This 2013 article is about the Trakdot Luggage Tracker. I’ll keep the article here but the device never panned out. (Good lesson: never write about what I don’t know first-hand.) For tracking in 2022 the AirTag is the tracker to have.
Every traveler knows that when you flying, the is always the possibility that your luggage won’t make the same journey as you. A new personal luggage tracking device is about to make the scene and provide us with an option to know where our bag is when it flies. It is called the Trakdot Luggage Tracker.
I have not seen the Trakdot Luggage tracker in person yet or had the opportunity to try it yet so I cannot offer a review of it here yet. However, I feel it worth bringing to your attention for now.
UPDATE 2017: They never sent this and dropped all communication so I have no idea if it ever came into being.
The Trakdot Luggage tracker is described as “palm-sized” and “ultra-light” in order to easily fit into any bag. The idea is that you register your Trakdot device on the Trakdot website and place it into your checked bag. Your Trakdot device then reports its city location in real time. You will be able to see the location report on an Apple or Android Trakdot Luggage app — or other SMS or email for other cellular devices. You can also track your luggage (or your friend’s luggage) at Trakdot.com.
The Trakdot people also provide another app that alerts you as your baggage approaches on the carousel! I love that! Imagine that your friend is driving around the airport slowly circling in a car waiting to pick you up and trying not to get a ticket. He/she can now know when to approach your pick-up point.
Each Trakdot Luggage tracker device can be linked to multiple phones, and each phone can track multiple Trakdot Luggage tracker devices, which, as you can see, makes it more helpful with family travel.
Time and testing will tell us office well the Trakdot Luggage tracker works.
My questions are:
- What I know so far is that: “The luggage locator system delivers city-specific information on the whereabouts of checked baggage in real time.” I don’t yet know how localized that information is. For example, if the luggage is removed from an airport, will we have street-level information?
- The Trakdot Luggage tracker must be powered, of course I know the retail package comes with “batteries,” so I wonder if the required battery is one that is readily available for purchase and how long the batteries last.
- Does the reporting work for cities worldwide? If not, where are the holes so we know which travelers can count on it and which cannot do so at least yet.
- What are the actual dimensions and weight? Every ounce counts to some travelers.
- Will the device cause airlines to worry about a potentially harmful device inside causing your luggage to be searched? I know the retail package inluggage a luggage tag, but I don’t know whether that is to identify that the tracker is inside.
- If detectable by luggage handlers, there is always to possibility that a corrupt handler will remove the device. (The passport of a journalist friend went missing from the US postal service. It was sent via registered mail — and was last tracked at a post office en route.)
This Trakdot™ product is expected to be for sale in March (that’s 2013) and will carry a manufacturer’s suggested resale price of $49.95. This includes “the Trakdot Luggage device, luggage tag, and batteries.” There will be an additional activation fee of $8.99 and an annual service fee of $12.99.
I also see this luggage tracker as a potential added benefit for tour packagers to provide.
In fact, I am curious about using it for other bag tracking situations. I look forward to learning the answers to my questions to see if these other tracking ideas are viable. (There are also other device trackers I need to look at for those situations.)
I will add more information as I know it.
Trakdot is a creation of GlobaTrac LLC , an innovator in low-cost tracking solutions. For more information about this and other products, please visit Trakdot.com. (As I post this, the URL is not working but hopefully the site will be there when you try to visit it.)