Quantum GPS is unveiling its latest mobile tracking solution, the TrackBerry!
The TrackBerry Mobile GPS Tracking Platform is a smartphone application providing you with all the benefits of a separate real time GPS tracker without having to actually carry around a different device or any additional cables and chargers. Real time tracking has never been so easy!
The TrackBerry is the perfect real-time professional tracking solution for your business needs:
- Monitor your employees’ whereabouts, downtime and driving behaviours
- Create customized geofences and e-mail/sms alerts for specific events (arrival on target, departure from target, speed limit exceeded)
- Know when a user is in need of assistance thanks to the SOS feature
- Adapted for vehicle tracking, asset tracking, fleet tracking, personal tracking…
- Works internationally under cellular coverage.
GPS tracking devices have come down in price, but choosing the best GPS device to suit your needs can be confusing as there are many different designs. The following will help to explain the differences between the different types of GPS trackers on the market.
All GPS tracking devices are either real-time or passive GPS trackers.
Real-time GPS trackers are constantly updating their position to an online GPS mapping software via a cellular network. This allows the user to track the location of the GPS tracking device, in real time, from any Internet enabled device. Depending on the tracker, multiple variables can be transmitted including location, speed, start/stop time, altitude and direction. Should the device be in a cellular dead zone, the tracker will automatically switch to a passive tracking mode and store the location(s) of the device in an internal memory chip. When the cellular connection is restored, the device will revert to real-time tracking and upload the stored locations to the mapping software. Since real-time GPS trackers require a cellular connection, a cellular plan must be purchased in addition to the tracking device. Some real-time trackers are designed to operate independent of a cellular network and upload their position via satellite. This allows for real time tracking virtually anywhere on earth.
Real-time trackers are great for keeping tabs on something or someone, in a situation where you would need to know the location of the tracker at any time, for example a family member in a foreign country. A real-time GPS tracker would allow you to see his/her location at any time and ensure that he/she is safe.
Passive GPS trackers are not connected to a cellular network and therefore do not automatically upload their position to a GPS mapping software. Passive trackers record the tracking information internally, to be retrieved at a later date when connected to a computer. Whereas with a real-time tracker you can find out where the tracker currently is, a passive tracker will only tell you where the device has been once the information is uploaded to a computer. The internal memory of the device can vary depending on the device.
Both real-time and passive trackers come in a variety of designs for different tracking scenarios.
Asset trackers are ideal for tracking shipments and other valuable cargo to see where they are/have been while in transit. Since cargo can spend weeks on boat and in customs, asset trackers feature a long lasting battery so you can always determine the location of your goods. Because some foreign ports and the open seas are outside of the cellular network, some asset trackers transmit their position over a satellite network allowing them to function virtually everywhere.
Fleet trackers are designed from the ground up to track vehicles. They are often hard wired to the vehicles electrical system allowing them to function indefinitely. Additionally some fleet trackers have the ability to record additional information about the vehicle such as if the ignition is on or off, engine temperature and even airbag deployment. There are even fleet trackers specifically designed for motorcycles. Great for locating a stolen bike, they can even alert emergency personnel in the event of a crash.
Fleet trackers allow businesses to operate more efficiently and give dispatchers more information on the vehicles out in the field. Fleet trackers are also a great solution for keeping tabs on the family car and teen drivers.
Personal trackers are designed small enough to be carried on person, they are a great way to keep tabs on children, elderly and employees. For tracking in remote parts of the world, some trackers operate over a satellite network to provide constant tracking anytime anywhere. For those who like to travel in remote locations, personal trackers are a great solution. There are even models that allow you to “check-in” and send out an “SOS.”
]]>Many consumers are searching for GPS devices online without knowing that a data plan is essential in order to use the GPS systems. Once they’ve purchased the GPS product they wonder why the device isn’t working, and then when they find out that a data plan through the company is necessary for the GPS to work they regret purchasing the device in the first place. This mistake is due to insufficient pre-purchase research and confusing passive GPS trackers with active ones (active or real-time GPS trackers require a data plan and passive trackers do not).
A GPS system is simply a cool black box if it doesn’t have a service or data plan providing the information channeled through the GPS for the user. The device is similar to a smartphone in terms of paying for a data plan when purchasing a phone in order to use internet and applications. A GPS provides real-time, sometimes geo-tagged, data that must be updated and maintained by a company. This costs money.
For everyone who is considering buying a GPS tracker for their business or personal use make sure that you find out if there’s a data plan that comes along with the specific device that you’re considering. Most data plans are reasonably priced as well.
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Everyone can find a use for the LandAirSea SilverCloud Real Time GPS Tracker. Whether you use it for the surveillance of your kids’ whereabouts, to track your company’s vehicles and equipment or as a security measure when you go hiking in the wilderness, this simple device will enable you to follow their exact locations in real-time.
The SilverCloud Real Time GPS Tracker will give you updates every five minutes, featuring the addresses travelled to, the stops made & the speeds driven. It will represent all this information on satellite images and maps powered by Google and send you simple reports of all activity for a period of time that you determine. You can also easily access the SilverCloud system online 24/7. Use any given computer or mobile device with your favorite browser to check the travelled routes or even get direct alerts sent to you via e-mail or text for specific events (arrivals and departures, speeds, etc).
The SilverCloud Real Time GPS Tracker comes with an unlimited 5-minute update plan with no monthly plan or additional per use fee, but it can also be set to different update intervals depending on your needs. Additional tracking frequency / update rates are: three seconds, five seconds, ten seconds or one minute. And don’t worry about longer trips, an incorporated Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery will provide five to six days of real-time driving activity tracking.
Get your own SilverCloud Real Time GPS Tracker on Quantum Wireless today!
Find additional information in our latest newsletter (to sign-up, please enter your email adress in the bottom left corner of the Quantum homepage).
]]>The New York Times, January 29th, 2011 — AH, wilderness. The great outdoors, the fresh air — and the spotty cellphone coverage. But hikers, adventurers and others in remote places who want to send messages now have a new alternative when the signal vanishes: they can send texts using a satellite network instead.
You can’t send your version of “War and Peace” — the limits of the messages are typically 41 to 120 characters — but you can send dispatches from the woods announcing: “Chain on bike broke, will be late” or “Pick me up. I’m not having fun.” And you can make specific requests for emergency help if necessary.
For the last several years, people heading to remote areas have been able to buy an device from a company called Spot that sends requests for help via satellite. The device also allows people to add a preprogrammed message, but it cannot send an original text.
Now, new hand-held devices from Spot allow people in the wild to compose and beam short, original text messages via satellite, and even send e-mail, Twitter feeds and Facebook updates. Other companies, too, have introduced text messengers that work via satellite.
And while it has been possible for some time to make voice calls in remote areas with satellite telephones, their use has been limited because of their high cost.
The new message technology provides a more economical alternative. It offers an additional layer of security in the wilderness so long as you use it properly, said Jason Stevenson of Lancaster, Pa., author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Backpacking and Hiking.”
“The problem with cellphones is reliability in back country, miles from the road,” Mr. Stevenson said. “That’s why these new satellite devices are so helpful. They work just about everywhere so long as you have a clear line of sight to the sky,” and no narrow canyon wall or dense foliage that blocks the satellite links required for a connection.
But before setting out with the new gadgets, users should take time to understand the technology and its limits. “The mechanics of using a satellite-connected device in the woods are not as simple as whipping out your cellphone and calling,” he said.
To send messages, users key the text into a GPS unit or a smartphone linked to a transmitter, which sends the message skyward to the satellite system. A GPS receiver from DeLorme, the Earthmate PN-60w, sold as a pair with the Spot Satellite Communicator, costs $549.95 at L.L. Bean. Users must also pay for satellite service ($99.99 for a year) and the sending of original messages ($50 for 500), said Derek Moore, a spokesman for Spot, which is a subsidiary of Globalstar, a satellite network company in Covington, La. The system is one-way; users can send texts but not receive them.
In February, Spot will introduce a free smartphone application to be paired with another Spot transmitter called the Spot Connect ($150). Users type their text messages on Android-based phones linked wirelessly by Bluetooth to the Spot Connect device, Mr. Moore said. An app for iPhones will be arriving shortly, he said. The basic service charge will be $99.99 a year.
Before they head for the forest, users must go to the Spot Web site and set up contact information for the people they may want to reach, said Tim Flight, editor of GPSReview.net in Carrabassett Valley, Me. Once on the trail, the DeLorme GPS unit shows the contacts’ names. “You pick the people and key in your message,” he said.
For an additional $50 a year, Spot will track users’ routes, reporting their locations every 10 minutes on Google maps on the Web site, Mr. Moore said.
Michael Bramel, a volunteer overseer for the Appalachian Trail who lives in Gettysburg, Pa., likes the service.
“My wife can go to the Web site and see how far I’ve gotten,” he said. His mother likes it, too. On his way to visit her over the holidays, he put the Spot into the car, and “she could click on the Web site and see how close I was,” he said.
Messages sent by the new satellite systems fill an unusual niche, said Jonathan Dorn, editor of Backpacker magazine, who has been testing the Spot-DeLorme pair.
“Hikers love to tell stories,” he said. “Historically, we have to wait until we get home.” Now some of those stories can be told in real time. “It’s wonderful to be able to communicate spontaneously this way with a device that fits in the palm of your hand,” he said.
GeoPro of Mississauga, Ontario, offers a satellite-based device that allows users not only to send texts but also to receive them, said Morris Shawn, the company’s president. The cost varies from $600 to $700 for the device, he said, with monthly fees for service through Iridium’s satellite network typically $35 to $50.
And if texting is not enough, the classic solution, a satellite telephone, is available at a price. For example, a lightweight Iridium 9555 satellite telephone is a best seller at www.globalcomsatphone.com, said Steve Manley, the site’s president ($1,268 plus service; one option is $39 a month, plus $1.39 a minute). The phone works anywhere with a view of the sky, he said. Mr. Manley, who flies a plane in his free time, has the phone on board — and a Spot on the dashboard so his family can follow his route online.
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SPOT Connect™ turns leading smartphones into a personal one-way satellite communicator capable of sending messages with GPS position to personal contacts, social networks or to summon help in emergencies from remote areas beyond cellular coverage
Las Vegas, NV , January 04 2011- Spot LLC continues to pioneer innovation in satellite communications, bringing global messaging technology into the hands of millions worldwide. A wholly owned subsidiary of Globalstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: GSAT), Spot LLC today announced SPOT Connect, a new SPOT satellite communicator capable of sending messages over the Globalstar satellite network from smartphone operating systems. Winner of this year’s CES Innovations Award in Design and Engineering in the Personal Electronics category, SPOT Connect will showcase this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Today’s smartphones provide mobile social connection. But when users go off-grid, their smartphone needs help. SPOT Connect provides connectivity to global communication satellites for sending location-based messages from around town or areas outside of cellular phone coverage. By simply downloading the SPOT Connect app, SPOT Connect wirelessly synchs via Bluetooth with smartphone operating systems like Android. SPOT message features are then initiated using the SPOT Connect app on the smart device.
“For the first time ever, urban professionals, outdoor enthusiasts and world travelers can utilize cost-efficient, personal satellite communications directly from their smartphone.” said Peter Dalton, President of Spot LLC and CEO of Globalstar, Inc. “When paired with SPOT Connect your everyday smartphone overcomes traditional limitations associated with cellular coverage, keeping you better connected to your personal contacts and social groups like Facebook and Twitter when you want to be.”
Additional Benefits and features:
- Uses the GPS satellite system to determine location and the Globalstar satellite network to transmit that information to personal contacts or an international emergency response center
- Send location-based messages via satellite to others delivered as SMS text or email
- Send custom “Type and Send” 41 character text messages from your location
- Update social networks including Facebook, Twitter and SPOT Adventures from remote locations
- Provide GPS functionality to non-GPS devices
- Utilize proven SPOT messaging features – Send custom or predefined messages, Track Progress on Google Maps™, or transmit an SOS message in an emergency
- Store up to 10 predefined messages for quick reference and sending
- Create and save contact groups to receive your SPOT Connect message. Each contact group can contain multiple contacts consisting of cell phone numbers and or email addresses
- On device SOS button for standalone emergency operation
- Web & Mobile account management
- Bluetooth wireless connection
- Waterproof to IPX7 standard
- Lightweight at 3.7 ounces, SPOT Connect is portable and can be used handheld or attached to a pack or RAM mounting system
The SPOT Connect app can be downloaded anytime and works when SPOT Connect is registered with SPOT Basic Service and paired with the smart device. SPOT Connect is compatible with some of today’s leading smartphone operating systems such as Android. Additional smartphone compatibility is scheduled for release later this year.
Spot LLC is showcasing SPOT Connect and its entire line of award-winning satellite GPS tracking and messaging products at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Trade Show at SPOT booth number 35647 located in the IT Wireless Zone, South Hall 4.
Pricing and Product Availability Information:
SPOT Connect retails $169.99 MSRP plus a required annual subscription service starting at $99.99 per year and is scheduled to begin shipping this January to retail locations and online sites specializing in GPS, outdoor recreation and personal electronics. For more information on SPOT Connect and other SPOT products and location-based satellite service offerings like SPOT Assist Roadside and BoatUS Towing Services, visit www.findmespot.com
Coverage:
SPOT satellite coverage works around the world, including all of the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Australia Northern and Central Africa, portions of South America and North-Eastern Asia and hundreds or thousands of miles offshore of these areas.
About Spot LLC
Spot LLC, a subsidiary of Globalstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: GSAT), provides emergency notification technology that allows users to communicate from remote locations around the globe. The SPOT product family uses both the GPS satellite network to determine a customer’s location and the Globalstar network to transmit messages and GPS coordinates to others including an international rescue coordination center. Thanks to this affordable, cutting edge personal safety device, the company offers people peace of mind by allowing customers to notify friends and family of their location and status, and to send for emergency assistance in time of need, completely independent of cellular phone or wireless coverage. For more information on how Spot LLC is helping others stay connected – from disaster preparedness to outdoor adventure – visit www.findmeSPOT.com
]]>The term GPS tracking might evoke images of James Bond or George Orwell’s Big Brother. To some, this technology seems a bit distasteful; clandestinely following others’ movements certainly invades privacy and is arguably unethical. However, in today’s modern age where the covert devices of old are available in the mainstream market, this invasive technology has been remarkably adapted to helpful, and even life-saving applications. 
The business world has adapted GPS trackers for managing fleet tracking of company vehicles and tracking employees. With trackers like the Spark Nano (Product replaced by MiniQ), supervisors can monitor every active vehicle in their fleet as well as keep records of their travels – distances, stops, and time out on the road. This allows businesses to manage their time more effectively by easily determining the quickest routes and cracking down on those extra-long coffee breaks. The Trackberry allows business execs to keep track of their employees through their cellphones, also enhancing productivity. Though a little invasive, these technologies can help keep your honest employees honest.
There are still other uses for trackers that serve more altruistic purposes. A common problem among families caring for an elderly relative with dementia or a sibling with autism is the tendency for those individuals to wander off without the ability to care for themselves or find their way home. These situations are tense, stressful, and extremely dangerous. Families need to rush out into the neighborhood, looking for their relatives before they cross a street at the wrong time, or wander onto a city bus. With trackers for children and the elderly, families can keep their loved ones under constant watch and many real-time trackers use geo-fencing to alert you immediately when the carrier of a device leaves a certain virtually-enclosed area. Even pet owners can allay their fears of losing Rex forever, by equipping him with his very own pet tracker.
GPS trackers have certainly provided much peace of mind to those caring for relatives by keeping them safe. But this technology even provides a lifeline to those of sound mind and body. The Spot Messenger and Delorme Earthmate are built for world travelers and adventurers who always take the trail off the beaten path. Not only do these devices provide constant waypoint feeds to concerned folks back home, but in times of distress, SOS signals can be easily broadcast, bringing emergency services to your exact location as soon as possible.
So the next time you hear about GPS trackers or tracking devices, don’t think of James Bond, think of Lassie.
Receives CES Innovations Award recognizing cutting-edge design in hottest consumer electronics product categories
YARMOUTH, ME — (Nov. 16, 2010) –The DeLorme Earthmate PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator has received yet another major honor, as it was named winner of a CES Innovations Award during an event in New York City.
The Innovations Design and Engineering Awards program recognizes the most innovative consumer electronics (CE) products in the industry's hottest product categories.
The Earthmate PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator comprises the world’s first handheld GPS capable of sending custom text messages using SPOT satellite technology. Ideal for anyone from outdoors enthusiasts to international relief workers, it introduces a revolutionary new way to communicate from remote locations beyond the reach of cell phone coverage.
“DeLorme is deeply honored to receive this prestigious award, and especially excited to showcase the PN-60w with SPOT to the worldwide market at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in January,” said DeLorme Vice President Caleb Mason.
Earlier this year, the Earthmate PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator received a Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award and National Geographic Adventure Gear of the Year honors.
About DeLorme
DeLorme is the longtime leader in innovative mapping and GPS solutions for both consumer and professional markets. The company's Earthmate PN-Series GPS receivers feature rugged, waterproof designs and provide a wide array of DeLorme topographic and street maps, plus aerial imagery and nautical charts. The company’s business and government solutions include a variety of World and North America mapping datasets and XMap GIS software tools. Located in Yarmouth, Maine, DeLorme is home to Eartha™, the world's largest rotating and revolving globe.
About Spot LLC
The SPOT product family uses both the GPS satellite network to determine a customer's location and the Globalstar network to transmit messages and GPS coordinates to others including an international rescue coordination center. Spot LLC, a subsidiary of Globalstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: GSAT), provides emergency notification technology that allows users to communicate from remote locations around the globe. Thanks to this affordable, cutting edge personal safety device, the company offers people peace of mind by allowing customers to notify friends and family of their location and status, and to send for emergency assistance in time of need, completely independent of cellular phone or wireless coverage. For more information on how Spot LLC is helping others stay connected – from disaster preparedness to outdoor adventure – visit www.findmeSPOT.com.
Media Contacts:
DeLorme
Charlie Conley
(207) 846-7022
charlie.conley@delorme.com
Spot LLC
Derek Moore
(408) 933-4112
derek.moore@findmespot.com
There are a lot of tools one needs to make it to the top of the world's highest mountain above sea level. Tents, food, and proper climbing gear all take precedence over gadgetry when one is pitted against some of the most treacherous conditions in all of nature. American climber Eric Larsen surely had all of those things with him when he made his recent 29,000 ft. trek up to the top of Mt. Everest, but he left a little extra room in his pack for the DeLorme Earthmate PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator. Equipped with the ability to send messages create custom Type & Send messages for delivery, the award-winning GPS device not only provided Larsen with an emergency lifeline should something have gone horribly wrong, but it also let the public track the progress oft his difficult climb.
Finally at the moment of triumph Larsen used the Earthmate PN60w to relay his excitement via twitter:
Reaching the summit of Everest was the crowning achievement in Larsen's Save the Poles expedition, in which he became the first person to reach both the North and South Poles and the Everest summit in a 365-day period. The trip is a testament to the ability of the Earthmate GPS to work anywhere in the world in the most hazardous of conditions. Just imagine, If you can keep in contact with an adventurer ascending the world's highest peaks and most desolate regions, you'd most certainly be able to stay connected to an amateur globe trekker wandering the markets of Marrakech.
]]>The GPS geniuses at DeLorme have a lot to smile about lately; their Earthmate GPS PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator has been basking in the glow of acclaim from several prestigious sources. While a recent honor from Popular Mechanics is no small potatoes, you can't be "showered" in praise with just one award, you need at least two honorable mentions before you're unofficially inundated with accomplishment.
That second ray of recognition came today as the extremely well-regarded and worldly wise globe trekkers at National Geographic bestowed the groundbreaking GPS device with a "Gear of the Year" award. DeLorme and SPOT's GPS tracking collaboration allows you to communicate with the outside world via bursts of 41 characters or less, managing to marry the acts of getting lost and being found in beautiful fashion.
It's a must for anyone traveling off the grid into dangerous situations or those just eager to explore uncharted territory. If the DeLorme Eathmate GPS PN-60w with SPOT is good enough to serve the wanderlust of National Geographic, it's certainly good enough for anything you're planning to do.
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