After extensive web searches on the latest and greatest dashboard cameras, I decided to purchase the Thinkware F770. I haven’t regretted that decision. In fact, I plan on purchasing a second unit for my other vehicle. I’d like to share with you why I like the unit and why this purchase was perfect for me.I listed out my needs vs. wants when it comes to dash cams. There are quite a few options out there, so to cut through the confusion and clutter I used that list to narrow my choices.My List and how the Thinkware F770 met those requirements:1. No LCD Screen. I’m not interested in watching the dash cam while I’m driving nor do I need my passengers to watch either. If there is an incident, I can connect via my phone and download and watch from there. The F770 does not have screen but does have a fairly robust App for my iPhone to enable me to connect to the unit via WiFi and view Live or view the saved files.2. Small footprint. A unit with an LCD also adds size to the unit. The Thinkware is small(ish), a bit larger than credit card sized and ~1/2” thick. The rear camera is comparatively tiny and almost disappears in my rear window.3. Parking Mode: When I park, I want the dash cam to continue to protect my vehicle by monitoring anyone who gets too close, or in a worst case, hits my car. I have zero faith that someone will leave a note on my windshield that they dented my fender in a parking lot incident, so recording the event will help in tracking them down. The Thinkware has parking mode that wakes on motion and/or impact as well as takes time lapse pictures. I’m not a fan of the time-lapse feature, but do like to have it wake on motion near my car. It has a setting that will monitor my battery voltage and turn itself off if the battery gets too low on charge. The Blackvue DR650S (truly the only competition to the Thinkware as best-of-class in dash cams) uses an external device to monitor the battery during parking mode.4. Rear Camera: Although the common thought is that if you get hit from behind, it is the other guy’s fault, I wanted to have a way to record both forward and rearward views to ensure insurers, police, investigators, etc., have a good view of the area around my car for whatever reason. As mentioned earlier, the rear cam for the Thinkware is very small. It also swivels up and down once installed if you need to make minor adjustments to the view.5. High Resolution: I wanted to be able to read license plate numbers. I assumed high resolution would enable me to do that after looking at countless views from Thinkware posters on YouTube. The files are 1080p and are very crisp and clear. I can read license plates, but it is difficult at speed. Of course, at lights I can read everything! The night vision capability is also terrific. What is recorded is almost exactly how you see it as the driver, even slightly bit more enhanced.6. iPhone App: As mentioned, I wanted to control setup, files, configuration, etc., via my cell phone. This is done by establishing a WiFi connection to the unit and simply going through the various settings and configuration options. Thinkware does NOT have a cloud enabled option, so you need to be nearby the unit to connect. Also, when connecting, you will stop recording to the micro SD card.7. Large Storage Capacity: Most dash cams will overwrite older files with the new ones. However, I wanted to store as many files as possible on the microSD card before it starts to overwrite. Thinkware allows me to us a 128Gb card to store the views of both my front and rear cameras. I’ll have more than enough storage for long or multiple local trips.8. New, but not so new that other’s haven’t tested it first: I wanted the latest technology, but didn’t want to be the one to cut my teeth on it in my brand new car. I wanted something that others have already installed and have reviewed. The Thinkware F770 is now well reviewed and yet it is still relatively new to the market – at least the US market.9. Stylish: Ok, so maybe the Thinkware isn’t stylish, but it is cool looking. It isn’t bulky or obtrusive. I didn’t want a dash cam system to be a fashion statement on my car, but to simply record video in as an unobtrusive manner as possible. The F770 does that, nearly becoming invisible on my windshield. I had it professionally installed and you can barely tell it is there from the driver’s perspective and the rear camera all but disappears when viewed from the rear view mirror. From the outside, the front camera looks no worse than a smarttag, albeit better in that it is a dark, black color. The rear camera from the outside can barely be seen.10. Cost: Honestly, cost wasn’t prioritized as high as my other requirements. Of the two that fit most of my requirements (Thinkware and BlackVue), they are equivalent in price so this last requirement became somewhat of a wash anyway.I also spent some time researching local auto electronics installation companies until I found one that I trusted. They installed the unit in under 4 hours. I have a new, 2017 Audi A6 so I made sure they took their time to install it as carefully and as professionally as possible. Most of the local installers were not aware of the Thinkware but were at least familiar (maybe one or two installs) on the BlackVue). I gave the unit to my installer a few days ahead of my appointment to give him time to play with the unit and better understand it and its operation before they installed it in my car.I love the system. The pictures are bright and clear. They have time/date stamps as well as have the capability to capture sounds from inside/outside the car. The quality exceeds my expectations, even the ones shot at night.OK, so some of the Cons:1. No capability to connect via Cloud. You need to be near the vehicle to make a connection. The files are not stored in the Cloud nor can they be accessed in that manner. I haven’t tested the range of the WiFi, but when I was connected at the auto electronics store, I left the car, entered the store and the connection dropped so don’t hold out hope you can be surreptitiously spying on your neighbors from the privacy of a back bedroom – I don’t think the range is that great.2. The buttons are difficult to distinguish between each other, especially if you’ve installed it like mine (behind the rear view mirror and on the passenger side). I might add a dot of silicone caulk to the buttons so I can know when my finger is on a button and hopefully which button is which.3. Lack of installer support. The dash cam market is mostly dominated here by BlackVue and installers are not yet familiar with this unit. However, the principle for installation of the Thinkware is exactly the same. If they know how to professionally run the wires for the BlackVue, they will know how to do it for the F770.Overall, I’m more than pleased that I purchased the Thinkware F770. I’ve included some pics of the install and snapshots of the camera’s output.Update: After a few months of use, I had a few updates:1. I turned off the feature that notified me of an improper lane change. As a "feature" this was rather useless to me as it beeps every time I change a lane, no matter if I intend to change lanes properly or not. So, I'm constantly hearing beeps as I change lanes and it is quite distracting.2. I turned off the feature that alerts the driver to a possible impact. I found it not very helpful to me and became more of an annoyance than a benefit.3. Another thing you can not turn off which I also find annoying is that the unit announces the number of motion events it recorded during parking mode when you first start the engine. You can't silence the announcement - or at least I haven't been able to silence this feature.4. The system alerted me twice to format the SD card. It only took a few seconds to do it, so I guess it was better to have it remind me to perform this simple maintenance procedure vs. my trying to remember to do so (which I probably wouldn't remember to do). I'd rather have a properly maintained SD card vs. finding my card was corrupted and not recording video when I needed it.5. I've had the unit sit in parking mode for several days and the feature to shut down the unit when the car battery gets to a target voltage works well. This ensures the Thinkware unit doesn't drain the battery.