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Another day, another GPS-based car security feature

If you've ever had a car stolen, you're probably familiar with the frustration and anger of having to deal with finding a new car, talking to the insurance company and police, and the general hassle of all the paperwork.

To help combat car theft, there have been a variety of different methods used, ranging from The Club up to the ability to lock a car thief inside the vehicle until police arrive.  Using GPS technology is now more prevalent than ever, and can be used to help keep cars safe from auto theft.

BlackLine GPS recently introduced the Seeker, a new GPS vehicle tracking technology that can help a car owner recover a vehicle if it is stolen.  The small key fob is a little bit bigger than a remote car starter, and continuously monitors a GPS-powered security perimeter.

When an owner walks away from his car, the system will automatically create a perimeter in the area, and will deactivate the perimeter when an owner goes back towards the car.  If a car leaves the perimeter without authorization, BlackLine automatically sends a text message to the car's owner.

Seeker is powered by a two-wire power connection directly into the car's battery, using either a 12VDC or 24VDC power system.

Along with the SMS, BlackLine's Recovery Service works with local law enforcement to help try and track down the car.

The BlackLine Seeker will be available starting in early 2009 for an estimated MSRP of $350.  The GPS tracking and Recovery Service costs $20 per month or $200 for one-year.



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GPS LoJack
By choadenstein on 11/7/2008 11:14:01 AM , Rating: 2
GPS version of LoJack... Shocking upgrade.

LoJack says they recover 90%+ of stolen vehicles with LoJack installed (usually within 48 hours). Oh, and it's less than 1/2 the yearly service cost (mine cost me $99/yr compared to the $240/yr this new system costs). Cost of getting LoJack installed seems a little higher, but over the long run... Cheaper.

I'll stick with my LoJack.

It would be interesting to see how this system deals with parking garages and things like that. I know my car's GPS drops out whenever there is heavy overhead coverage (like parking garages, tunnels, etc...). Maybe a merger of the two systems would be a good idea. LoJack's transmission towers for Urban environments and the GPS coverage for remote places where there is probably less coverage for LoJack.




RE: GPS LoJack
By Mitch101 on 11/7/2008 11:55:08 AM , Rating: 5
I would prefer a remote detonator instead.

CarJacked no problem with the remote detonator. Certainly make car thieves rethink stealing cars.


RE: GPS LoJack
By feraltoad on 11/8/2008 2:18:13 AM , Rating: 3
"What? You let Mom borrow the car? Uh oh."


RE: GPS LoJack
By porkpie on 11/9/2008 3:31:07 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, the $240/year is a real deal-breaker for me. Plus this system seems a little more visible and easy to deactivate than a LoJack also.


Jamming?
By Desslok on 11/7/2008 11:48:45 AM , Rating: 2
How difficult is it to jam a GPS signal?




RE: Jamming?
By heulenwolf on 11/7/2008 3:56:12 PM , Rating: 2
According to these folks, not very difficult: http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20080421/gps-tracke...

The link to the product page doesn't work, however, so it may no longer be available.


Could be better.
By toyotabedzrock on 11/7/2008 7:12:42 PM , Rating: 2
If they integrate this with an ignition kill switch, and a very loud internal alarm then it would be great.




Subscription-based?
By wvh on 11/7/2008 9:06:44 PM , Rating: 2
Maybe I'm cheap, but it bothers me this service is subscription-based. You pay a lot of money to a company for basically doing nothing. Great business plan...

Wouldn't it be much cheaper to set up a GPS reader linked to a mobile chipset for sending tracking messages via SMS?




Just disable the vehicle...
By HostileEffect on 11/8/2008 12:52:58 AM , Rating: 2
Why not just take the battery out of the car, or remove a part that would prevent the vehicle from functioning?

Anti-theft GPS devices would be nice, as long as the owner is the only person capable of activating it, not the police or any other entity.

[Sci-fi]Give the vehicle some A.I. and put car theft on the same level as kidnapping.[/Sci-fi]




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