Alltell Wireless Axcess Family Finder November 15, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking children , 1 comment so far
Alltell Wireless has introduced their own child tracking service, dubbed Axcess Family Finder. The cost is $9.99 a month per child application. Normal airtime charges apply though it appears that there is no other charge each time you check the location.
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84% of survey respondents want child tracking service October 23, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and privacy, GPS tracking cell phones, GPS tracking children , 1 comment so far
Tele Atlas, the road navigation data company being bought by TomTom, has published the results of a wireless GPS survey. Among other findings the study reports that:
84 percent of respondents expressed interest in “child locator” services that would show a detailed route to where their child is currently, and 47 percent expressed interest in “friend locator” services.
A healthy willingness for subscribers to pay for such services: Approximately 74 percent of respondents with a minor child indicated an acceptance of monthly fees for “child locator” offerings, and nearly 40 percent of respondents indicated wiliness to pay for “friend locator” offerings. Of note, respondents expressed heightened interest for such offerings if provided via ad-sponsored models.
SkyPatrol GPS car tracking system September 4, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS vehicle tracking, GPS tracking children , 1 comment so far
SkyPatrol is a GPS car tracking system that locates your vehicle via GSM cellular networks. While it is used for fleet tracking, it is also used by individuals to track teen drivers and for stolen vehicle recovery. The hardware is priced at $399.99, though I’ve tracked down a $100 off discounted price for the
SkyPatrol GPS Vehicle Tracking System
at TigerGPS.
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GPS tracking in school uniforms August 21, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and privacy, GPS tracking children , 2 commentsFrom the UK comes news that Trutex, the country’s largest seller of school uniforms, is considering incorporating GPS tracking in future product lines. From Gizmodo UK:
According to its survey, 44% of parents want to tag their children with GPS tracking devices while almost 60% would be pay for GPS devices that are incorporated into the school uniform.
Interestingly, 39% of kids from 9-12 years old want to be tagged, saying they feel safer if their parents know where they are. Unsurprisingly, kids aged over 13 were less keen on Mom and Pop knowing their whereabouts.
Teensurance GPS tracking goes nationwide June 27, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS vehicle tracking, GPS tracking children , 1 comment so farThe insurance firm Safeco announced today the nationwide availability of Teensurance, allowing parents to track where a driver is, how fast they are driving, and the time they arrive at a specific location. The auto tracking system, dubbed “Safety Beacon GPS,” relays data via cellular networks.
Teensurance is available beginning today at an introductory rate of $14.99 per month, which is guaranteed for two years. Safeco is citing a normal rate of $29.99 per month. Installation and emergency roadside assistance is included. Further costs are likely to be incurred with Safety Beacon alerts:
Teensurance subscribers purchase and spend “credits” to enable and receive Safety Beacon™ notifications. For example, you spend one credit each time:
- Safety Beacon™ notifies you about an event, such as your vehicle exceeding a speed threshhold or reaching a destination.
- You request information from Safety Beacon™—such as your vehicle’s location—from a phone or your account at teensurance.com.
- You configure a Safety Beacon feature or turn a feature on or off.
You receive 100 free starter credits when you buy Teensurance. Additional credits must be purchased through your online account. A block of 100 credits costs $29.99.
Other features include stolen vehicle retrieval support and remote door unlock.
Surprisingly, and to their credit, Safeco says they will not use collected individual data, stating that “individuals’ driving data (speed and location notifications) will be available only to parents and teens.”
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AmberWatch Mobile GPS tracking service June 25, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking cell phones, GPS tracking children , 3 comments
The nonprofit AmberWatch Foundation has announced the new AmberWatch Mobile GPS tracking service for cell phones, designed to help protect children from sexual predators and other risks.
Scheduled to become available beginning in September 2007, AmberWatch Mobile’s services will include text-message, voice, web and email alerting systems that provide:
- Alerts: Individuals will be able to send alerts, which include their GPS location, to family and friends to indicate that they need assistance.
- Location Views: Select family and friends who will be able to view a loved one’s location on a map from a PC or mobile phone.
- Scheduled Checks: Parents will be able to set up “scheduled checks” so they will be automatically notified that their children are where they should be, like arriving at home from school.
- Phone Tree: When a loved one feels threatened and sends an alert, if their primary contact is not reachable, the system will continue to be active until a secondary contact is reached.
Inject your kids with a GPS tracking chip May 16, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking children , 50 commentsIt’s good that there is no such thing as a subcutaneous GPS tracking chip, because some crazy Brits would inject them into the country’s kids! Geez, and I already thought that kid-tracking cell phones might be a bit overboard. The scary thing is that someday we might actually have subcutaneous trackers.
Maryland bill proposes GPS tracking of truant students February 12, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and privacy, GPS tracking children , add a commentWow. I’m a fan of GPS tracking, but maybe this is going too far. A legislator in Maryland has proposed GPS monitoring for truant students — repeat offenders anyway.
Maryland Delegate Doyle Niemann (D-Prince George’s Co.) says it’s not enough to simply hold parents accountable when their children don’t show up for school.
“They’re not in control of their children. They take them to school, the kid walks in the front door and then out the back door. It doesn’t make any sense to continue to beat on the parents,” he says.
GPS tracking of school buses December 8, 2006
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and public safety, GPS vehicle tracking, GPS tracking cell phones, GPS tracking children , add a commentWXIA-TV in Atlanta reports on GPS tracking of school buses. The tracking, done via Sprint Nextel cell phones, has seen costs plummet recently:
“This technology was something that used to be 1500-2000 dollars per bus and that information was not real time,” reveals Robert Lacey, Sprint/Nextel education account manager.
“With technology it brings it down to anywhere from $200 to $300 dollars per bus for the hardware. And, $1.00 to $1.50 a day for service fee.
Technorati tags: GPS tracking GPS tracking of school buses
GPS tracking teens by cellphone September 10, 2006
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking cell phones, GPS tracking children , add a commentHere’s an article in the Lawrence Journal-World about GPS tracking of teens by cellphone. The article begins:
Nat Caron, like more than half of today’s teens, carries a cell phone.
The 15-year-old keeps a tiny, silver phone in his pocket to keep in touch with friends. But he’d gladly give up the device if he knew his parents could use it to track where he was at every second.
“That’s creepy,” he says. “We should have freedom.”
With Global Positioning System technology booming around the world, several cell phone companies have begun offering services that allow parents to locate their children’s cell phone locations through their own cell phones or by logging onto a Web site.
Depending on who you are, the technology might be a safety feature and way to keep your family connected, or an invasion of privacy designed to control children.
Technorati tagsGPS tracking, GPS tracking teens
