To get started with InstaMapper’s free GPS tracking service you just have to download the software and create an account – they only ask for a username, password and valid email address – NOT a bunch of other private information so you can be sure of your privacy.

The Instamapper Free GPS Tracking Service also also allows you to embed a map with your current location on a blog, web page, or Facebook profile too. We have to give it a thumbs up for functionality and cost (absolutely free).

InstaMapper has Been Tested on the Following Phones:

Apple iPhone 3G
Sony Ericsson E10i XPERIA Mini – GSM Quadband Android Phone
HTC Wildfire A3333 Smartphone – Android OS, 5MP Camera, Wi-Fi, and Touch Screen
HTC Legend A6363 Unlocked GSM Android Based Smartphone

Download InstaMapper and try it out.

Latitude lets you to track your family, friends or even your employees in real time. This opens up a whole new way of using location based information and you don’t even need an iPhone to do it. It’s a lot like the Quoox GPS Tracker we wrote about back in 2008. The Quoox GPS tracker is a lot more limited than Google Latitude because it has an internet connection requirement.

Before you get all don’t tread on my privacy rights with your GPS stuff – let me give you a few examples of where this technology can help out a lot.

• Keeping Track of Your Drivers – With Google Latitude a small business wouldn’t have to make a huge investment in infrastructure to be able to track their drivers. This could mean that you’ll get more accurate information when you phone that food joint you ordered from to ask them where your food is.
• Public Involvement in Search and Rescue – Sometimes you need to get a lot of people together really fast. When it comes to locating a missing child or something of similar grave importance the general public is always willing to help. Keeping track of where all these helpers have been and where they currently are is a lot more easy and a lot more cheap with Google Latitude.
• Concerned Parents Have Rights Too – I support the privacy rights of children but sometimes there’s a real need for being able to track them. Maybe if you could keep track of their location via Google Latitude it’d give you that extra confidence to give your child permission to take that first road trip. Ask your child to allow you to do this as a condition of extending permission and you might be surprised when you come to an agreement.

A device with Latitude software installed can retrieve the location of the device from either a built-in GPS module or through your WiFi connection details if you don’t have a GPS enabled device. If your device doesn’t have a GPS you’ll find that your location information will be less accurate and even non-existent when you get out into rural areas. You should consider the drawbacks of a non-GPSs enabled device if you’ll be using the system under mission critical conditions.

You can download Google Latitude and find out more about it on Google Latitude‘s web site.

For clarity we’re going to break the electronics down into two parts.

We have the BEACON which is the part of the system that moves around and relays its’ position to the RECEIVER which shows the user the positional data or whereabouts of the beacon.

There are two basic approaches to relaying the beacon positional data back to the receiver and each of them have their own unique drawbacks.

The first method is to use the cellular network to send messages to the receiver device. Using the cellular network allows the system to be used pretty much anywhere that you have a cellular network but it might not work in the back-country where people would normally go hiking, boating, fishing or camping. If you intend to use the tracking system outdoors in those back-country places to track your dog if he gets lost then you’d better hope your dog has some good survival instincts and tracking ability of his own.

The Zoombak “Advanced GPS Car and Family Locator” is one product that uses a cellular network to relay the data back to the receiver. The receiver in this case is a web site on the Internet so you’ll need internet access to be able to use it.

Although Zoombak doesn’t charge a setup fee for the device; you’re going to have to pay a minimum $9.99 a month for the service and about $175.00 for the electronic beacon that you attach to the object you’d like to track.

The real drawbacks to the Zoombak is that you need internet access because it doesn’t come with a handheld receiver and that you’ll have a monthly service fee for as long as you’re going to use the device.

The second method is to use publicly accessible, free radio signals to send messages to the receiver device. Since the device is using public radio signals you can expect that there will be no monthly service fees which is a real bonus since paying a service fee for every electronic device that you own starts to add up to some real coin very quickly.

RoamEO is one manufacturer that makes these types of GPS tracking system devices that is made specifically for dogs. They give you a handheld receiver that tracks the position of the beacon in real-time so you can even use it in the back-country where there’s no cellular systems.

Since this device works on radio waves there’s some pretty strict regulations that they have to adhere to and one of them is the power level that they’re allowed to transmit. The handheld receiver will handle up to 3 beacons and the beacon device transmits at 2 watts on 154.6Mhz so the beacon isn’t going to be in Juneau, Alaska and transmit to you California.

The biggest drawback is that the device is only going to transmit about 1 mile and you’re going to foot about $400.00 for 1 beacon and the handheld receiver.

I really like the Zoombak device and if I didn’t have so many projects on the go I’d like to get ahold of a Zoombak to see if it could be hacked to be used off of their system and used independently of their service fees.

The tracking service at this time supports the Pocket PC 2003/SE, Windows Mobile 5 and the Windows Mobile 6 operating systems with their own software or you can purchase a copy of the MaspWare GPSMeter program (3rd party).

The service is completely free for private use and it’s also really easy to use. Just register your own unique tracker id, it’s almost as simple as that. Use any client software with you device and start tracking!

When everything is up and running you can track the position of the GPS device using a simple and familiar Google Earth Web Interface on the Quoox Web Site.