Electronics

hereO GPS watch lets parents track their child's location

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hereO has announced a new GPS watch for tracking children
hereO has announced a new GPS watch for tracking children
The watch is designed for children 3 years old and upwards
An accompanying app shows where the child is at any given time
The app will also show family member locations, provide the ability to send messages and set "virtual fences" around certain areas
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Part of being a kid is playing outside and exploring, so it's impossible to keep an eye on your children at all times. With this in mind, GPS tracking for kids has become increasingly popular. The hereO watch is the latest GPS tracking device aimed at providing parents with peace of mind.

The hereO is by no means the first GPS watch for kids. Gizmag featured the FiLIP smartwatch last year, before that there was the Nu.M8, and way back in 2002 there was the Wherify Wireless. The FiLIP device has a pretty nifty voice call feature that allows parents to call their kids, but the hereO has some clever features of its own.

The device pairs with a smartphone or tablet app that shows where a child is at any given moment. It focuses very much on family though, and will also show where other family members are by connecting with the apps on their devices. Apps will be made available for iOS and Android first, followed by Windows Phone and Blackberry in late 2014.

One particularly useful piece of functionality is the ability for parents to draw a "virtual fence" around specific areas, such as gardens or a school, using the map in the hereO app. A notification will then be sent if the child moves outside one of the predetermined areas.

Messages can be broadcast to other family members from within the app, and the watch uses an accelerometer to send an alert when it is shaken horizontally five times. The time is presented digitally using an e-ink display, and the watch is designed to be hardwearing and waterproof. hereO says its battery will provide 50 hours of usage between charges.

In order to deliver this functionality, the watch incorporates a SIM card and is sold with a monthly mobile contract for machine-to-machine provider Wyless. The SIM will apparently work in over 120 countries without roaming charges.

Nearly US$27,000 of a $100,000 goal has been raised in an Indiegogo fundraising campaign for the hereO watch, with 37 days remaining. hereO says that the funds are earmarked for a full production run, but that if the goal isn't met, it will still be able to meet orders that are placed. The first run of watches has already been produced.

The hereO watch will retail for US$149 with a 3-month contract included – a $4.95 monthly charge takes effect thereafter. Earlybird pledges on Indiegogo can receive the watch for $99 with a 6-month contract included, assuming the campaign is successful. It is expected to begin shipping in July.

The video below provides an introduction to the hereO watch.

Sources: hereO, Indiegogo

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9 comments
Arahant
I need something like this for my Dog, i might buy one and just modify it onto a collar, i got a bunch of acres and its 100's of feet of driveway before the road, which isnt busy, so i let my dog out whenever she wants and let her do her thing without worrying, but every now and then she goes farther then she can hear me calling and i have to go out looking for her, I'd love to be able to just look my phone or computer program and know where she went and track her down. Price seems reasonable to, atleast at 100$ and 5$ a month for tracking.
christopher
I wonder if you can swap the SIM? You can run low-bandwidth 3G/4G data comms in 99cents/month SIM plans...
The Skud
Arahant - Check out any of the larger pet supply chains or Google something like "pet tracking collars", you will find devices already on the market for your needs. For kids however, the problem will always be that if tracked down misbehaving once, any kid with brains will wait till out of sight and tie the watch to the collar of the nearest wandering cat or dog, then go off in the opposite direction! Look at the problems officials have with the supposedly more sophisticated Monitored Ankle Tracking Systems used on parolees etc., they get circumvented - cut off or broken in some way - almost daily.
Nairda
Small kids are not always malicious. Sometimes they just wander off. Other times they get taken by strangers.
For the second that is my main concern, the GPS product needs to be something inconspicuous, such as an attachment to a bag or toy car, so the perpetrator does not catch on.
The other side of this coin is a panic button that can be initiated by the parent to security service and police that also subscribe to the same service. This will increase the chance of initiating a search for the child before the GPS goes dark.
These GPS services do work very well in reality. We had a GPS tracked work vehicle reported stolen, and our admin simply logged in and downloaded the snail trail. The muppet who stole it was very surprised when the police appeared at his front door. Vehicle recovery time 2 days.
Ron Olson
This would be great for kids whose parents worried about their children being kidnapped. The perp would be too busy trying to get away that they wouldn't pay attention to what would appear to look like a cheap toy watch.
Kristina Smith
I think this is great watch cum GPS tracking device for kids. It is very helpful for the parents who always worried about their kid's safety.
Yatai Jp
i would like to buy gps child watch here0 where can i order it?
Tien Shiah
You should consider a product called SkyNanny GPS. It does a great job of tracking my kid and has the geofencing capability, which I use all the time. The product is already out...
Alice Smith
To be perfectly honest, I was actually against it when my husband suggested we install [phone_model] control software on our son's cell phone. But after his grades suddenly dropped, I caved and helped my husband secretly install the tracking software on Bob's smart phone phone. The very next day and the first time we logged in to access the data, we just couldn't believe it when your phone control software revealed that our son was nearly in the next state when he was supposed to be spending the night at a friend's house across town! Rebecca C.