Zoombak Universal A-GPS Locator

Cool Yule Rating: 4 stars

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Cool Yule Rating: 4 stars

Price: $200 (plus service, about $145 per year if prepaid)

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Description: The Zoombak is a personal GPS locator that helps users keep track of the location of a vehicle, pets or even a person (placed in a backpack, for example). The small device (about the size of a digital camera battery pack) is powered by a rechargeable battery (up to five days of life when powered). Locations can be tracked on-demand via a personal Web site portal, or continuous tracking (up to 60 minutes) can provide a map of different location points (if you're tracking a moving vehicle, for example).

In addition to the tracking features, you can set up "Safety Zones" that alert you when the device enters/leaves an area (great for keeping track of kids to make sure they made it to school). Alerts can also be sent if the device's battery is low or if the device is powered off.

The initial setup was a little tricky, and setting up alerts via the portal takes some time. Other than the safety zone features, there's no way to alert authorities like the Spot device.

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