Nov 17 2008
Review Of Zoombak Finds Performance Less Than Average
How is the Tracking Data Accessed?
Once the Zoombak is activated and it is determined that the unit is not defective, the first question you may ask is “how is the tracking data accessed?” The Zoombak is not only a web-based application that allows you to access the location of a vehicle from any computer with internet capabilities, but also allows you to receive SMS based notifications (text messages) via cell phone. By texting 96225 and typing “find” in the message area, you can receive the location of the vehicle equipped with the Zoombak in under a minute. This application also allows you to create virtual boundaries or “safety zones”, such as around your house. Whenever the locator enters or leaves that safety zone, you will be alerted via email or SMS text message. The message will say “Your locator has left the safety zone ‘home’ at 3:15 p.m.” Although it is convenient to access the location of a vehicle from any personal computer, via text message, or through the “safety zones”, the Zoombak seems to require a great deal of human maintenance to gather the daily tracking activities. This is due to the Zoombak’s inability to track continuously for more than one hour with 5 minute updates and without human correspondence. Unfortunately, even when the device was being monitored so the continuous tracking feature could be activated after every hour, problems occurred. The two main problems with clicking continuous tracking are 1.) That there may be “an error communicating with device” or, 2.) After a little over 12 straight hours of receiving updates in five minute intervals, the battery will die. The Zoombak can only record approximately 150 times with five minute updates before the battery dies, or five days when not updating at all. Because the unit is so compact in size, there is little room for a sufficient battery supply, thereby creating another inconvenience: having to recharge the unit on a frequent basis. So, if you are an employer whose business calls for five minute updates of daily tracking activities, you will need to charge the unit’s battery approximately every night!
For viewing the tracking data online, the Zoombak uses Microsoft’s Virtual Earth as its mapping engine. The user can view the tracking history over a plain street map, aerial view (satellite image), or the bird’s eye view. (satellite image) The bird’s eye view feature especially affords a great comprehensive view of the area where the Zoombak is located, and while the satellite picture is not “real-time” it does give the viewer a more intimate feel of the surroundings of the Zoombak’s location. The bird’s eye view, however, only projects a 45 degree angle of a satellite image of a location and does not permit the viewer to zoom in and zoom out for different viewing perspectives. For some consumers, this is not a high priority, though others may find it limiting. And although the aesthetic bird’s eye viewing feature is detailed, the mapping software does not allow you to access an informative daily or weekly activity report in a text version. Basically, if you’re looking for a detailed written tracking history for tracking mileage or business trips, this mapping software will not suffice.
[...] Review Of Zoombak Finds Performance Less Than AverageBecause the unit incorporates cellular technology provided by T-Mobile, a service plan, along with a one year commitment is required under the T-Mobile terms and conditions. If you were to cancel the plan prematurely, … [...]
looking for a tracking device that I can put on my 9.9hp out board motor so I can find it if stolen thanks Steve
When I first purchased and activated Zoombak it worked great – for about a month. Since then I have had 4 new Zoombaks sent to me to replace the original one that broke. Three were DOA and 1 worked about 10% of the time. A month later I am still trying to get it to work. It was supposedly ‘escalated’, whatever that means, and I was told that the “Experts” would work on it and would have an answer in 24 hours. I called back 40 hours later and was told that there was not a single update to the trouble ticket and that it could take 24-48 hours for a resolution. My last call was nearly 1-week later and the problem was not resolved, and I doubt it was even worked on. Guess what, they’re sending me a fifth replacement.
My advice is to NOT waste your time and money on Zoombak. A product that only works 10% of the time (at best) or not at is worthless, not to mention it takes 5 or more replacements to even get your 10% utilization. Troubleshooting the Zoombak is a joke. They always want you to place your device in a wide open area on top of your car to test it, and if it works, they consider it good. They seem to completely ignore the realitiy that the device is inside a car. They apparently expect us to secure it to the front window or dashboard in plain site of your kids that you are tracking; completely negating its purpose. We all have better things to do with our time rather than spend 5-6 hours on the phone with their “technical” people. Just use the GPS function on your kid’s cell phone and save yourself a ton of headaches.
Wish I found this web site before I purchased Zoombak. Three versions later and still not working. Ended up getting a refund which was hard. I switched to Blackberry tracking in the end with WatchOverMe.co.uk. I only had to install their Watchberry software on my phone and I’m now set and reliably tracking – phew.
My advise, agreeing with the above, ditch bespoke trackers and use well manufactured GPS enabled phones, like Blackberry’s with someones tracking software like I did.
Kevin.
I hope my TrackingKey works. Just got it in the mail today and the rubber seals are already falling off. For $200 I’m really hoping!
ZoomBak has an amazing device and service, but their marketing is over-blown and capitalizes on the public’s appetite for science fiction.
I don’t understand how a company could promote a “GPS tracking device” intended to be enclosed or hidden nor do I understand how the average person could believe it. To date, every GPS on the market either requires a line-of-sight to the satellites or an outside antenna with the same. Yes, cell-tower triangulation can be used to estimate location, but only within 1/4 mile or so.
Why doesn’t the company promote the actual capabilities of their service? ZoomBak, the service, WILL help find your kid or possessions, but with certain limitations. With typical cellular coverage, it can report at any time where it last got a GPS fix, which might be just outside of a building. If the device is in a car trunk, however, it would be unlikely that it would EVER get a GPS fix, so it could only use cellular triangulation.
Simply put, you WILL NOT use the GPS features to combat vehicle theft unless you take some rather difficult measures to mount it. No thief will be so stupid as to not notice the device on the dash or an antenna on the roof. Kidnappers might not notice the device hidden in a bag, so GPS might help in that case. For fleet vehicles, there’s no reason it couldn’t be mounted for excellent GPS tracking.
I too used this piece of junk for a month before I sent it back for a return. What I hate most about it, other than the update interval of 5 minutes!, was the service agreement. Most people only need to use a GPS tracking system for a few months not 2 years zoombak. I found a great system that does real-time updates every 10 seconds and has no contracts at tracking system direct ..its a little more expensive but you get what you pay for
Just a note:
According to Zoombak, once activated account must be active and billed for one year, regardless of plan chossen.
I just closed my account, and now I am informed that it can never be re-activiated. That does not make much sense, they stated it was a “SIM” issue, but I would think that like a cell phone, that transponder could be tied to a provider in the future. You would think it would be like setting a “New Account”.
Basically this policy makes Zoombak a “one time use” product
BEWARE: Zoombak is run by nothing but selfish, insensitive, thieves. I have been waiting since AUGUST 09 for a refund on charges that they ILLEGALLY removed from my account AFTER I had closed my zoombak account. They have been promising me a refund since AUGUST, still have no refund, and on top of that they continued to charge me monthly, overdrawing my back account, to the sum of $763.97 in over draft charges, and bank fees. I have given them ALL the information and spoken to their manager, Darren Carson, over 20 times, and still they do not care. I am a mother of 3 kids, who because of this, did not get a christmas, I am disabled and make enough money to pay my rent, and still, they have not helped fix THEIR mistake. I have contacted the BBB and am in the process of filing a lawsuit for unauthorized charges and fraud against my account. This company should be ashamed of the way they have treated me, and my kids. If there is anyone higher than Mr. Darren Carson, i highly recommend you reassess your companys morals and check out the information I have sent to him over the past 6 months…Hey darren, still waiting on the “refund” you promised me back in august, september, october, november, december and january! Hows that coming along?
http://www.zoombak.com
is the most reasonable available ..I purchased this product at radioshack then you pay $10/month for the service
Pros and Cons:
Pros: better than most things available cost/product wise
Cons: I had to figure out how to get it into a waterproof case ..and then had to use a harness to keep the waterproof case on …bit of a pain but feasible ..can give you product names for these since did research to find smallest and most reasonable things …but the product only works if on the back of their neck/back ..not front of the collar ..and it likes to “slide down” ..so it needs to be fixated to the back some how ..other problem is ..does not work as well amongst trees …but not too bad (I’m surrounded by tons of huge ones …sometimes I have to try to click locate online 5 or more times until it finds it when in trees) ….also, it only lasts a few days before it needs to be repowered again ..and the more trees around ..the more quickly it runs out of power due to working harder …so …it’s not perfect ..but is good for when you go away and want to keep track of them ….for an everyday thing ..not perfect ..but not too bad. We don’t even bother with it now though because rarely gets a signal (figured due to trees but maybe broken as others have said of their’s) ..too much work to stay on his back ..and have to recharge constantly ..so we just don’t bother with it now.
I had my Zoombak installed in my wife’s car (she never seems to have her cell phone with her, and sometimes I need to know where she is so I can contact her). I had it installed under the dashtop, hardwired in. I worked perfectly for a few months, but then I noticed that whenever the car was parked, it would not give its location. I tested this by taking the car out myself with my laptop running on my Sprint wireless internet connection. It showed the location fine. But when I parked, the unit turned off. Apparently the battery has gone bad. I noticed that Zoombak now sells external batteries, no doubt because they know about this problem. They told me to plug the unit in with the external car adapter or AC wall unit. What is the point of that? The people in tech support are clearly working from scripts, and can’t understand that I have already determined the problem. I would not buy from this company again. It is a waste of money.
Please remember to read the customer agreement before canceling the service.
I have used the device to track my kid all of last year and it did work like I expected it to. But now he is 18 and I don’t need it anymore. So i called to cancel the service. Didn’t think about any early termination fees until after I hung up the phone. That is when I read the agreement. The customer service lady on the phone never said anything about the $100 fee. So I called back and they are being so kind to waive the early termination fee and the one year service fee to reactive the account, but they are charging me a $14.95 fee to turn the service back on again. I have to call back next month to end the service, not cancel it since it was in May 2009 that the service was turned on……. I asked the customer service guy on the phone why the other person didn’t say anything about the early termination fee, and he said that it is not their responsiblity to tell the customer about it since it is listed in the Customer Agreement. But if a customer ask if there is a fee to cancel the service they have to say yes…. Now to me that is kind of BS….Didn’t the cell phone companies get into trouble for the same exact thing a few years ago…. So…Service work great…Just make sure you call one month in advance of when the contract is to renew to end the service, not cancel it or you will be hit with a $100 early termination fee.
Nice Toy Only
I bought this in order to feel safer. I go to people’s homes by myself all day long. I had hoped that the zoombak would assist my husband to be able to locate me at any given time. However, after spending 3 hours dealing with customer service, I am now told that in order for them to locate it and update it I need to leave it outside for 24-48 hours in clear view of the sky. When I informed them that it might rain, or how can the battery last that long, she told me to plug it in. Stay away from this company. Great idea, but they just can’t seem to deliver. Now if you are buying it for fun, as a game, then maybe.
I too purchased this piece of junk! This is my second device and now this one is not working and I only have it about 3 weeks! Now they tell me to do a power check on it and if it doesn’t work they will replace it. I have to send it back and they will send me another pronto she told me. What a croc of …… I would not recommend this unit to anyone. Don’t waste you money, find another. I wish i read this before I bought this crappy unit.
I have had a nightmare trying to get Zoombak to correct their billing error. After paying for a yearly service, they started billing me monthly, in addition to the annual fee. I would never purchase ANYTHING Zoombak. Double billing is illegal and they refuse to correct the situation. Buyer BEWARE. This is a Crocked company. NEVER give them ANY Account numbers to your charge cards they use them freely without your consent in an illegal manner. You will never see your money again… they promise but Never follow through with correcting the problem. Also we had it installed but it never worked properly. Had to return two defective units all the time paying double. Their tracking system was POOR.They owe me $74.95 in double charges. promises promises, promises.. NEVER credited my acct. POOR customer service