If you read GPS Tracklog at all, then you probably know that there are literally dozens (if not hundreds) of different GPS trackers out there designed to track everything from your belongings to your pets, and even your loved ones. Depending on your situation, it can bring great peace of mind to not have to worry where Fido is, or to know that your child is exactly where they said they would be. But, as the market becomes more and more crowded, it can be hard to sort through and see which tracker is the best choice for you and your family.
While it might seem like all GPS trackers are the same thing (and there definitely are similarities) they can be vastly different and picking the right one is important. So, here we’ll go over some things to consider when you’re buying a GPS tracker.
All around us, hiding sometimes almost in plain sight, are troves of treasure and an entire community that is dedicated to finding (and rehiding) them. The game is geocaching, and it is becoming more and more popular not only in the United States, but across the globe. To get started, all you need is a cell phone, a Groundspeak account, and some motivation.
Here are some reasons to geocaching more this year:
1. It’s great exercise
Whether you’re hiking through the woods or searching discreetly downtown, geocaching is fantastic exercise that involves lots of movement. In fact, if you look, there are plenty of stories of people who lost tons of weight by geocaching regularly!
There are literally hundreds of GPS pet trackers available to keep track of your furry family members. Most of them are basically the same, but as technology and features change and upgrade, it’s worth revisiting. One of the most recent tracking devices announced is the Whistle 3, an upgraded version of the Whistle GPS pet locator. This device was recently announced at the 2017 CES and is expected to be available in February of 2017.
The new Whistle 3 is a smaller, sleeker, and more accurate version of the previous device. It is designed for pets weighing less than 8 lbs, but just looking at the size specifications, it doesn’t look like it is really optimized for cats. The device is, however, shock resistant and waterproof with an IP67 rating. The device does require a monthly subscription, which ranges from $7 – $10 per month. read more
This week in GPS is a weekly link roundup of (mostly) GPS related odds and ends, from GPS Tracklog and other places around the Web. This week’s featured image is the new Garmin inReach devices, the first satellite communication devices from the GPS dealer. Read about it and other GPS news below: read more
For athletes, there are dozens of apps that provide a wide range of statistics and ways to measure your performance in whatever sport you choose. But, sometimes, all of that data can be hard to process and each app has something that it does well. If you’re into more than one sport, this can result in athletes trying to monitor and compare multiple apps across platforms for all the different activities that they engage in. Now, TomTom has introduced a solution.
The new TomTom Sports App, co-created with several athletes and fitness app users, is designed to help athletes not only track their workouts and data, but do it all in one place. The app can handle 12 different activities and offers various social sharing functions, smart trends, and easy-to-understand performance stats. read more
TomTom, a Dutch company that has become known more for its mapping and navigational solutions recently, has announced that it will be adding new devices to its popular VIA and GO lines. At last week’s Consumer Electronics Show, the GPS pioneer debuted the GO 520, GO 620, VIA 1425, VIA 1525, and VIA 1625 to consumers. All devices are expected to be available in March 2017.
As continuation of two of TomTom’s most popular dedicated GPS device lines, all five new products are expected to ship with the latest TomTom maps, and both feature lifetime map updates so that users never have to worry about losing their way with an outdated map. The GO line is designed more for the connected consumer with a lineup of features aimed towards convenience, while the more advanced VIA devices have dedicated searching and navigational functions for the easiest and best routing.
At the most recent CES, Garmin introduced its newest line of navigation devices, the 2017 Garmin Drive product line which includes the Garmin Drive 51/61, Garmin DriveSmart 51/61, Garmin DriveAssist 51/61, and Garmin DriveLuxe 51/61. These personal navigation devices are focused heavily on drivers who are more interested in connected features and live services than actual navigation features, unfortunately, and the press release doesn’t actually have all that much information about the navigation features. There might be more once the devices are released, but at the moment, it’s a little slim. However, for the casual driver who is looking for a good alternative to phone navigation, these devices are probably right up your alley.
In addition to basic maps and navigation, all four of the 2017 Drive devices feature a handful of driver alerts including warnings for upcoming sharp curves, railroad or animal crossings, one-way alerts, red light cameras (where applicable), and speed cameras. The devices also all feature Garmin’s signature Read Directions, which uses easily recognizable landmarks, buildings, and traffic lights when giving directions to provide for ease of navigation. The devices also are capable of connecting with a Connect IQ compatible Garmin smartwatch to provide navigation to the driver’s wrist. I’m not sure how useful that’s really going to be, but it’s kind of nice to see connectivity between Garmin devices at the least. read more
Garmin’s Connect IQ has, up until fairly recently, been kind of unimpressive. Designed to help users customize their wearables and other devices, most of the apps on the Connect IQ store were pretty much designed specifically for location tracking and fitness—not super surprising, considering the market they were aimed for, but it definitely limited the usefulness of a Garmin watch outside of workout tracking.
However, at the recent 2017 CES, Garmin announced that it was debuting several third party apps from bigger companies including Strava and Uber. At the time of writing, the apps appear to all be available on the Connect IQ store, but they aren’t all available on all devices, obviously. Here are some of the cool new apps and data fields that you can try out on your compatible Garmin: read more
Whether you’re out backpacking through the wilderness by yourself or headed out on the trail with a group of friends for an afternoon, communication and the ability to call for help is extremely important for not only your safety, but the peace of mind of your loved ones. One of the more popular devices for this has always been DeLorme’s inReach devices. As one of DeLorme’s bestsellers, inReach provides the ability to not only call for help, but also communicate with others, track your location, and provide peace of mind.
Early last year, Garmin purchased the faltering DeLorme and folded it into Garmin’s expansive GPS empire. And, as with any business acquisition, it shed some doubt on what would happen with DeLorme’s product line. However, fans of DeLorme’s inReach devices will be pleased to hear that Garmin recently introduced two new devices at the 2017 CES. The inReach SE+ and inReach Explorer+ are the first Garmin devices with satellite communication technology, courtesy of DeLorme. read more
The annual Consumer Electronics show is this week and Garmin has announced a slew of new releases which we’ll talk about in the coming days. Without a doubt, the one that has caught the most attention is the new fēnix 5 series which was announced earlier this week. A popular brand in Garmin’s fitness wearables line, the new fēnix 5 is making a splash as the first time Garmin has released the same watch in multiple sizes. The series includes the fēnix 5, fēnix 5S, and fēnix 5X, all of which should be available in the next few months.
From what it looks like, the fēnix 5 and fēnix 5S are essentially the same, with only a few millimeters difference in watch face size. The fēnix 5X is a little bigger than the fēnix 5 and comes with a handful of additional features (and a slightly bigger price tag). However, we’ll take a look at what all of the fēnix watches have in common first.
"We were desert mystics, my few friends and I, the kind
who read maps as others read their holy books."
– Edward Abbey from Slickrock —
The Canyon Country of Southeast Utah
