GPS, Diminutive Spark Nano GPS tracker gives suspicious parents real answers
By Darren Murph 
posted March 18th 2009 5:02PM
posted March 18th 2009 5:02PM
GPS, posted March 18th 2009 5:02PM
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Friggin' Sweet! Only if I was the stalke.... i mean user.
Track your girlfriend and see if she is really "out with the girls". :)
She's always going out with her friend "fiancée". So I think things are going well.
Is the trackee represented by a red tree?
saw few consigmnent stuffs at indonesian computer mall.
http://www.gopasstech.com/
http://www.gopass.com.tw/Product/GooTrac.htm
free live tracking using google earth.. so i guess no subscriptions.
Just let me get one and try it on my cheating dad.. hmm... lots of 20's gold digger here in indonesia going after old 50's Daddy.. or either cheating is the way of life here.
Hoho..
@ OneLove
If you have to track your girlfriend to make sure she is loyal it is probably time to find a new girlfriend. The whole concept is creepy.
wow american parents are craaazy. USA is crazy. hehehe
No, they really do shove those up children's butts and tell them its anti-diarrhea medication (because all american children have constant diarrhea from all the junk food), just to feed their paranoia scares.
Talk to them "soccer moms."
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=soccer+mom
"'Brick'house"? I'm not about to buy an electronic item from a joint with such a moniker :(
i'd never use this if i had kids. where's the trust?
by the way, and this may be a stupid question, but why does engadget always say "after the break"? what "break" are they talking about?
The 'break' is where the article is cut off when displayed on the home page - 'after the break' refers to the parts of the article only shown on the article page.
Its not just about trust, it can help with kidnapping situations too.
I wouldn't force a teenager to wear one, but I would give one to any younger children if I ever had any (and also had a gps tracker), preferably as some kind of necklace or arm band so it won't attract attention, probably wouldn't tell them so they don't accidentally spill it.
With that said why do these things cost so damn much? Every mobile phone now comes with GPS built in, they aren't much bigger and last longer than 5 days while costing less.
@Rhys
Thanks for asking that; I've always wondered if I was missing something 'after the break.' I'd go have a beer or fire up the PS3 and come back, and Engadget had no new information for me. Suspected something was wrong but didn't want to be called a noob.
H3G3mon- so why don't adults wear these as well then??
This is going to open up the door to Car theft reduction... and by reduction i mean when someone steals my car, I am going to track them and reduce them to a pile of bio-matter.. and when the police show up all I have to say is that they tried to car-jack me, so I had no choice but to kill Mr. FAILED ABORTION here...
Yes, I think all criminals are scum and deserve to die so that I may enjoy low insurance rates... I think we need some suicide booths like in Futurama.
Uhm, Lo-Jack?
Ever heard of LoJack?
The way the picture looks make it seem like some GPS mints. lol
Small as it is, how would you possibly plant that thing on your child without them noticing?
it goes on/in the car. it doesn't go on the child. you can put it somewhere in the trunk - hidden of course.
Wow I guess that probably should've been obvious. I feel pretty dumb now.
Well if it has come down to tracking you kid in this way (which I think says something about a parent if they have to resort to this, but this is my opinion only) then you would most likely have to do something like hiding it in a bookbag or sowing it into a bulky item they would not notice like the bottom of a decent sized purse (ala True Lies) or maybe the liner in a jacket if it is think enough. Alternatively if you let the kid drive a vehicle you could just keep it in there and hope it does not overheat. There are ways, but I say the best solution to all this is to raise you children correctly. I know sometimes that isn't enough, but for the most part I feel it is.
/rant
Easy - stitch it into their backpack, or cut a space for it in the sole of their shoe, while they sleep. And that's just for starters.
Implant it in their neck.
backpack seems like the best option, or purse.
$50/month subscription.....ouch!
piece of mind for people that have a nice collector car-muscle car-Sport cycle and can get instant notification if someone is trying to steal it...
Bad parenting and paranoia are AN EXPENSIVE COMBINATION.
How cool would it be to attach one of these to a pet, so see where on earth they go?
Using this to track people without consent should be illegal, though, even if it is a minor under your supervision. That's just creepy as hell.
I always thought it'd be awesome to stick a camera on someone's cat and see what it spends its time doing.
no cool.
@ Dan - I am totally with you there. A camera would be sweet, but thisi s still good... It would be interesting to see how far outside pets like cats travel.
@dan
Want to see how a cat spends its time?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8pbvRPRmrM
You'd be pretty bored watching that gps.
@ Dan
Here ya go!
http://www.mr-lee-catcam.de/index.htm
@letstakeawalk oh wow, that's awesome
That's brilliant, I wish I had a cat that I could fix one to! I don't think it would be quite as interesting with my dog, unless he lets himself out of the house when I go to work.
70 bucks to subscribe, and 50 bucks a month, and 3 bills just to buy the unit? I'll wait
I wonder how easily it can be "implanted" so that it can see the sky and satellites, plus be able to get a signal out. I guess I should follow the links, eh?
After having kids, I tend to disregard anyone who states a position about how they'd treat kids "if [they] had kids."
mas
I can several practical applications for this that are not necessarily "spying."
1) Laptop bag, backpack, or purse/man purse--hide it in a small pocket or sew it in the seam. If it gets ripped off, you can track it down.
2) Luggage. Have you lost your luggage before? This can help you ask the unhelpful airline worker why your luggage is if F*cking Toledo and you're not.
3) Keep it in your own car in a hidden compartment like a hide-a-key thing or something. It's like a LoJack but cheaper.
4) Hide under a bicycle seat or inside the seat post receiver tube--a bike LoJack. If you have an expensive &/or customized bike, it's worth it.
Well, it's practical if the prices were practical...
Too bad it has a finite battery life. Five days isn't that bad, but then you'd need to plug ut back in to recharge. Yes, you can sew it in so that the plug is possibly accessible, but that's yet another thing to plug in when you get home.
I'd much rather just track their cell phone, similar to the way Disney was doing with their cell phone. As soon as your kid catches wind that they are being tracked they can simply ditch said backpack or ride with a friend. If it's a cell phone, they're more likely to always have it on themselves at all times so they can txt/call.
I agree, that if you parent your child correctly, this is unneeded, but it would be a useful tool for some parents in limited instances. Granted there is a large capacity for this to be abused (and I mean intruding on adults, I don't think a minor has a say in whether or not they are being tracked on a free cell phone) but I think it can be used properly.
The thing most people miss, is that you are only as good as you are when no one is looking. Tracking won't fix the behavior, but it will allow you to see the signs. Your child should be behaving well not because they are being watched, but because they truly want to be good...
This is a godsend for the caretakers of people who cannot fend for themselves. Learning or developmentally disabled, Alzheimer's patients, etc.
The patronizing comments about overprotective parents are sadly out of touch with the reality of caring for someone that can't find their way home.
I always lose my car in those big parking lots; this would help find it again w/o walking around like a homeless person for an hour, or having to ride along with the crazed derelict who operates the mall 'security' vehicle...and surprisingly, few mall patrons will drive you around looking for your car, even if you ask nicely.
The cheating tech-dumb wife's worst nightmare.
If I were a kid and found out that my parents used this to track where I am, I would never trust them again.
Caution: may not work if kidnapper wants child to put lotion on their skin.
It would be cheaper and makes more sense if you bought them a cell phone that can share your location at all times. I think Sprint has it.
Correction;
You can do same thing with Nextel or Boost cell phones, and its free.
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/93