April 27, 2024

What are the Different Types of GPS Trackers?

Over the years, GPS trackers have become popular among people such as concerned parents, pet owners, fleet business owners and much more.

 

Serving the purpose of fetching the accurate location of an object or individual, GPS trackers can be utilised for both personal and commercial purposes. Here, we will throw light on the types of GPS trackers, their features and use cases. So, let’s begin.

 

Types of GPS Trackers

Primarily, there are two types of GPS trackers– Personal and Commercial. The below table differentiates between the two 

 

Parameters

Personal 

Commercial

Purpose 

Personal GPS trackers are commonly used to monitor the location of individual or personal belongings. Their purpose is to ensure safety, security and convenience. 

Commercial GPS trackers are designed for businesses or enterprises for the purpose of tracking and, managing a wide range of assets- 

types of equipment, vehicles, and consignment. 

Features

Their features can be tailored to

individual needs such as real-time tracking of family members or pets. 

Their features can also be customized as per business needs. However, these ones when added with comprehensive fleet management software can offer more advanced features such as route optimization, and analytical reports. 

Battery Life

They have a shorter battery life

since they are not intended for 

long-term use.  

Since they are utilized to track assets for extended time periods, they have a longer battery life. 

Examples 

  • Wearable GPS trackers 

  • Animal trackers 

  • Cell Phone GPS Trackers

  • Vehicle Trackers 

  • Satellite-based trackers 

  • Equipment trackers 

Read Blog: How to Choose the Right GPS Trackers in 2023? 5 Things to Consider!

 

Unfolding Personal and Commercial GPS trackers

  1. Personal GPS trackers 

Some of the commonly accepted personal GPS trackers are; 

 

  • Wearable GPS trackers 

As the name suggests, wearable GPS trackers can be worn on the body, typically in the form of a watch or a bracelet. They are well-equipped with GPS technology used to track the location of the wearer. These types of GPS are commonly used to track children, animals or travellers.

  • Cell Phone GPS Tracker

Cell Phone GPS Trackers are applications that utilize GPS technology within their mobile phones and cellular data to track the device’s location in real-time. These tackers can serve various purposes ranging from personal to family member safety. 

  • Animal GPS Trackers

They work similarly as wearable trackers. However, they are specially designed to track the location and movements of animals. They are commonly preferred by pet owners who wish to keep track of their pets. 

 

  1. Commercial

 

  • Vehicle Trackers

They are utilized by fleet businesses to stay aware of the current geospatial location and whereabouts of the vehicle. They are often combined with fleet tracking software to get real-time insights into driver behaviour. There are three subtypes of vehicle trackers; 

  1. Mobile GPS: They utilize the GPS in the device of the drivers to track their location. Simply by connecting the software with the GPS, managers get the accurate location. 

  2. Plug-in Play GPS: These types of trackers are connected to the Onboard Diagnostics of the vehicle to offer accurate readings of the driver’s data ( idling, harsh braking). 

  3. Wired GPS/ELD: They are usually connected to the vehicle’s engine and fetch information related to the vehicle’s health, location and driver behaviour.

 

  • Satellite-based trackers

Sometimes cell-based tracking doesn’t work due to the unavailability of towers in the area. Here, satellite-based tracking emerges as a problem solver. Using satellite based trackers, managers can get updates even from the most remote environments.

  • Asset Trackers

Asset trackers are used in fleet management to accurately monitor the condition of assets within a fleet. These assets include- equipment and other valuable items of fleet operations. Here are some of their key aspects;

  • Real-time location tracking of the assets

  • Theft prevention and recovery

  • Increased safety and efficiency of fleet operations

 

Use cases of Personal GPS trackers 

Type 

Use case 

Wearable GPS tracker 

Child and elderly safety: Parents and caregivers use wearable GPS trackers to ensure the safety of their children or elder family members. These types of trackers can be worn as a watch or can be attached to clothing. 

Using them can offer mental peace to family members by allowing them to locate their loved ones in case they become lost. 

Cellphone Trackers

Lost or Stolen Phone Retrieval: One of the valuable use cases of cellphone trackers is that they help owners track their mobile phones in case they get misplaced or stolen. 

Animal Trackers 

Pet Tracking: Animal trackers are one of the best ways to know about the whereabouts of your pets. They are widely preferred by pet owners to ensure the safety of their pets and to prevent them from getting stolen.

 

Use cases of Commercial GPS trackers 

Type 

Use case 

Vehicle Trackers

Fleet Management: Vehicle trackers are utilised in fleet businesses in combination with different solutions such as driver behaviour monitoring, route planning and asset tracking. They send real-time location of the vehicles to the fleet managers, allowing them to get accurate insights on fleet operations.

Satellite Trackers

Remote Asset Tracking: In secluded locations with zero network connectivity, satellite tracking is used for monitoring assets such as shipping containers and consignments. They offer real-time data about the asset location, allowing companies to reduce thefts and optimize fleet operations. 

Asset Trackers

Asset monitoring software: With the help of asset trackers, fleet businesses can monitor their employees, equipment and consignments. By offering real-time updates of these three valuable pillars, asset trackers help in streamlining fleet operations.  

Summing up 

GPS trackers have become an integral part of our modern world. Through this article, we explored their two main categories- Personal and Commercial GPS trackers. Within personal GPS tracking software, we discussed- wearable, cellphone and animal trackers and their use cases.

Whereas, on the commercial front we examined the role of vehicle, satellite and asset trackers in enhancing the efficiency of fleet operations.

Begin your fleet tracking with TrackoBit

So now that we have come towards the end, why not schedule a demo with our software to know what more we can do for your business? Our White-Label GPS tracking Software can help your fleet business level up your operations.

Get in touch with our team to know more!

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