I've been using the Escort 8500 for 2 years now. I velcro taped it to the fuel cell hump and put it in dark mode. I purchased a telephone extension cord from Radio Shack and routed it down under the passenger seat and I plug it into the lighter.
I really don't care what band I'm being hit with, or what direction it's coming from, or what the signal strength is, or how cool my passenger thinks I am because I have one model or another, or blue LEDs or red, or whatever. I use one because I have a tendency to speed (especially in this little CF), and it HELPs me avoid tickets (when the radar silver bullet is available, I'll buy it!). I guess I'm more interested in the performance and less interested in the hype factor these days.

I'm not going to buy a lazar jammer because even though it's legal in my state today, I'm sure it won't be forever.

As pointed out already, the lazar detector can only inform us when our speed has been detected and, I suspect, measured. I have been chatting with a gal I work with who is about to enter the state patrol academy, and she has informed me that:

When in sight an officer will attempt a detection AFTER they have already decided that a car is speeding. If they can't get a good reading, they just give the ticket for what they estimate the car was doing. So, since lazar is by sight, the car has already been spotted and a speed has been determined and a ticket or not is not related.
Radar, as pointed out above, is scattered everywhere and if an officer is shooting traffic in front of or behind us, we can SLOW DOWN before a visual can be obtained. That, as far as I know, is the only possible response to radar detector warnings.

The officer often sits in the car facing the same direction as the traffic, and shoots the lazar gun at the traffic in the side view mirror. I seems weird but the limited experience I have with lasers it is perfectly valid. Even the sighting method used with the lazar gun would seem easier because the officer is sitting down and could lean up against the inside of the door to steady the gun.
According to this gal, the officers frequently POP the pack of cars, then wait for them to pass by (while still in their hiding spot). Then they come out behind the pack and watch the pack to see which car in the pack is moving the fastest, and bring down that car. Even though they weren't able to measure the speed of any one car, they know the speed of the pack, and now they know which car is the fastest car in the pack!

I can just hear the forum lawyers now. But remember boys and girls, the officer can only ACCUSE us of doing something we're not supposed to be doing. It's the judges that decide if we're going to be punished or not (based on what the officer says to the judge).