Are you one of those forgetful people who tend to lose their belongings often, or want to find a stolen item? Sometimes we leave the house thinking we have our bag with us then start frantically searching for it and after 15 minutes you remember you never left the house with it in the first place. If the answer to all the above is yes, then it’s a good idea to get some help from technology by investing in clever little devices called tracking gadgets.
The technology market is full of a variety of tracking gadgets that you can attach to your belongings which may get lost or stolen, and allow you to easily trace their location.
But what if you had access to a tech product that could help you locate these precious items in a matter of seconds; would you try it? The good news is, there are several simple tech solutions that can help save you time and energy looking for the things that matter the most.
Will cover today the different types of tracking technologies and their different uses which will help you in choosing the right product or a collection of different ones depending on what you need to track and for how far of a distance
In order to use tracking feature, the gadgets use the following technologies that are widely available in the market:
- GPS
- Cellular network
- Bluetooth
- WiFi
You can buy a tracker with different combination from the list above but the most widely used ones are Bluetooth, GPS, or one with all four.
The simplest one
Bluetooth trackers are best if you are tracking something with the Bluetooth range limit which is 30 ft (10m). This means you cannot use it to track belongings that are far off, these are best used to track a tv remote, keys, and any item you usually misplace in the house. These devices are almost always having a one-off charge which is paying for the cost of the device.
Lets get more outdoorsy
The next type of tracker uses cellular and GPS to track items far away and can be used across the globe. If you are a frequent traveler, you might want to get one of those for your bags in case they get lost in the airport or get stolen you would be able to track their exact location to retrieve it.
There is also a variant which can be used to track your pets. We all had that one pet that loves to run away now you would be able to track your pet to their (almost) exact location, the tracker used a cellular connection combined to pinpoint your pet’s location and mark it on your map which you can use to navigate to.
Now these devices can be a bit tricky to setup correctly based on your needs and frequency of updates or even alarms that go off in certain situations. For example you can set a zone where your pet is always located in and if they step outside of it you would then receive a notification on your phone.
Can I track my child?
Your certainly can and should! Now this is not exactly setup as a pet or belongings trackers but it is usually fun watch kids would wear.
There is a big range of kids watches out there that are similar to smart watches but offer more features for a parent. Most parents do not want their child that are very young to be on social media due to its negative effect, so giving them a phone is not an option on the table. Instead, parents opt for a watch that has the capabilities of tracking, calling to check on them, and even use the camera on the watch (that’s right a camera on the wrist) to video chat.
Similar to the other trackers, this has all the tracking technologies available and come with a monthly subscription.
You can set limits to who can contact your child, who they can contact as these options are predefined in the watch through setting it up using your mobile app.
Safe zones can always be setup to send alerts when they move from it. For example your child is in school all day and the safe zone is set around the school zone, if they step a few feet off it means they left the zone and you can contact them right away.
Parents be assured that you’re the only one who can access the watch or give access to others, like a grand parent or other family member.
These devices are fun to have and some come with a monthly subscription. I did not make a list of brands to purchase, just setting you on the right path to choose the best product out there that fit your needs
Be aware of advertisement as some companies that sell the Bluetooth only trackers do not mention that you cannot track outside the range. So read the reviews carefully and conduct your own research for what is best out here based on your needs.
Technologies is moving so fast and these items I mentioned might sound as a luxury but technology is here to make our life easier, imagine what it was like trying to reach someone before the cellular age. These devices that sound as a luxury item at the moment will be a standard in a few years like cell phones these days.