The OOONO Co-Driver NO2 promises speed camera and road hazard warnings without another screen competing for your attention. But with Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze already doing similar things, is there really any point? After six weeks and more than 800 miles using both the Co-Driver NO2 and newer NO2 Plus, I think there is.
I’ll admit I approached the OOONO Co-Driver NO2 with a fair bit of scepticism.
We’ve tested the original OOONO Co-Driver NO1 here on Fast Car before, and the obvious question then was the same one that applies now: if your phone can already warn you about speed cameras and traffic problems, why buy another gadget to do it?
After living with the NO2 and NO2 Plus for the past six weeks, I think I’ve finally found the answer.
And strangely enough, it has very little to do with those long journeys where you’re following the sat-nav.
RRP: £69.99, buy it here.
What does the OOONO Co-Driver NO2 actually do?
The Co-Driver NO2 is a small, screen-free device that connects to your phone via Bluetooth and uses OOONO’s database and community of drivers to warn you about speed cameras and hazards ahead.
Rather than asking you to keep looking at another display, it sits quietly on the dashboard and uses sounds and its LED ring to get your attention when necessary.
See something yourself? Press the main button to report it. Approach something somebody else has reported and the device will warn you. You can then confirm the report with the main button or dismiss it using the smaller button on the top.
It’s a deliberately simple bit of kit.
The NO2 also has a rechargeable battery (via a USB-C cable), its own navigation through the OOONO app and integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Most importantly, there’s no ongoing subscription.
OOONO Co-Driver NO2 vs NO2 Plus
I tested both versions side-by-side – or as close to side-by-side as the app would allow.
The NO2 Plus doesn’t add any extra warning or navigation features. Underneath, it does the same job as the regular NO2. The main changes are the updated design and the inclusion of OOONO’s sunvisor mount, which lets you clip the device above you rather than sticking it to the dashboard.
And I do prefer it.
The Plus feels a little smarter and more polished, and the sunvisor mounting position works really well – especially if finding a suitable space on the dash proves tricky. It keeps the dashboard clear while leaving the button easily within reach.
Would I pay substantially more for it, though? Probably not.
Unless you specifically need the sunvisor mounting option, the standard NO2 does exactly the same job. If you find the NO2 Plus on offer for around the same money, it’s a no-brainer and I’d choose it every time. Otherwise, I’d save the cash and buy the normal NO2.
It really is as simple as that.
Setting it up
Getting either device working takes a matter of minutes.
Download the OOONO app, pair the device to your phone via Bluetooth and install it in the car. From then on, it can connect automatically when you get in and start driving.
There is one part of the installation process I struggled with, although I’m not sure OOONO can take all the blame for this one. Removing the backing from the tiny sticky pads on the magnetic dashboard mounts was surprisingly fiddly. My fat fingers really weren’t designed for the job.
The good news is that once I eventually got the backing off and stuck them down, they stayed stuck. Both mounts have now been attached for more than a month without moving at all. The magnets also make removing the device for charging extremely easy.
My other advice would be not to stop once you’ve simply paired it. Spend another five minutes going through the settings.
There are plenty of options for deciding exactly what you want the device to tell you about, and getting those right made a big difference to my experience.
Turn off the alerts you don’t need
Initially, I found the mobile speed camera zone alerts annoying.
On roads where mobile enforcement regularly takes place, you can get a lot of notifications. When something beeps at you too often, there’s a danger you simply start tuning it out – which rather defeats the object.
Thankfully, you can customise what the OOONO warns you about.
I switched those mobile zone notifications off while retaining the warnings I actually wanted, including both temporary and fixed speed cameras and traffic hazards.
For me, that transformed it from something that could become irritating into something that just sits quietly in the background until there’s something worth knowing about.
That’s why it’s worth exploring the app properly before deciding whether you like the device.
What about navigation?
OOONO has its own navigation system built into the app, and the NO2 works with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
I barely used OOONO’s own navigation, though.
Why would I?
I already use Apple Maps most of the time, and the OOONO works happily alongside it. Google Maps works in much the same way.
That’s an important distinction. You don’t need to give up whichever navigation app you already prefer just because you’ve added the Co-Driver.
For longer journeys I continued using Apple Maps through CarPlay exactly as I normally would, while OOONO ran alongside it and provided its own alerts integrated into the Apple Maps app.
The device therefore becomes an additional layer of information rather than a replacement for the system you already know.
So why not just use Google Maps or Apple Maps?
This is the question that bothered us most in the original Fast Car review.
Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze already offer live traffic information, and depending on the service and location can also show speed cameras and hazards.
So why spend £70-ish on another device?
After six weeks with one, my answer is simple: because I don’t use sat-nav every time I drive my car.
Think about the journeys where you’re most likely to use Google Maps or Apple Maps. Chances are they’re longer trips, somewhere unfamiliar or a journey where traffic means you want route guidance. Those are also the journeys where you’re probably concentrating hardest on where you’re going.
It’s the familiar journeys where the OOONO makes much more sense.
I’ve been driving for more than 20 years and, without incriminating myself too much, I’ve encountered my fair share of speed cameras during that time. The ones that have resulted in points or a speed awareness course haven’t been on epic cross-country road trips.
They’ve been on roads I knew.
The commute. The local run. The road you’ve driven hundreds of times.
And because you know where you’re going, why would you bother plugging your phone in, opening CarPlay and asking Apple Maps to navigate you home?
You probably wouldn’t.
The OOONO, meanwhile, is still there.
Get into the car with your phone in your pocket and it connects automatically. There’s no route to set and no screen to look at. If there’s something ahead that you need to know about, it beeps.
You don’t get the full visual information – or the rather attention-grabbing siren-type notification you might hear through CarPlay – but you still get that warning.
For me, that’s the entire point of the product.
Community-powered warnings
OOONO’s other big selling point is its community.
The system uses reports from millions of drivers, with users able to report new hazards and confirm or dismiss existing ones. OOONO says its network includes millions of drivers across Europe, while its database covers fixed and mobile cameras alongside hazards including accidents, roadworks and broken-down vehicles.
No community-based system is going to be perfect. Something new can appear before anyone reports it, and an old warning can remain briefly after the hazard has gone.
But across my own six-week test, I found the information useful enough that I came to trust the little beep from the dashboard.
More importantly, because it works without me having to actively start anything, that information is available on far more of my journeys.
Can you use more than one OOONO?
Yes – although there is an odd limitation worth explaining.
I tested a NO2 and NO2 Plus at the same time. You can register multiple Co-Drivers within the same OOONO app account, so if you have several cars you could leave a unit installed in each of them.
Get into that car and the appropriate device can connect.
What you can’t do is connect to two Co-Drivers simultaneously.Which, to be fair, is hardly going to trouble most people. Unless you happen to be testing two versions against each other for a review – like I was – I’m struggling to think of a reason why you would ever need two operating inside the same car anyway.
For a multi-car household or somebody lucky enough to have a daily driver and a weekend toy, however, being able to keep separate devices registered to the same account is genuinely useful.
Battery life
Battery life has also been better than I expected. I covered more than 800 miles over roughly a month before I needed to think about charging it. OOONO quotes around a month of normal battery use, so my experience backs that up.
And even when it does run low, charging isn’t exactly a hardship. The NO2 uses USB-C, so I kept a cable in the car and could simply top the battery up while driving if necessary.
It certainly isn’t something I found myself constantly having to think about.
Is the OOONO Co-Driver NO2 worth buying?
After six weeks with both versions, yes, I’d recommend one.
Not because OOONO does everything better than Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze. It doesn’t. Those apps offer better navigation, more detailed maps and a huge amount of live information.
The point is that OOONO isn’t really competing with them. For me, its biggest advantage is what happens when I don’t use Apple Car Play – making it ideal for older or more heavily modified cars without a fancy infotainment system on hand.
It quietly starts working when I get into the car, stays out of my way and gives me an audible warning if there’s a hazard or speed camera ahead. There’s no extra screen, no route to enter and no subscription to pay.
And that makes it particularly useful for exactly the sort of everyday journey where it’s very easy to switch onto autopilot because you know the road so well.
For a relatively low initial outlay, I think that reassurance is worth having.
Put it another way: if it helps you avoid just one speeding fine, it has pretty much paid for itself.
Which one would I buy?
OOONO Co-Driver NO2: This is the one I’d recommend to most people. You get all the functionality of the Plus without paying extra for a different design and mounting option.
OOONO Co-Driver NO2 Plus: My favourite of the two, but mainly because I prefer its design and sunvisor mount. If you want to mount it to the visor, buy it. If you find it discounted to around the same price as the standard NO2, definitely buy it. Otherwise, the regular NO2 represents better value.
Fast Car verdict
The OOONO Co-Driver NO2 makes the most sense when you stop thinking of it as an alternative to Google Maps or Apple Maps. It’s something that works alongside them – and, crucially, keeps working when you haven’t bothered switching navigation on at all.
After more than 800 miles with the NO2 and NO2 Plus, that’s where I’ve found the real value. Easy setup, excellent battery life, useful community-powered alerts and no subscription make it a simple bit of kit that I’m happy to leave in the car.
The NO2 Plus is the nicer device, but unless you want that sunvisor mount, I’d save the money and choose the standard NO2.
Fast Car rating: 4/5
Pros
- Works automatically without having to start navigation
- Useful speed camera and road hazard alerts
- Works alongside Apple Maps and Google Maps
- Very good real-world battery life
- Simple setup with plenty of alert customisation
- No subscription
- Multiple devices can be added to one account
Cons
- Navigation isn’t as good as the main mapping apps
- Some alerts can become repetitive until you customise the settings
- NO2 Plus doesn’t add any extra functionality
- Removing those tiny adhesive backings is a job for people with smaller fingers than mine
