The use of real time gps tracking devices has begun to play a large part in securing company assets as well as giving insight as to where costs can be reduced.  One such area of business that has been able to leverage gps tracking devices is Boat Marina’s and Chartered Boat Excursions.  Specifically, a gps tracking device deployed on a Charter boat tells the owner of the boat when the Captain has arranged charters and how much income should be generated based on the schedule of these charters.  Other services such as boat delivery whose owners follow the weather, hire captains for a 4 to10 day trip and travel to Florida and the Caribbean in the winter and back up to the North East in the summer.  By using our gps mapping application, a close eye can be kept on a very valuable asset.

Many boat owners do not live close to their boats and without a gps tracking device hardwired to the boat have no way of knowing if their boat is still at the marina.  And yet another example of the usefulness of a gps tracking device is for family members to be able to know, in real time, the whereabouts of their loved ones while fishing or crabbing should the weather change for the worse.

It is evident that real time gps tracking can provide both economic as well as safety benefits for both business owners with boat assets as well as loved ones of boat owners.

Imagine not knowing where your newly licensed teen is when they were supposed to home hours ago for dinner.  Without the help of a gps vehicle tracking device, most parents would be on the phone with every childhood friend and eventually the police to get help finding their child.  Imaging sending your child 3000 miles across the country for a school trip;  with the help of a real time gps tracking device, your mind can be at ease knowing your child is where they are supposed to be.  Many parents use gps tracking technology for young children with both mental and physical disabilities, to know that they got on the bus as scheduled, to know that they go to after school care or to know that the other parent just picked them up.  What a relief to know that your child has learned well from you and is driving at a responsible speed.

Gps vehicle tracking devices can provide you with speed, location, and direction information at your fingertips through the accompanying web mapping application.  Simply draw a “Geofence” or virtual fence around any area and provide your email or phone number to the system in order to get alerts once the Geofence has been broken.  You will immediately know when the gps tracking device has entered or exited and area.  Use the SOS button on the gps tracking device and it will immediately and consistently send email or text message alerts as to the location of the tracking device.

Knowing where your child is while giving them the space they often times need while going through the teen years can be tricky without the help of a gps real time tracking device.  It can be an invaluable tool in building your relationship while not overcrowding your child.

Mobile phone gps tracking services work by identifying the physical location of a mobile phone or other mobile device. This could be your own mobile phone or the mobile phone of a relative, friend or work colleague.

A wide range of new services are possible using location services (cell phone gps tracking) including telling you how to get to the nearest cash machine or chemist; allowing a parent to identify the location of his or her child; making it easier for friends to meet up for an evening out; and assisting firms with the security of lone workers.

All cell phones constantly broadcast a radio signal, even when not on a call. The cell phone companies have been able to estimate the location of a cell phone for many years using triangulation information from the towers receiving the signal. However, the introduction of GPS technology into cell phones has meant that cell phone GPS tracking now makes this information a lot more accurate. With GPS technology now more commonplace in many new cell phones, this means that the location of anyone carrying a compatible cell phone can be accurately tracked at any time. Cell phone GPS tracking can therefore be a useful feature for business owners and fleet managers who need to be able to keep track of their vehicle movements.

Most people automatically associate a GPS with vehicles, but these tracking devices serve their purpose in a wide variety of applications – most valuably, human lives.

People who enjoy outdoor activities run great risks of finding themselves in situations they are not in control of.  Severe weather conditions, encountering dangerous animals, or personal injury are all unfortunate consequences of the great outdoors.

As an example, in the case of a mountain climber, a GPS Tracking device carried on his person and monitored by his spouse at home can alert that person if he has veered off course or has not made the progress he planned and may be in need of emergency assistance.

While cell phones have become the go-to in modern day emergencies, most do not get signals in the wilderness. Where a cell phone may be rendered useless, a personal tracking device will keep the hiker monitored.

Let’s look at the following scenario – a storm is heading toward an area where a large group is hiking in the mountains.  Real Time Tracking Devices carried by members of the group can alert emergency assistance workers to their whereabouts and remove them to safety long before they are even in harm’s way.

Safety issues aside, carrying tracking devices on such excursions can be very helpful in reviewing your trip, the routes you took, the time expended – information which can be used on your next trip or shared with others when you return.

GPS tracking is a low cost insurance policy on your outdoor activities.

Excerpt from GPS Tracking Unit Monitors Historical Climb of Mount Everest

Tuesday, 18 May 2010

A teenage boy from California will soon be attempting to make history as the youngest individual to climb Mount Everest at the age of 13. This young man, Jordan Romero, is an experienced mountaineer and will be recording his journey on a Facebook page and a team blog using his real time GPS tracking unit.

This GPS tracking unit allows others to follow Jordan’s progress on a digital map through the internet. These real time tracking units work very much like vehicle tracking systems by sending signals out to satellites. These signals are used to calculate the exact position of the GPS tracking device, no matter where on the earth it is located. In fact, the top of Mount Everest is being monitored by a GPS tracker as well. This tracker was put in place by an American team in 1999 in order to adjust the height of the highest rock on the mountain if some sort of disaster should alter the height of the peak.

Thanks to the GPS tracking units that each member of the team is outfitted with, friends and family back home can feel like they are a part of this history-making journey. These loved ones can take comfort in the steady progress of the climbers as shown through the GPS tracking units.

Many companies today incorporate a fleet of vehicles for employee use and, prior to the advent of real time GPS tracking devices, costs of maintaining and operating these fleets would prove to be an ongoing issue for the company budget.  Once a vehicle was turned over to its driver, management no longer had control over its usage, often resulting in excessive fuel costs, high mileage due to non-business related driving and abnormal levels of wear and tear on the vehicles.

With the current state of affairs at American gas pumps being what they are, it is clear that GPS tracking devices can and do go a long way in reining in the budgets of companies that employ fleet vehicles.

By gaining knowledge of the whereabouts of their companies’ vehicles, tracking devices can greatly enhance the efficiency of the fleet and its’ operators.  GPS tracking devices also monitor the speed and routes taken by the vehicles, resulting in greater control of fuel costs and maintenance.  This puts ultimate control of the cost of owning and operating the vehicle in the hands of management, rather than the individual driving the car.

Devices such as Global Tracking Group’s UBI-5000, feature a Geofence option in the mapping application, which automatically sends company management an alert when their fleet vehicle travels outside a pre-defined area. As discussed in a separate article, this feature is also utilized in the case of teenage drivers, for their safety and the peace of mind of their parents when they are out driving alone.

This article will illustrate how GPS technology, specifically outfitting your teenager’s vehicle with a GPS tracking device can give you the peace of mind you need by allowing you to see where your child is (Real Time Tracking) and where they have been, giving you and other parents a veritable eye in the sky.

Let’s face the facts – young adults today are a lot more in-the-know about the world and what goes on in it than past generations were.  Between internet and television, teens and young adults are exposed to a host of information, both healthy and unhealthy, that may have an impact on their behavior.  Mixing the desire for potentially dangerous behavior with a lack of good judgment can and often will lead to tragic results.  This is where a GPS tracking device can mean the difference between good and bad choices, and at times, life or death.

The most responsible teenager can fall prey to peer pressure, whether it is to drink and drive, or use their vehicle to take friends to places they are not allowed to be.  True, many of these teens will come home safely at curfew, but many do not.  The simple knowledge that their vehicle contains a tracking device could make your child think twice about such behavior.

The parents of these children are sitting at home praying for their child’s safety.  Setting and maintaining a virtual Geofence in our mapping application will discourage even the most precocious teenager from traveling outside pre-set driving limits; if they defy these limits, real time GPS tracking reporting will alert the parents so action can be taken before the child comes into harm’s way.

For instance, if a parent does not want their child to cross county or state lines, this can be pre-set into the Geofence on the mapping application and an alert will be sent to the parents via email or even by text message if this virtual fence is crossed.

Two of the greatest challenges facing parents of budding adults today are the acceptance of the wealth of knowledge they have about the world around them, and how they apply it to their daily activities and life choices.  Our nation’s children are growing rapidly into adulthood.  Along with this growth comes their increased yearning for independence.  The first step toward this independence and leap into adulthood is the purchase of their first vehicle, and many parents find themselves torn between keeping them safe at home and letting them out into the world.

Global Tracking Group announced today that is has moved its corporate headquarters to 300 East Lombard Street in Baltimore’s beautiful inner harbor area. The move, which will be complete on May 1st was inevitable says CEO Ken Barksdale. “We have outgrown our current office space and coming back to Baltimore was always my intent.” Barksdale, who founded Global Tracking Group in 1996 has taken the company from its early stages to its current industry position as the undisputed leader in personal GPS tracking solutions. “Our focus has always been on being the best when it comes to product performance with superior service. Bringing our offices to Baltimore makes us more accessible to our clients who travel in from all over the country for training and support.” “With our needs now for more talented IT and Marketing personnel, I can’t think of a better place to grow our business.”

Global Tracking Group provides personal and commercial GPS tracking services to large and small employers as well as individuals throughout the United States, South America and the Caribbean. Known for the accuracy and reliability of their solutions, Global Tracking Group plans on expanding their solutions to include indoor tracking sometime in the Fall of 2010.

The following is an excerpt from a feature article in the GPS Magazine.

May 6, 2008

The Ultimate GPS Child Tracking Buyer’s Guide

Global Tracking Group’s “UBI4000″ may not be the catchiest product name, but this is one powerful tracking device: small, lightweight, and an ultra high performance GPS receiver make the UBI4000 the most powerful tracking device in this roundup. This device worked reliably both indoors and out, and had some of the best web-based location reporting I’ve seen to date.

UBI4000 provides hollywood-like 3D tracking via Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth, and supports a host of alerting and reporting features. The device can also be configured to send location updates automatically, allowing you to see where the device has been and how fast it was moving. For serious real-time tracking needs, UBI4000 can send location updates as often as every 15 seconds.

Performance was also outstanding. UBI4000 was able to provide solid tracking inside movie theaters, office buildings, and basements (as long as cellular reception was available).

This is the “money is no object” device in this review; priced at around $389.95, monthly service starting at $17.99/month, plus there’s a one-time setup fee of $57. The included lithium-ion battery only provides around 8-13 hours of real-time tracking between charges, so you’ll likely want to spring for the extended battery, which will add another $59.95 to the cost.

It’s not cheap, but UBI4000′ performance was unrivaled in this test.

The following is an excerpt from a feature article in the Washington Post.

November 11, 2008

GPS Device Plays Key Role in Theft Arrests
By Ashley Halsey III

GPS gadgets can guide you to virtually any place on the globe these days, but one hidden in a truckload of stolen cellphones might have put Walter Lee Green on the road to prison.

Green, 49, of Annapolis pleaded guilty to possession of stolen goods in federal court in Baltimore last week and could face 10 years behind bars.

The story of his crime, as described in the plea agreement, is at the juncture where one of the older crimes on Earth — larceny — meets the 21st-century technology that taps into satellites whizzing around above the ozone.

The plea agreement describes a caper that began a week before Labor Day in 2007, when someone pulled a white tractor truck into a Glen Burnie freight yard, hooked it to a white trailer filled with $585,000 worth of Cingular Wireless cellphones and drove off. This was not a new trick, and Cingular had hidden a Global Positioning System device in with the phones.

The FBI was called. Following the device’s signal, agents found the trailer sitting in Annapolis. They popped a second, magnetic GPS unit onto the trailer as a precaution against battery failure and peaked inside, taking note that the shrink-wrap was unbroken on 19 of the pallets of cellphone cases. Another had been opened, and several cellphone boxes had been removed.

The next day, a blue tractor rolled up, hooked onto the white trailer and towed it away, first to a warehouse in Baltimore, where some of the cellphones were unloaded, then south toward Jessup, with both GPS units silently advising the FBI agents of their travels.

In Jessup, the units parted company. The white trailer with the magnetic GPS had been dumped, but the other GPS went along as the remaining cellphones headed back to Annapolis.

The next day, Anne Arundel Countypolice stopped Green as he drove the white tractor. He admitted to involvement in the heist and showed investigators that he had five of the stolen phones in his truck. He named a couple of people he said had unloaded some of the cellphones in the Baltimore warehouse.

One of those people, Lawrence M. Branch Jr., is scheduled for trial in December on the same charges Green faced, said a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office.

Washington Post Article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/01/AR2008110101882.html