Thorsten Loewe

To summarize, the GPS is a network of satellites owned and maintained by the United States that orbits the globe, beaming back position, navigation, and time data in a single direction. For this purpose, GPS gadgets are available to customers, which decrypt this data so that one can determine their whereabouts (along with a bearing and the time).

In this process, the addition of GPS tracking merely adds a step by capturing the device's location (or has been).

There has been a rise in the use of GPS tracking in a number of applications and deployments. Many delivery, installation, and packing businesses require real-time visibility into the location of their vehicles, which is why vehicle tracking is such an excellent example. Consider this scenario: Your cable TV is out of service, so you call the cable provider and request a repair person. GPS tracking allows dispatchers to locate a service vehicle near you, call the technician, and ask them to stop by after their current work.

These same tools can now be used on a personal level to track anything from cars to children to pets to boats to valuables to the elderly and cargo to motorbikes to RV to ATVs. The possibilities are virtually limitless with this technology. Almost anything that is mobile can be tracked.

What kinds of GPS tracking devices are there?
There are two main types of GPS tracking devices available on the market. In the beginning, we'll talk about the "historical" GPS tracking gadgets. A built-in recorder allows these devices to record their location in addition to serving as a simple GPS tracking system (at certain intervals). For example, one may put a GPS tracking unit on a vehicle, wait for the vehicle to return, remove the GPS tracking unit, and then analyze the data to find out where the vehicle has been, how fast it moved, how long it was stationary at its various places, and so forth. No monthly fees are required for these units, which are typically cheaper to purchase.

The "Real Time" GPS tracking units are another sort of GPS device. Using them, you can see exactly where the GPS tracking gadget is at any one moment.. In contrast to the Historical GPS tracking devices, these devices feature a built-in transmitter that transmits the GPS location data back to a central RFID radio frequency identification computer for further analysis and utilization. You can connect on to a computer and track the GPS gadget in real time as an end user. How does this information get back to us? To and from a cell phone. Real Time GPS tracking gadgets charge a monthly subscription for this service. GPS tracking devices, like cell phones, have their boundaries. There is no way for it to communicate information back to you if it does not have cell service.

Ask which cellular operator will be delivering the service to the GPS device you're looking at if you have an idea of where it might be headed Go to the cellular provider's website and check up coverage maps using this information. There are caves and remote regions that can be a challenge. However, tracking will restart if a device leaves cellular network coverage and then returns to coverage. While out of cell coverage, certain devices will send you post-data so you can see exactly where your phone went..

If so, where can I get a GPS tracker that's free to use?
A free GPS tracking app is hard to come by these days, but if you already have a smartphone with the most recent version of Google Maps, you may give it a try. Even if your phone doesn't have an in-built GPS chip, Google Maps can still help you find your way around. How do they manage to do it so effortlessly? Your approximate location is triangulated using cellphone towers (within a 1000 meter circle). For 911 location requirements, all modern mobile phones must have this basic capability. The GPS chip in some phones can also be used by mobile apps (like Google Maps) to pinpoint your location. It is possible to speed up the GPS location calculation by "polling the network" instead than relying solely on the GPS satellites. This is known as "A-GPS" (or assisted GPS).

As part of their new mapping software, Google Maps has included a new feature called Google Latitude. This feature allows you to upload your phone's location data to the Google Latitude service. In order for any tracking or location service to work, it must be possible to obtain the location data remotely. If you're looking to check where your friends are, Google Latitude is a good place to start. But it might also be used to track something else. In order to get the location of your smartphone via a web browser simply activate Google Maps on your phone, and then enable the Latitude feature.