There are a lot of different GPS trackers on the market, many of which we’ve talked about in the past. All of them claim to be the first at something and some of them never even launch from Kickstarter. So, despite how cool the new tracker Scout looked, I admit I had no plans to write about it. The website looks pretty nice, but the Kickstarter page received next to no funding. Almost a total flop.

However, the company has been setting up orders on its website and recently made a Kickstarter announcement that it simply hasn’t had the time to devote to the Kickstarter, but that production will continue as planned and the device is set to release in September. How, exactly, it will be funded with a flopped Kickstarter campaign I am unsure. So while I’m going to go ahead and tell you a little bit about it, I might suggest that consumers be a little wary. read more

Every once in a while I like to skim through Kickstarter and Indiegogo to see if there are any promising new technologies looking to enter the GPS market like the extremely successful Trakr or the Iotera. Today, I heard about a new GPS tracker from KOMODO Technologies and wanted to tell you about it. As always, I caution readers to be wary with crowdfunding projects, as there is always some risk. This one, however, looks like pretty minimal risk and for the right user, quite a bit of reward. read more

GPS Watches and fitness trackers tend to be lumped in the same category. Everyone does it; I’m even guilty of this, even though I am well aware that they’re not exactly the same thing. Regardless, these devices are becoming fairly common in the world of running, cycling and other fitness activities. And, as prices drop and proliferation increases, that leads to an interesting question: Are these devices actually helpful or harmful?

There have been loads of articles and studies published recently asking the exact same question and, surprisingly, most of them say pretty much the same thing: moderation. Tracking your stats and numbers can be a wonderful tool, but athletes sometimes can forget that these devices are designed to be tools and that they must be used properly. read more

As part of their activewear fitness wearables section, Garmin introduced the new vívoactive GPS smartwatch at CES. This sleek, slightly girly device is designed with built-in activity tracking apps and the ability to customize with additional apps, watch faces, widgets and more via Connect IQ, Garmin’s first-ever open app market.

“Designed to be worn all day, vívoactive can be personalized in many ways—from interchangeable bands to watch faces, apps and widgets—making it versatile, stylish and functional for your life,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice-president of worldwide sales in a press release. read more

Update: WUF was Successfully funded, and can be preordered here for $149.

So, every once in a while I write about some new GPS tracker—usually for pets—that is on Kickstarter. Some of them make it, like Trakr, and some of them don’t. But for the most part, they are all pretty similar as  far as features go. In fact, I pass up a lot of Kickstarter trackers that don’t look like they’re going to make their goal, or that are not anything new or original. And I have to say, this kickstarter is definitely different. read more

Everyone knows that teen drivers sometimes are not the safest, and no one can deny how nerve-wracking it can be handing your keys to a new driver and watching them drive off by themselves for the first time. So, Agilis Systems, LLC, a fleet management and asset tracking company, came up with a solution created specifically for consumers–the MOTOsafety Teen Driving Coach.

The MOTOsafety driving coach is actually two separate parts—a GPS device that hooks into your teen’s car and various notifications, alerts and daily driving reports sent directly to you to help monitor your child’s driving habits. The device can be plugged in or hardwired to the car and provides realtime tracking so parents always know if a child has arrived safely. Parents can set interactive map boundaries with alerts if they are crossed and track speeding and other bad driving habits. read more