'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
Invoxia is adding Real-Time Boost to its GPS Tracker
Invoxia's GPS Tracker is a USB stick-like device you can place in a car, luggage, or even a child's backpack to help you keep tabs on its location. And on Tuesday, April 26, the device is getting a big update that adds real-time tracking.
Once you install the update next Tuesday, you'll see a new button on the app that will trigger Real-Time Boost, which will report the location of the tracker every 30 seconds for the next 30 minutes, allowing you to see where your item is in -- what I'd consider -- real-time.
There is a caveat to triggering the feature, though. It will only become active once your tracker does its next scheduled location update, and that's based on how often you currently have it set to update its location.
ZDNET Recommends
The screenshot above states that it can take as little as two minutes or up to 24 hours to activate, depending on your settings and whether or not the tracker is stationary. You will receive an alert once the feature is active.
I've tested and used the GPS Tracker to keep tabs on when my child gets to and leaves school. While it worked within a few minutes of his arrival/departure, I did want there to be some form of more frequent updates. While I suspect that the 30-second polling interval will use a lot of battery, especially if it's used over the full 30-minute period and/or extended beyond that, it would be handy to use in small bursts to ensure more accurate location info.