, this is a great dash cam if you just want video for emergencies. The rest of the features are either unnecessary or, worse, incomplete.

Should you buy this dash cam?

Given the commoditized nature of dash cams — you basically buy one and keep it for years – it makes sense to get one with all the bells and whistles. The 70mail A510 has every feature you could need, including crash detection and parked car sensors that protect your vehicle even when you aren’t driving. Best of all, it’s tiny and won’t fall off your windshield on a hot day.

There are plenty of dash cams out there and if you don’t need the dual-channel feature, you can probably skip this one. That said, if you want regular dispatches from the rear of your car and want to spend just a little more cash for a better camera and hardware package, the A510 fits the bill.