Zoombak GPS Tracking For Cars Review

The Zoombak A-GPS is a small, portable GPS tracking device for cars. According to Zoombak's website it offers two different versions of the product - the Advanced A-GPS Universal Locator and the Advanced A-GPS Car & Family Locator. This product runs from $99 to $150 depending on where you buy it from. It also has a monthly service plan that ranges from $155 to $180 depending on when you want to part with your money. Paying month to month will cost you more while dishing out all the cash at once will cost you less.

When I did a feature comparison between the Car & Family Locator and the Universal Locator I really didn't see much of a difference between the two in basic functionality even though the Car & Family Locator costs $50 more. However, there does apepar to be a a slight difference between the two from what I could see. The Car & Family Locator come with a car mount and lets users set up predefined electric "fences" where they get alerts if the car travels outside "fence" or into a new one. You should make the decision if a car mount and this feature is worth the $50 for yourself.

Since in every other way the two Zoombak GPS devices appear to be exactly the same we will take a look at the basic features for both products.

Zoombak Product Features

This GPS tracking device for cars offers an unlimited amount of on-demand locates, meaning that at anytime your device has enough battery to send you a signal you can get it to do so. There are 3 easy ways to conduct an on-demand location request of your Zoombak :

1. Log on at Zoombak.com and check your status
   
2. Send a text message to your device via mobile phone
3. Contact a Zoombak customer representative for a live location report

However, an unlimited number of locates can be a little misleading. When you take a look at the product specifications you will notice this little blurb:

Battery Life*

Standby - Up to 120 hours or 5 days Active Locator Use - Up to 150 location requests

* Battery life depends on several factors including temperature, network, signal strength and locator service features used. Location requests include the following Zoombak Locator service features:

• On-Demand / Find Now requests from your mobile phone
• Active Safety Zones and Continuous Tracking mode
• Low battery Alerts: When your Zoombak locator indicates low battery (blinking amber LED), recharge your battery as defined in the Zoombak Locator User Guide.

What I take all this to mean is that the battery will only last for 5 days - max. The more you ask for the location of the device the short the battery will last.

Having a 5 day battery life is major limitation for those looking to use this device for GPS tracking of a car. You will have to take your device out of the car regularly if you are using it as an anti-theft device or keep it in the cab, charging the battery when you drive the car. But how is that supposed to help you recover a stolen car? Won't a thief just grab the device and discard it?

Some GPS tracking devices for cars can be hardwired into your car's computer. It will feed off your batteries power. This makes the device secure, hidden, and capable of being called often. This type of device does cost more than the Zoombak and will have an installation fee as well, but this is definitely the device you are going to want to have if you are using the GPS tracking device to aid in the return of a stolen car.

It appears that the tracker is best used for short term tracking. Take a look at this snippet from the Zoombak website:

Zoombak's continuous tracking feature provides you with an automatic update of your Zoombak’s location every 5 minutes for up to 1 hour.

Tracking a teen on a "short" drive; checking a vehicle's loation on over a weekend excursion; making sure the car hasn't been stolen while you on vacation - this is what the Zoombak should be used for.

On of the key features of this GPS tracker for cars is that it is A-GPS. The "A" here denotes "assisted." This means that the Zoombak is uses cell signals to transmit information and gather location information in addition to GPS signals. This is very good, since cell phone singals often penetrate where GPS signals cannot - providing increased coverage.

Zoombak GPS Tracking For Cars Service Plans

Zoombak offers three service plans that provide the same exact coverage at three different prices. These are the:

Monthly Plan

• Only $14.99 a month
• Annual cost: $179.88

PayNowPayLess Plan

• Starts at only $9.99 a month.
• Save $15 by pre-paying the first three months for only $29.97 ($9.99/month). After three months, pay only $14.99/month.
• Annual cost: $164.88

12for12 Plan

• Save $24.89 by pre-paying the whole year.
• Annual cost: $154.99

All Zoombak service plans include the following:

• No activation fee
• No hidden fees
• Unlimited on-demand location requests via the Internet and customer service
• On-demand location requests via mobile phone
• Unlimited continuous tracking via web and customer care
• Unlimited safety zone alerts
• Opt-in for “Power Off” and low battery alerts via email and text message
• Location history via Zoombak.com and customer care
• 24/7 live customer care and location support

Those subscribing to the service plan must meet the following requirements:

• One-year customer agreement required for all service plans
• Convenient, paperless online billing and account maintenance
• Credit or debit card
• Early termination fee applies

Zoombak Coverage

Like all assisted GPS devices, the Zoombak does have some coverage limitations. It appears that the coverage is fairly decent for this car tracker:

Zoombak Specifications

Feature	Specification
Size	2.87" x 1.69" x .0.82" (L x W x H)
Weight	2.5 Ounces
Housing	Water Resistant
Battery Life*	Standby - Up to 120 hours or 5 days Active Locator Use - Up to 150 location requests

Conclusion
The Zoombak appears to be a decent GPS tracking device for a car. It certainly has its limitations with short battery life, but is certainly sufficient for certain type of GPS tracking activity. If you can handle the $250, you could enjoy the convenience and information this GPS tracker for cars affords.