GPS trackers are getting more popular and capable each day but how to choose the best GPS tracker? How can you find the best GPS tracker in 2020 among the variety of them presented on the market?
A GPS tracker follows the location of a person or object and transmits information with coordinates to a special site, sends an SMS notification to a phone or to a smartphone application. These functions clearly convince that the GPS tracker solves a wide range of tasks, which buyers can have on their minds: to follow their child or elderly parent who for some reasons can be lost, to follow a suitcase during a layover, to follow your own vehicle or lease vehicle etc. So how do you choose the best GPS tracker which is perfectly suitable for you? Let's move on to the details to know which tracker you need.
Types of GPS Trackers
Firstly, you need to decide for yourself which goal of the tracking you have.
- Personal GPS tracker - determines the location of a person or an object, works stand-alone and has its own battery.
- Car GPS tracker - designed for installation in a car, and usually connects to the main car battery. Can be used on a permanent basis to track company lease cars, for example.
GPS battery consumption
When choosing a GPS tracker, pay close attention to the power source. If you are buying a GPS tracker to follow a person/object and want to put a mini GPS in the bag of your child, then a battery-powered model will work for you. The battery life of the device is dependent on its power consumption. The power consumption will depend on how you want to track an object: real time by following the exact route of the object or delayed which means the device will send its location once per hour/day. This update frequency will determine how long the GPS can work.
On the other hand, if you select a GPS tracker for (permanent) installation in cars, models connected to the on-board car battery will be more suitable than models with a built-in battery.
GPS Tracking abroad
A GPS tracker works in such a way that it determines its location by acquiring satellite signals and then transmits this data to your device (phone or computer) over the internet. For the GPS tracker to be able to transmit this data a SIM card with an enabled data plan is required.
When choosing a GPS tracker, you should give preference to a device which has international coverage. The coverage area in which the device will work will depend on the mobile operator of the used SIM card. If you buy a GPS tracker and buy your own SIM card, the internet will usually only work in your own country, and not abroad. If you want to be able to track your belongings or loved ones internationally (e.g. track the location of your suitcase while traveling) it is advised to get a GPS tracker that supports multiple countries.
Installation and use of the device
Not all GPS trackers are easy to pair with your phone or computer. Some GPS trackers require you to manually configure a SIM card, configure internet settings through hard to use SMS messages, require difficult steps to create accounts and pair it with the device etc. These setup procedures can be a major burden for the average user.
More modern GPS trackers for example allow you to quickly pair the tracker with your phone by Bluetooth and take care of all the complicated setup steps for you.
Quality and price of the GPS tracker
In today's market, GPS trackers are available at different prices and technical capabilities, ranging from simple to more complex. There are a lot of companies which resell (cheap) GPS trackers which originate from China. If you are buying such a GPS tracker make sure that there are clear instructions in how to use it as there are devices that only come with Chinese instructions, or even none at all. Also be sure to check how you can view the location of the GPS tracker: do you need to manually request the location every time by calling a phone number, or are you able to view all data from an easy to use app on your phone?
If you are looking for a modern high quality GPS tracker that is designed in The Netherlands, works in more than 40 countries world-wide, and has a free iOS and Android app, then take a look at the ODIN GPS-03:
