Nov 17 2008
Review Of Zoombak Finds Performance Less Than Average
Beginning to Track
After carefully following the set-up instructions for the second time, the unit was again activated and ready to begin tracking. The unit’s petite design, 2.87” x 1.69” x 0.82” (L x W x H), led us to believe that there would be flexibility in its placement; however, the owners’ manual suggested that the optimum placement would be either on the front dashboard or in the glove box, offering no other alternatives for positioning. The owner’s manual recommended these locations because the GPS unit must have a direct line of sight to the sky in order for it to acquire a signal. But because the Zoombak has no mounting capabilities, the unit can only be placed in the cab of the vehicle. The Zoombak may therefore be a helpful tool for parents who want to monitor their teen’s driving activities, but it would have no application for law enforcement agencies that relied on GPS tracking units for criminal investigations. The unit’s GPS acquisition and accuracy were then tested in both recommended positions along with an additional location: under the passenger seat.
On The Front Dashboard:
The front or rear dashboard is the most recommended option for placement, as the Zoombak is provided a clear and direct line of sight to the sky, resulting in the lowest GPS acquisition time and increased accuracy. The Zoombak was able to accurately acquire a GPS signal within 10 seconds of its placement, locating the exact parking space where the vehicle was situated. The accuracy with this placement was great; however, if an individual wanted to be covert about the placement, this would not be a viable option. Anyone behind the wheel or in the passenger seat would easily notice a foreign device with a blinking green light on the front dashboard!
In the Glove Box
The glove box is the second location Zoombak’s owner’s manual suggested for placement. From inside the glove box, the Zoombak acquired a signal within 15 seconds, and was accurate within ten to twenty feet. This is because GPS signals can penetrate matter composed of plastic, glass, rubber, fiber-glass, cloth material, and just about anything else with the exception of concrete and metal. It should be noted, however, that although recommended by Zoombak, placement in this location of the vehicle raises some customer concerns, mainly about concealment and the desire to be covert. Since many customers use devices of this type for tracking teenage drivers, it makes sense that they would want to mount the unit in an area that is not visible and not accessible. Positioning the Zoombak directly in the glove box makes it easy for a sixteen year-old to remove it, thereby eliminating all evidence of his or her whereabouts. And since Zoombak offers few other placement options, we must ask the question: is this an effective tracking tool, especially for concerned parents of teenage drivers, employers with company vehicles, etc.?
Under the Passenger Seat
Note: Zoombak recommends placing its device on either the front dashboard or in the glove box. When the unit is purchased at the Zoombak website, you will receive an InstallCard that entitles you to have the Zoombak hardwired to your car’s battery by a local professional at the negotiated price of $59.99 if you wanted to have the unit securely positioned in a different location other than the recommended. Although, the Zoombak owner’s manual does not specify placement under the front or passenger seat as an effective location, the test was performed there as well. Surprisingly, the unit acquired a GPS signal within a reasonable timeframe (25 + seconds), and the accuracy was relatively good (+/- 22 ft).
Under the Vehicle
The Zoombak does not have any mounting capabilities in this location. Therefore, the unit cannot be installed or mounted to the frame of the vehicle.
[...] 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.