Track and field
Thanks to satellites in
space, and that clever slab of glass and plastic you carry around in
your pocket, you can easily track your position throughout the day.
Although this might be handy for finding your way around a strange
city, and for Google to know that you tend to visit Burger King a
lot, what if you need to keep an eye on something else? We've
previously reviewed the likes of child trackers to make sure your
kids are safe, but not all things need a wrist strap and smiling
cartoon characters. For a more utilitarian tracker, check out the
SpyTrack Nano from Rewire Security. We have.
This tiny, pretty
unassuming box of a gadget contains a GPS tracker, an on-board,
rechargeable battery, and a SIM card slot. Working in conjunction
with the app and website, you can see exactly where your SpyTrack
Nano is at anytime, anywhere in the world. Thanks to the small size
(6x3x2cm) and low weight (60 grams), the tracker can be secreted
pretty much anywhere; in a bag, in a car, attached to the bike or
motorcycle, or dropped into a pocket.
The SpyTrack Nano is
not much to look at, but then again this has been designed to be
hidden away. You'll note the use of the term 'Spy' in the name, and
the promo material from Rewire does mention the fact that it can be
used to keep a track on people (so, if you think your partner is
having an affair, drop one of these into their belongings). However,
we feel this could be better used to track vehicles in the event that
they are stolen, allowing the owner to give police the exact location
of their pinched bike or motor.
The battery impressed
us, lasting up to ten days, and issuing alerts via the app when it
needs some more juice. That's handy if you're using it everyday,
perhaps in the glovebox of your car, as you'll never be disappointed
when it comes to actually using it in an emergency. But... the
charging port is a Mini USB, not Micro. Why? It does come with the
right cable, but we're always quite surprised when we see new tech
products using the outdated port. So you'll need ANOTHER wire in your
bag or car.
You can fiddle with the
tracker's settings to ping the GPS network at different intervals;
more often and you'll get a more accurate route (handy if you're
using to track yourself precisely), but it'll use the battery faster,
or less often to save power and you'll have to wait a few minutes to
get location updates. We found that an update every minute was good
enough, and it worked, every time.
We liked that geofences
would be created online and in the app, both to get alerts if the
tracker entered a certain area on the map, or when the tracker left a
designated location. This could be handy for keeping track of your
kids at school, to ensure they stayed there, and the likes of a
chained up bike. On that note, the SpyTrack Nano also has a tilt
sensor, so if whatever it is attached to moves suddenly, you'll get
an alert. Motorcyclists and cyclists pay attention: that's a great
feature as it offers peace of mind for when you're away from your
ride.
So we're impressed by
this little bastard... and you know what's best? It's less than £50 right now on Amazon. £49.99 for a GPS tracker with a decent battery life is
good, as is the annual subscription to keep you connected to the
network: £85. If you have something you desperately need to track,
such as an beloved motorcycle, £1.60 a week is more than worth it.
So it's small, has
great customisable features, good battery life, and a superb
connection. This is excellent.
£49.99
Available from www.amazon.co.uk