Figure 1: Lok8u's NUM8, Retail Box

Figure 2: What's Included

The NUM8 ships with the following items included in the box:

• NUM8 Child Locator GPS Watch (available in black, blue, or pink)
• AC Wall Charger Adapter + Cable (connects to charging cradle)
• Docking Cradle

Figure 3: Docking Cradle, Side

Figure 4: Docking Cradle, Connected to Wall Charger

Figure 4: Docking Cradle

The Docking Cradle is magnetic. When you bring the back of the NUM8 watch towards the green front of the cradle, you can feel it "snap" together with the cradle.

Figure 5: NUM8 Watch on Charging Dock/Cradle

The watch snaps onto the charging dock easily, although the watch's wristband can interfere with the watch making a good connection with the charging cradle. Sometimes I had to wiggle the watch a bit to get the green charging light to come on.

Figure 6: NUM8, Charging

The NUM8 watch charges whenever it is docked on the charging cradle.

Notice the two round lights at the upper left and right corners of the charging cradle. A solid green light indicates the watch is fully charged. The Red light (the light on the right side, not illuminated in the image above) indicated the watch is charging.

Figure 7: NUM8 Wristband Release Tool

The NUM8's wristband is designed to be tamper-resistant. Once the watch's wristband is closed, you'll need to use the included release tool (or something similar in shape and size) to release the watch strap again.

When not in use, the tool can be stored in the base of the charging dock.

Figure 8: Adjusting NUM8's Wristband Length

The included tool is also needed to adjust the wristband length.

Figure 9: Adjusting NUM8's Wristband Length

To make the wristband longer or shorter, remove the tamer-resistant screw using the included watch release tool, and slide the strap to the desired length. Replace the screw and tighten it.

Closing the wristband by snapping the connector end into the open end of the NUM8 watch turns on the device. From this point on, if the wristband is opened, the watch will send an alert notifying you that the watch has been removed.

Figure 10: Lok8u NUM8, Worn on Child's Wrist

The NUM8 is slightly bulky, but still manages to be just barely small enough to fit on a small child's wrist.

In the figure above, a 3 year-old child test subject reported that the watch was comfortable enough to wear.

However, I tested the device's comfort level on several children, and all of them said the screen was hard to read, and virtually all of them said they feared getting their skin pinched when locking the wristband into the watch.

Figure 11: NUM8 Wristband Release Hole

Once the wristband has been snapped into the watch, it cannot be removed without using the included release tool.

Figure 12: Wristband Release Tool

To unlock the watch's wristband, insert the included tool into the release pin opening on the side of the watch (shown above) and press firmly while pulling the wrist strap out of the watch.

The first few times you do this procedure, you worry that the tool might puncture the watch the hurt the child's wrist. It feels odd to be pressing so hard with a sharp pin-shaped tool into a child's wrist. But in the end, the mechanism proved safe.

Figure 13: Lok8U NUM8

Under optimal lighting conditions, the NUM8's display is visible, but not at all bright. Under more challenging lighting, the watch can be nearly impossible to read. The display is also not backlit.

Figure 14: NUM8 Portal

To locate the NUM8, you can either send the device a "Where r u" text message from a mobile phone, or login to the web portal, shown above.

Figure 15: User Profile

Once the device has been registered with Lok8u's web portal, you can configure your preferred settings, including your local time zone, and whether the watch should default to "Standby" (don't send location information until it is requested by the user) or "Live Track" (automatically report location data every 5 minutes).

Figure 16: Web Portal

When you login to the web portal, you are presented with the screen shown above.

To initiate a location request, click the orange "where ru" oval at the top of the screen.

Figure 17: Sending a Where R U Command

Sending the "Where R U" command to the watch took anywhere from 1 - 5 minutes, if it worked at all. Sometimes it would time out, but not report an error (the dialog box would simply close). Other times it would actually report an error (shown below).

Figure 18: Device Has Not Responded

8. Pros

	Watch is compact enough to be worn by small children
	Ability to configure alerts if watch strap is opened
	Device feel rugged and well made. It will survive the harsh life on a child's wrist
	Ability to locate the watch from a cell phone (via text message)

9. Cons

	Rarely worked
	Never worked indoors
	Poor accuracy (1500 feet)
	Very short battery life (about 3 hours in Live Tracking mode)
	Takes 10 hours to fully charge the battery
	Cannot manually set the time
	Frequently displayed incorrect time (did not adjust for daylight savings, and no way to manually set the time)
	Display screen is very dim. Hard to read
	Wrist strap clasp is difficult to open & close
	Text message locate requests do not appear in the web portal
	Cannot view location data for a specific day in the past. Very limited reporting in general
	Spotty T-Mobile coverage
	Does not report speed. No way to know if child is walking, or moving in a vehicle
	Does not report temperature
	Buggy web portal
	Locate requests took up to 10 minutes to complete
	Did not remember defined "Safe Zone" between battery charging
	Cannot setup escalation lists of people to notify in case the watch exits a safe zone
	No panic button feature
	Only one wristband release tool is included in the box. Given its importance (you need it to take the watch off, or adjust the wristband length), Lok8u should include a spare
	Buggy web portal

10. Conclusion