The TK-102 Mini GPS Tracker is a solid and accurate GPS tracker option. It's one of the few trackers in our lineup that rely on sending text message alerts with time-stamped longitudinal coordinates. Most other products in our review lineup give you an online account where you can track your child or pet in real time and view a tracking history with mapped coordinates. This limited functionality means it isn't right for everybody, but it's also less expensive and very easy to use, compared to some of the other products we reviewed.
After calling the tracker with your mobile phone, you will receive a time-and-date stamped text message from the TK-102 Mini GPS Tracker with its coordinates, in longitude and latitude. If you have a web-connected smartphone you can click on the coordinates and a map will open so you can see the location. If you don't have a smartphone, you will need to type the coordinates into a mapping software app, such as Google Earth, to see where your child, teen driver or pet is.
Other information in the text message from this GPS tracker includes the speed of the device, so you can monitor and keep a log of how fast your teen is driving in the car. It also informs you of how much battery life is left as well as the tracker's current signal strength.
The battery on the TK-102 Mini GPS Tracker does last 96 hours in standby mode, though actual battery performance depends on how frequently you call it to get status and location updates. You can purchase a car charger for the unit separately.
The TK-102 Mini GPS Tracker, because it offers limited features, is very simple to use. You first have to buy a SIM card and activate it with a mobile carrier. Once you have inserted the card in the tracker, you just follow a couple of steps in the user manual and you're ready to start monitoring your young child, teen, pet or vehicle . To find out their location, send a text to the device and it will send you all the information you need to monitor their whereabouts in real time.
