5. Pros

• Reporting and monitoring for up to 2 weeks on a single battery charge
• Assisted GPS (A-GPS) works inside buildings and parking garages
• One-way emergency listening and two-way voice options
• Sophisticated, visually stunning location reports
• Location reports can be downloaded as .csv files and viewed in Microsoft Excel
• Location can be viewed in Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth
• Driving Reports provide detailed mileage, time, speed, and location data; well suited for expensing business travel or fleet management
• Supports multiple geo fences. Geo fences can be circular, rectangular, or irregular shape
• Can set a geo fence in an area that WorldTracker PLD is not currently in, and be notified when it enters that area
• Ability to easily adjust frequency of location updates from once every 5 seconds up to once every 20 minutes
• Quad band support (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) allows the device to operate from any location in the world
• Motion sensor
• Speaker is loud enough to be heard outdoors
• Device can be completely provisioned and/or re-configured over the air (or by connecting the device to a PC via USB cable)
• Power levels and battery consumption can be adjusted to suit your needs

6. Cons

• It takes 12 hours to fully charge the internal lithium-ion battery
• Setting up advanced features, such as Emergency Voice Monitoring or configuring phone numbers to call is complex and not for beginners (TrackingTheWorld will set this up for you, if you purchase the device through them)
• GPS slightly less sensitive than the WorldTracker GPRS (although battery life on the WorldTracker GPRS is less than 24 hours compared to PLD's 2 week battery life)
• Pricey monthly service fees
• Internet access required to lookup the device's location (no call center or other way to get location information)
• Unit isn't waterproof

7. Conclusion

WorldTracker PLD (Personal Locator Device) strikes just the right balance between GPS sensitivity and battery life, making the device one of the most useful, practical, and powerful real-time tracking systems I've ever tested. Capable of up to 2 weeks continuous tracking between battery charges, WorldTracker PLD provides sophisticated GPS location reporting, indoors and out.

One of the most unique features of the WorldTracker PLD is the integrated ability to receive and place phone calls from the device. Once configured, the PTC (Push To Call) button can be used to place a cellular call to a pre-determined phone number, such as a family member or emergency services (note that this features requires the SIM card to have voice services enabled). The device can also be set to silently answer calls, allowing you to monitor the surrounding area (microphone sensitivity can also be adjusted accordingly). Quad band ensured WorldTracker PLD can function worldwide.

WorldTracker PLD's GPS chipset isn't quite as robust as the WorldTracker GPRS. However, battery life on the PLD is about 30 times that of the WorldTracker GPRS, and that device doesn't have PLD's powerful voice features. The ability to dial out or receive phone calls is an especially unique feature for a GPS tracking device, and makes WorldTracker PLD well suited to personal security applications.

WorldTracker PLD isn't the smallest tracking device I've tested, but it achieves a very practical mix of performance and battery life. Those willing to exchange battery life for indoor accuracy and smaller size should take a look at WorldTracker GPRS instead.

WorldTracker PLD Retails for $394, and monthly service ranges from $20 to $65, depending on the service plan. More detailed information is available at trackingtheworld.com.