A radar detector and a laser jammer are completely different, of course. The best protection is to run both simultaneously.
$1200 for a laser jammer is rape, though. Buy one yourself (I just bought a brand new one from a forum member for $300 (Blinder M27 - retail, something like $479)), and install it yourself. It's not hard.
Even if you have someone do the install for you, though, $1200 is way excessive.
Regardless, having a radar detector +/- a laser jammer doesn't mean you can be negligent with your driving - be aware of your surroundings, and drive accordingly.
I've run a Valentine 1, and it has saved me countless times. Knock on wood, I haven't had a ticket in over eight years (fingers crossed - LOOOONG road trip coming up - driving from Canada to Mexico (Los Cabos), through the mountains, and back - should end up being about 9,000km or so
)