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By Greg Bartlett

When searching to find a GPS tracking device that will work best for your situation, a cell phone with GPS tracking may seem like a great idea. People are already carrying them. It continues to track people after they leave their vehicle. Basically everybody already has one, so you can save some money, because all you need is a GPS plan, right?

Not really. Cell phones don’t work very well as a GPS tracking device for several reasons. For one thing, not all cell phones can handle GPS technology. Believe it or not, there are some phones out there that pretty much just function as a phone and don’t have any of the fancy stuff. Even if you have a phone that is compatible with GPS technology, a lot of things can go wrong.

Cell Phone

A GPS tracking device in a cell phone just isn’t as accurate as the various vehicle tracking systems. Cell phones give out a weaker signal and cannot pinpoint location as accurately as a traditional GPS tracker. They also rely on cell phone signals, which are known for not being accurate in all locations. Some people have difficulty getting cell phone reception daily, even in places as common as their own homes. Having a cell phone with GPS tracking does you no good if the phone cannot get a decent signal.

Not only that, a GPS tracking device in a cell phone is too easy to disable or tamper with. Turning the phone off or taking out the battery make it impossible for the cell phone to be located. Also, since cell phones are used for so many different functions, their batteries will not last as long as traditional trackers.

Then there is the matter of price. GPS tracking on a cell phone will cost you three times the amount that a vehicle tracking system would. If this were the only problem with cell phone tracking, the extra cost might be worth it, but when added to the other problems, it serves as the biggest argument against cell phone tracking.

When you consider that tracking a cell phone is more expensive than vehicle tracking and the systems just aren’t up to par on accuracy, there is no comparison between vehicle tracking and a cell phone with GPS capabilities. In the next few years, cell phone tracking may come a long way, but for now the systems are too inferior and too expensive to be really useable.