Looking for a Kids GPS Watch

• 

  GG57 on 26/05/2021 - 14:50

  +2

  My view is that if you want to rely on this technology as described, the subscription-based options are the best and likely to be the most reliable.

  • 

    man f steel on 26/05/2021 - 15:33

    An app subscription along with a phone plan would minimum cost around $16 / $17 per month for 2 watches. In case of SpaceTalk, its also locked with the network you buy with. If i try to find a deal for the cheap data plans then it not always possible if you are network locked. And Honestly, don't want to get into the hassle of doing it every few months to change the mobile plan.

    • 

      kerfuffle on 26/05/2021 - 15:35

      +3

      $20/month sounds like a decent deal if you want your kids to be safe and trackable/contactable shrugs

    • 

      GG57 on 26/05/2021 - 15:39

      +2

      You do realise that, regardless of the solution you go with, it will only inform you where the watch is, not necessarily the child.

• 

  Yorkshire-Man on 26/05/2021 - 14:57

  Yup.

  Watch with a subscription or a phone is your best option here.

• 

  ItsMeAgro on 26/05/2021 - 15:01

  +1

  Yep. There's no real reason they'd need any kind of subscription service, apart from whatever cheap phone data plan you can get for the SIM you put in them. It's just an android watch.

  I did a bunch of research years ago, and there are some cheapo no-name type ones on ebay and Amazon, but they didn't support 3G (can't use 2G in Australia anymore) and the quality was bad. (I order one to test it, it didn't even work at all, had to send it back for refund).

  Love to hear from anyone who has found a decent inexpensive one. It'd be so nice to let my kids have a bit more freedom without as much risk from predators.

  • 

    SF3 on 26/05/2021 - 15:07

    I have wondered if an AirTag could work as a tracking device for kids when they go out (e.g with other kids) without adult supervision. I haven't looked into it as yet.

    • 

      man f steel on 26/05/2021 - 15:28

      My understanding is that AirTag would work when you are in proximity or relies on croud sourcing. So it may not help in other situations.

  • 

    GG57 on 26/05/2021 - 15:13

    There would still be a risk from predators.

• 

  scrimshaw on 26/05/2021 - 16:05

  +1

  One $0 cost way to find the location of any android device is just to use Google's Find my Phone feature https://www.google.com/android/find?u=0

  You do however, need to know the Google account password that's associated to the phone. So you'll have create a Google account for your kids in advance, register that phone to that account and then use that link above to locate the device (Google account login is required)

  Note that every time you use the website to find / track the device, it will display a Notification on the phone that reads "Locating Device: Find My Device is trying to locate this device"

  That being said this solution is neither elegant or as practical as a Spacetalk watch, it's much easier to keep a watch on a person than a phone (phone can be misplaced or dropped out of a pocket)

  • 

    noone on 26/05/2021 - 16:48

    +1

    Interesting idea.

    I wonder if it'll work with Chinese android watch phones such as this https://www.gearbest.com/smart-watches/pp_009880190668.html

    • 

      man f steel on 26/05/2021 - 17:12

      Interesting …..or can go for a good android watch / apple watch for reliability rather than a cheap watch. I feel its better to invest in a better watch rather than paying for a monthly subscription which is never ending.

    • 

      scrimshaw on 26/05/2021 - 17:24

      +1

      The device would need to run / support Google Apps. China-droids don't run GAPPS, they usually have a completely different type of app store that runs off China servers with their own set of apps and are completely incompatible / disconnected with Google API's

      The chinese app store is also very fragmented, 25 percent of the Android users are using MyApp (tencent), 15 percent are on the Huawei App market, and the rest shared by Oppo, Baidu, Xiaomi App store et cetera.

• 

  NewbiefromVic on 26/05/2021 - 17:08

  +2

  Some options discussed here -> https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2689570

  • 

    ItsMeAgro on 26/05/2021 - 17:21

    That has some good info, I've pasted some here:

    "Personally I personally would like to find a watch without ongoing software subscriptions and I want to avoid products that either have the simcards embedded in them (and you have to pay for the network/carrier access through the company you purchased it from meaning you can't just throw your own 3G sim card in), or you can use your own sim card, but requires an additional subscription for the software.

    Here's a summary of some I've tracked down and what I've found:

    KEEP TRACK GPS

    Australian Based
    $160 Outright + Telco Subscription. No additional software subscription required!
    Uses Telstra Network. (Requires account or prepay account with carrier that uses Telstra's network, such as Telstra, Aldi's, etc)…
    (WCDMA UMTS 850/1900 Network)
    (This one is something I'm looking into. I like the idea of being independent – ie purchase the watch, pay for my own Telco and no additional monthly subscription costs to keep paying to use the device).

    PETREK 3G

    Australian Based
    Allows you to use your own simcard
    $300 Outright + Telco Subscriptions. No software subscription required.
    Doesn't require calls – only data plan to work.
    Minimum total Yearly cost of just $15 all up (nice and cheap if using Aldi's)
    (Yes, it is a pet GPS tracker but no reason I can't see it couldn't be used on a schoolbag, etc).

    MOOCHIES

    Australian Based
    $179.95 + Telco Subscription. No software subscription required.
    Not locked into any network. (Requires 850/1900mhz 3G network)

    MYWATCH (from trackingcentral.com.au)

    Australian Based
    Allows you to use your own simcard (I believe?)
    $400 upwards + your own network carrier cost + $33 per month trackingcentral subscription (youch!)
    Minimum yearly cost of ~$400 plus telco carrier fees

    SPACETALK (From all my tribe)

    Australian Based
    $349.00 Outright + Telco Subscription + All My Tribe Subscription (~$6-$8/month extra)
    Provide your own Nano Sim Card
    Pay additional ~$6 or ~$8 / month subscription to allmytribe. (For 2 or 5 devices to be able to view watch whereabouts)
    Min subscription yearly cost of $72 plus Telco charges

    TicTocTrack

    Australian Based
    ~$200 + Montly Plans. (Telco Subscription is part of their monthly plans)
    Network Provider account is purchased via TicTocTrack. (aka – no independency)
    $12 to $29/month for Vodaphone plans (depending on SMS alerts wanted) or $22/month for Telstra Plan (150 SMS Alerts or 'voice minutes')
    Minimum yearly cost of $144 up to ~$350 depending on plan selected.
    … so there appears to be a few watches there that don't require subscriptions (apart from the sim card) which has me interested in checking them out. There seems to be very little when it comes to comparisons/reviews on the internet too that I could find.

    HereO

    Internationally Based (Apparently might be able to be used in Australia according to their website),
    Requires ongoing ~$5 USD per month subscription for software
    Didn't look into further as I was chasing an Australian based watch (I may have looked into it further if there wasn't an ongoing international subscription cost assigned to it)."

  • 

    man f steel on 26/05/2021 - 17:51

    +1

    Good Info… i found the following interesting:

    Moochies - Most of the reviews show the battery run out issue
    https://smartizwatch.com/
    pomo house
    TCL MoveTime

    Interested to hear more about Smartiz Watch, PomoHouse and TCLMoveTime.

• 

  man f steel on 26/05/2021 - 20:28

  +1

  Another one i came across is Kids O Clock. Its australian and simply needs a sim, But do not know any outside reviews.

• 

  kiwijunglist on 08/10/2022 - 06:26

  Any updates on this.

  On product review website it seems like kids'o'cloco gl20 and moochies seem to be quite popular.

  I'm wanting to kids a GPS tracker that can take a sim, no subscription.

  For my use I'm interested in reasonable battery life with an accurate on demand GPS location.