Monday, January 7, 2013

Trackdot - inexpensive luggage tracker

So it is that time of year, the Consumer Electronics Show (or CES) is going on right now in Las Vegas. Something caught my eye. A company called Globatrac released a device called Trackdot. Essentially it is a tracking device for air travelers that tells you where your luggage is when it doesn't arrive at your expected destination. Here is a quick video:

So, that looks pretty cool, $50 and $8.99 a year. But what does this have to do with paddling? Well, why do I have to put it in my luggage? Why can't I put it in a dry bag when I go paddling? I am surmising it uses cellular to communicate, so it will have some limitations in terms of remoteness, but it looks like a simple tracking device that could be used to track anything. Could I attach it to my dogs collar? Could I put it in my wife's jersey pocket when she goes cycling? From what I am reading you can use their website to look at where your 'Luggage' has been, why can't I do that for a day of paddling? The last time I paddled the Outerbanks I had cell coverage for all of it, There were even a few places on the Inside passage that had cell service, and the batteries last 28 days. This looks like something worth delving into deeper. I wonder what else will show up at CES that might be of interest to us?

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