GPS, Ask Engadget: What's the best GPS tracker for under $300?
By Darren Murph 
posted June 5th 2009 12:28AM
posted June 5th 2009 12:28AM
Think fast! You've just stumbled upon this week's episode of Ask Engadget, and just like those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books from yesteryear, you've a few choices here. One is to leave like a coward; another is to really dig in and contribute; and another is to drop some knowledge and send in a question of your own to ask at engadget dawt com. While you ponder which route is best for you, here's Matthew's plea:"There are so many GPS trackers on the market today to choose from. I'm just looking for basic monitoring abilities and decent battery life, and of course I want one that's as small and discrete as possible. Which is the best one for less than $300?"
No need to confess in comments what you use your own tracker for (trust us, we could narrow it down on our own), but do tell if you've found a winner. Bonus points if your module has landed your scandalous SO on a recent episode of Cheaters.
I'd go with anything with the SiRFStar III chipset in it. Very reliable, compact, and excellent battery life.
"as small and discreet as possible."
Tada.
"small and discreet"?
are you and @joshuatopolsky watching cheaters together?
Amod AGL3080 $60
You can get a Zoombak aGPS tracker for $99.99 at your local radioshack.
Wow... there's so many to choose from... and the big question is do you want real time monitoring or not? I saw someone post the Trackstick (in reference to tracking a cat... which I could see being interesting in a weird kind of way)... but they also make a cheaper model, the trackstick II for about $189: http://www.eaprotection.com/trackstick-ii.aspx
Add real time and your price goes way up, plus you start to look at monthly fees to send the data back (usually over a cellular network). If you want cheap, the locally stored devices are decent. The Enduro (which was reviewed a while back here on Engadget) comes in at just under $300, but you then run into monthly and activation fees.
you just can't get any smaller than this
http://www.semsons.com/qsbtnakeblgp1.html
Me and my friends use a amateur radio system called APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) it works realy great and there is no monthly fees, but you do have to be a licenced amateur radio opperator.
Advanced Tracking has the TravelEyes historical tracker and the VisionII Realtime for $199
Open GPS tracker. Below $50 and open-source. As it should be. Requires just a simcard and some microcontrollers.
http://www.opengpstracker.org/
I use a Boost phone with http://www.accutracking.com. I have it on a car thats been stolen once already. Very cheap solution.
I have a Smart Track from www.RMTracking.com for $199. I use it as a theft recovery device. I don't have to pay any monthly fees.
I use a Holux M-241 It's a gps logger in the shape of an old 35mm film.
Takes 1 AA battery,
has both bluetooth and USB.
built in LCD.
It's simple in form and design but I use it:
a.) in the car powered via USB for bluetooth tomtom on PDA.also logs routes and tracks
b.) for reviewing hike's/routes/sailing in google earth (program on cd)
Also comes with a little application that allows you to sync your digital photo's with your log and view them all in google earth.
Battery life is just over 11 hours but should be able to get more by increasing the log interval time.. unit also saves tracks but data may get corrupted if track log isn't stopped first.
Would have no problem recommending this to anyone. google/or ebay for more deals/info
This is Vanessa Hu from Amwell - Professional vehicle GPS tracker supplier located in Shenzhen,China.
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At last but most imporant,we care about quality and after sales service,we are committed to our products for lifetime maintenance,
We look forward to continuing a mutually beneficial trade between our companies.
Thanks and best regards
Vanessa Hu
Sales and marketing manager
Shenzhen Union Security Industrial Co.,LTD.
Tel:+86-755-61524255 (Directline)
+86-755-61139168(20 lines)
Fax:+86-755-61139139
Mobile:+86-13823372960
+86-13760285565
Mail: vanessahu@amwell.com.cn
Msn: amwell.gps@hotmail.com
Website:www.amwell-gps.com
Add.: Weixinda building.A,2nd floor,BaoMin Road,ChenTian Industry Area,XiXiang,BaoAn,Shenzhen China
There is a new service coming out for gps phones...helps to track and recover mobile devices.
http://www.itag.com