Vodafone Curve
A neat and affordable GPSG tracker from Vodafone that has one obvious downside:downsi it needs to stay charged
SCORE
PRICE £17 (£20 inc VAT) from Vodafone, Voda plus £2 monthly subscription for two tw years
While Bluetooth trackers tracke are great for finding things t that are nearby, there are numerous benefits to a GPS tracker track that lives independently. The small, sm ll stylish Vodafone Curve promises promis to be exactly that: you can attach it to your briefcase, your keys (it comes with w a strap-on keyring), your dog’s c collar or your child’s backpack and it will regularly ping home and gi give you a location.
How regularly is up to you. I In power-saving mode, it sends updates every two hours with a promised battery life of around seven days. Everyday mode updates upd every half an hour and should last l five days. Switch to performance mode m d and you’re talking five-minute updates and a three-day battery life. You can also set it to real-time updates, but it will only do that for o 15 5 minutes at a time. If you get into trouble, or promised to call home when you arrived at a destination, you can use the Quick Alert button (you need to press it for three seconds, so it’s tricky to set off accidentally).
You control all of your preferences from the Vodafone Smart App, which can support up to 20 Curves. Luckily, you can name each Curve, and even associate a photo with it (such as that errant dog), and then play around with zones; so you might have Home and Work, where the tracker will send a notification each time it enters and leaves that location.
I tested with an Android phone where it smoothly integrates with Google’s mapping service to show you where the Curve currently is. For example, I took it for a run and it pinged home as soon as I went outside the “Home” radius, and kept on sending updates for the next 40 minutes. With an IP67 rating, it’s safe to use in rain, sandy conditions and extremes of hot and cold.
There are limitations. First, there’s no way to track all your devices on one map; you must delve into each unit’s setting. Second, battery life is a pain. It uses a proprietary charger and while
“I took it for a run and it pinged home as soon as I went outside the ‘Home’ radius, and kept on sending updates for 40 minutes”
there are LEDs on the front to show basic status (such as charging), these don’t provide an accurate indication of how full it is. You’ll need to delve into the app for that info.
Perhaps its biggest weakness, though, is that it must be in range of a Vodafone signal for it to ping back its location. That means you can forget about exploring the Siberian tundra. While Vodafone claims that the Curve currently works in 90 countries, that isn’t much compensation if your dog, say, has run off in a country field and there’s no Vodafone mast in sight.
This is one of the reasons why people who already use similar trackers – such as the Tractive GPS for cats and dogs – prefer a product that isn’t tied to one network. Such rivals also highlight one of the Curve’s weaknesses, which is that while the app is great at showing you where the Curve is right now, it’s much poorer when providing an overview of where it’s been. You can see a history in the app, but this is a plain list of locations (such as street name, town) rather than a graphic on a map. Mature products such as the Tractive also work in more countries, with the company currently claiming over 150.
Where Vodafone undoubtedly wins is price. Not merely the £20 upfront cost, but the ongoing subscription fee. Its rivals typically charge £3 to £4 per month, but if you commit to a two-year contract then the Curve will cost £2 per month; that increases to £3 per month if you opt for a 12-month contract. It’s a great price for such a useful service.
What’s not so great, and the reason this device falls just short of a PC Pro Recommended award, is keeping it charged. Having to do so every week is defensible if it’s going to be in co nstant use, as you’ll build this into your routine, but the fact it uses a proprietary charger makes it a pain for occasional use – when you need the Curve, it’s bound to be out of juice, in which case you not only need to charge it before you leave the house but also find the darn charger in the first place. Charging from zero to full takes two hours too.
This counts against it, as does the lack of maturity of the app compared to slicker rivals, but if you have a need for a GPS tracker and aren’t affected by the fact it only works on Vodafone networks, this sleek device offers terrific value.
SPECIFICATIONS
GPS Wi-Fi Bluetooth Vodafone SIM (built-in) quad-band GSM IP67 rating 42 x 42 x 16.4mm (WDH) 30g lifetime warranty during subscription