PhotoTrackr Mini DPL900
Oct 31, 2009 gps navigation, tracking
If you’re into goetagging you’ll remember that more than a year ago we mentioned Gisteq’s PhotoTrackr. Just last week they announced a new version of the device called PhotoTrackr Mini DPL900.
The new one is smaller, cheaper, and more compatible. It doesn’t really “hook up” to your camera – you just sync the clock on your camera and then take the PhotoTrackr with you. PhotoTrackr Mini DPL900 can last up to 17 hours in continuous mode and it can track 65 satellites at once. The GPS chipset is from Skytraq which can provide tracking with signals as weak as -160dBm.
It can store up to 250000 records in its tiny 2MB storage space and the software that comes with it works with PCs and Macs.
It costs $69 and will start shipping in November.
Thanko GPS watch
Oct 30, 2009 gps navigation, tracking, wrist watch
Thanko of Japan is getting to release a new GPS watch that actually looks like an ordinary wristwatch. If it wasn’t for the battery, satellite, and way point icons and LEDs on its face you wouldn’t be able to tell this little thing was tracking your location. The name of this GPS watch is unfortunately GPSTRVBK which means nothing in any known language on earth.
Once you wear this watch, or convince somebody to wear it, you can transfer the GPS track logs to a PC and lay them over Google Maps. It sells for 17800 Yen (~ $200) in Japan, and apparently it is coming to geekstuff4u.com very soon…
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Insignia GPS child tracker
Oct 18, 2009 gps navigation, tracking
We just discovered that Insignia is about to release a GPS child tracking device called Insignia Little Buddy. It is already up on Best Buy’s site but it has a “coming soon” status right now. However we at least know it is going to cost $100.
It seems like it supports real time GPS tracking but we have no information on what the monthly cost is going to be or which provider Best Buy decided to go with.
The Insignia GPS child tracker will have an accompanying website to keep track of your kids – and have an idea where they should be based on a weekly schedule.
Find a way to attach this to the car charger and you’ve got yourself a GPS vehicle tracking device.
You’ll have to wait until October 23rd though.
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Ecco GPS locator
Oct 12, 2009 gps navigation, tracking
Ecco GPS Locator
Let’s say you’re visiting a new city and want to take a walk outside and discover some places. It would be a good idea to mark your position as soon as your step out your hotel, so you can always head back safely. It actually lets you store up to 3 locations – so why not another for where you parked your rental, and another for the restaurant you saw on the way. Ecco GPS locator is as small as a basic key fob and doesn’t look much different other than the blue backlit LCD screen. It can track 32 satellites at once and promises to get you a position fix in 60 seconds.
When it is time to head back to one of your marked spots this GPS locator can you show you the distance and an arrow pointing where you need to go. Imperial or metric. It measures 1.5×0.5×3 inches. Costs $99 on Amazon.
Blue GPS shoes
Oct 12, 2009 bluetooth, gps navigation, tracking
Isaac Daniel – the people who brought you GPS shoes have a new model called Blue GPS shoes. What you have here is a pair of shoes with a GPS receiver and it can talk to your bluetooth capable phone to update your Facebook with your position – or it can text up to 5 other mobile devices. What can we say – great for stalkers; bad for privacy. The good news is of course nobody is forcing you wear one of these – yet.
It should be available before the end of the year and cost somewhere around $150 – can’t wait? Pre-order them.
Mainnav MG-600
Oct 10, 2009 gps navigation, on bikes, tracking
MG-600 is the brand-new and high sensitivity GPS device from Mainnav for those who want to get a serious workout on their bicycles .It can keep track of speed, distance, time, odometer, GPS coordinates and elevation. A few other extras we’re not used to seeing with this kind of cycling GPS receiver is that Mainnav MG-600 also acts as a GPS data logger and has an embedded light sensor.
The logged data can later be viewed on Google Earth and Google Maps. When you are actively moving MG-600 will save your track every second. However if you remain motionless it will switch per minute data recording to save battery.
To make sure you’re getting a decent workout and not just goofing off Mainnav MG-600 has a feature where the screen will flash every 3 seconds if you’ve been slower than your average but now catching up pace.
Here are some specs:
- Unit size : 78×49.75×17.5 mm
- Weight: 70g
- Interface: Mini USB 2.0
- Rechargeable lithium-ion 850mAh battery that lasts 18 hours with normal use
- IPX6 weather proof
- 4MB memory
- Records 260,000 waypoints
- Optional bluetooth receiver
- Light Sensor
- Supports metric, imperial and nautical units
Gtrackr – GPS data logger
Oct 9, 2009 bluetooth, gps navigation, tracking
Nope. It is not GPS Trackr, or G Tracker, it is GTrackr. They might as well gotten rid of the “a” in there and call it Gtrckr. But whatever.
Gtrackr is a GPS data logger than can store more than 120 hours travelling route. It talks via a USB port and with the application that comes with it you can overlay your photos on a map.
Gtrackr can also act as a bluetooth GPS receiver and connect to capable phones for sending SMS messages containing latitude and longitude information.
gps vehicle tracking
Oct 7, 2009 gps navigation, tracking
We get a lot of questions about live GPS vehicle tracking so we thought we’d write a few things about it. Let’s say you want to keep track of your vehicle, multiple vehicles for your business, or even a whole fleet of cars, boats, containers, etc… You’ve probably heard of GPS tracking and probably wondering how it works.
basics
First let’s cover some basics. GPS vehicle tracking is primarily made up of two parts: 1) GPS data gathered from satellites to figure out the location of the vehicle and 2) sending this data back to you whether it may be an online map, email, text message, etc. These two together can also be referred to as “live GPS tracking” because as your vehicle (or boat, child, etc) moves you’ll get updates in real time.
gps data loggers
There’s also another tracking method where you only have part one. Location data from satellites is gathered, and then stored on device for later retrieval. This could also be called GPS data logging, or offline tracking. Once your vehicle is back in the garage you can easily figure out where it has been by downloading the data to your computer. This method is a lot cheaper – but won’t help if your car is stolen.
live GPS tracking
We’ll focus on live GPS tracking today. So how does a GPS vehicle tracking device figure out its location? It’s pretty simple. There’s a GPS receiver inside – which listens to GPS satellites, and calculates your position based on the information it gathers. Most GPS receivers can track tens of satellites at once but to get a position fix it only needs three. Provided the sky is clear, you’re not in a canyon, or there aren’t really tall buildings around – this should take less than a minute. If not – you’ll probably still get a position fix but it may take longer. There’s also something called A-GPS (assisted GPS) which can improve fix times greatly. However this technology relies on a network provider where the GPS receiver gets some clues as where the satellites are from the cell towers. A-GPS can even help your devicer get a position fix indoors, if it is sensitive enough.
calling back home
So lets say our GPS vehicle tracking device knows where it is. How are you going to get this information so you can track it down – say from the comfort of your office sitting in front of your computer? Somehow the GPS vehicle tracking system needs to transmit this information to a server where you can access it. This is the part where things may be a little more complicated – and this is the part that costs you money usually in the form of a monthly fee. Most tracking system rely on good old cellular networks or their partners (such as AT&T, Sprint, etc) and transmit over GPRS – which is the data portion of a GSM network.
network coverage
The problem with this is that there areas where no networks can reach you. Yes, the GPS receiver may know where it is since the whole earth has a pretty decent GPS satellite coverage (provided with more than 20 satellites) but your network provider may have no towers around. In which case you’d be out of luck.
Depending on your situation you probably want to know pick the right solution provider. If you’re looking for a GPS vehicle tracking system for your fleet of trucks that drive from Mexico to Canada lets say – you probably want more of an industrial solution. There are companies out there who provide these services and they are usually known as M2M (machine to machine) communication networks. If you’re trying to keep an eye on your teenager in a metropolitan area though – then most providers will work. You probably want to make sure the device supports A-GPS so if your kid pulls into a garage you can still pin point him/her down.
battery life
Another area when you’re thinking about GPS vehicle tracking is battery life. Your best bet is to connect the tracking device to a power source such as the car battery if that’s on option. If not, then you want a device with a decent battery life that can last days without needing a charge – and make sure it has smart power options that saves battery – such as turn off the device when no movement is detected, warn user when battery is low, or just be conservative with battery in general.
Now as far as brands – there are so many names out there:
- zoombak – $150 + $10/mo
- amber alert – $380 + $10/mo
- buddi – £300 + £20/mo
- Escort Entourage
– $380 + $15/mo
We haven’t reviewed any of these names but if you have please leave a comment below so other can benefit.
Omni GPS Tracker
Oct 6, 2009 gps navigation, tracking
If you need to follow your kids with a GPS tracking device, then the Omni GPS Tracker may be a good option. I mean check out the yellow cat with a big apple red heart. Apparently you can pick one up for as cheap as $120 but good luck trying to figure out how to make it work with your network provider. They claim it is as easy as calling the telephone number associated with the SIM in the GPS tracker.
Omni GPS Tracker is small enough to fit inside a child’s backpack, a small purse, or even the collar of a pet.
Here are some specs for the Omni GPS Tracker:
- Multi-Use GPS Tracker with SMS Messaging
- Quad Band 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
- 159dB GPS receiver
- 10 meters GPS accuracy
- Appx. 48 hours battery life
- Start Up Times
- Hot Start: 45 seconds
- Warm Start: 30 seconds - Li-ion Rechargeable Battery (850mAh)
- water resistant
- SOS button to send SMS help message to pre-configured phone numbers
NAVIN miniHomer GPS backtracker
Oct 6, 2009 gps navigation, tracking
This keyring sized little gadget you’re looking at is a GPS backtracker. It can store up to five locations of your choice and help you get back to any of those by pointing you in their direction using its digital compass. Of course it also shows you how are you are away from that particular spot.
Navin miniHome is IPX7 waterproof can last long time before needing a USB charge thanks to its smart power features.
Oh, and it seems like every single company has their own version of a GPS backtracker – here are a few other ones that we’ve mentioned on Navigadget before:
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