By Greg Bartlett
GPS tracking has exploded in the last several years and many options are available which may leave some people confused about which system will work the best for them. Let’s take some time to compare and contrast cell phone tracking and vehicle tracking devices.
All cell phones can be tracked for emergency purposes as required by federal law because of the September 11 tragedies. Approximate geographic location can be determined, but this is not as accurate as actual GPS trackers and can only be accessed by law enforcement officers in an emergency.
Satellite and Stratosphere
In order to get GPS tracking added to the phone package, the cell phone in question must have internet capabilities and the cell phone owner must agree to the tracking. GPS tracking on cell phones is not as detailed as vehicle tracking devices. Cell phones only give location, whereas vehicle tracking devices can also give speed, and information about where and how long the vehicle was parked. Cell phone GPS is also reliant on cell phone reception which is not always available. The cell phone must also be turned on for the tracking to work. Someone who does not want to be tracked can keep the cell phone off and remain untraceable. It is also possible that the cell phone user could tamper with the phone in a way that would hinder tracking.
Passive vehicle tracking devices (those that are removed from the vehicle and plugged into a computer to transfer information) are the most economical option. Cell phone and vehicle tracking prices depend greatly on the specific company’s contract, but they are more expensive than passive systems which only have the purchase price not a monthly contract fee.
However, cell phone tracking does have its advantages. Teenagers and others that you desire to track are not always in their vehicles. If a parent is concerned for the safety of their teenager or child who likes to bike to friends’ houses and around the neighborhood, a GPS device on a cell phone would clearly be the best option. Also, if a teenager was to be abducted while at the mall or another similar location, the car would remain parked and it could take the parents several hours to discover that anything was wrong. In this circumstance, a cell phone tracking system would be more useful.
In the next few years, GPS-enabled cell phones will continue to improve, but for now, vehicle tracking devices are clearly the most accurate and reliable systems to use.
Greg,
Get a grip!
This article is seriously lame.
My 2 year old N95 cell phone has had an integrated GPS with world wide maps and does not require Internet access. The location, route determination, and tracking accuracy is very competitive with commercial vehicle GPS tracking sytems.
Geez.
Comment by ARF — June 26, 2009 @ 5:11 pm
Not exactly. Cell phone GPS that uses a handset (Java, BREW) application have direction and speed infformation, perhaps the author is referring to certain carrier server API’s which don’t). Handset GPS is usually faster to acquire a signal (because of assisted GPS) than non-assisted GPS typical of vehicle tracking systems, but then, it is more important in a handset environment. Cell phone GPS CAN determine when stopped, although clearly it does not have an ignition sensor - but cars can be parked running as well as off.
That said, the main advantage of vehicle GPS is reliability; they are harder to tamper with than a cell phone that can simply be turned off and they are far less likely to run out of power. However, cell phones have the additional ability to be used as a dispatch/data collection system and for voice navigation. When tracking people who do not want to be tracked and don’t have to use the cell phone application for something else (like receiving work orders), in -vehicle tracking is more reliable, though generally more expensive, solution.
Comment by Mike flom — June 26, 2009 @ 7:22 pm
I agree with Mike. I have used cell phones from various cell phone companies, and I have used vehicle tracking devices that are installed in our company vehicles. I will never go back to tracking with cell phones.
I have a few complaints with cell phone tracking.
1. The batteries go dead
2. The guys can tamper with them and take the battery out.
3. Just because the phone has tracking that doesn’t mean I can find my driver or my vehicle. The driver will put the phone where he wants me to think he is.
4. Our cost for tracking with cell phones was three times more than it is now with vehicle tracking.
5. Cell phone tracking is much less reliable than vehicle gps tracking systems.
A word to the wise: DON’T BUY A CELL PHONE FOR TRACKING. YOU WILL BE WASTING YOUR MONEY.
Comment by J. Hampton — June 27, 2009 @ 12:01 pm