MX-LOCare Watch Review: A Personal GPS Tracker for Everyone

Transcription

1 MX-LOCare Watch Review: A Personal GPS Tracker for Everyone by Briley Kenney Feb 3, 2017 We cover a variety of wearables but never have we reviewed anything like the MX-LOCare personal safety watch. You see, unlike common wearables such as the Apple Watch, it is meant for one thing and one thing only. The MX- LOCare affords family members and professionals the option to stay in touch and completely aware of a loved one s whereabouts. The ideal use for the watch is to keep an eye on anyone suffering from Autism, Alzheimer s, Dementia, or a cognitive condition. Many of these ailments cause those suffering to wander off or get lost. This poses a great many dangers for them, namely that no one knows where they are or what they re doing when they amble off. Wearables like the MX-LOCare watch allow you to track these individuals, keep in touch, and get them help in the event of an emergency.but is the MX- LOCare reliable? Let s find out. The MX-LOCare looks like a watch. The two most colorful options blue and pink will appeal more to kids than adults or the elderly. But there s a conservative, solid black option too. On the main screen are signal strength and battery icons, the current time, and the current date. It s simple, yet functional. The signal strength lets the wearer know service quality, just like a cell phone. Yes, that also means the MX- LOCare takes a SIM card, and you ll be happy to know it comes with one preinstalled. Service plans start at $29.95 a month, and there s a $50 activation fee. Since there are no contracts locking you in, however, that s quite reasonable. Especially if you re looking to track someone at all times to ensure their safety.

2 Reliability is the ultimate concern with a device like this and mobile connectivity offers that. We ll get to some of the more advanced features later in the review. For now, just know it offers GPS and Wi-Fi location tracking, 2-way voice calling, and various safety modes to keep the wearer protected. The companion app is available for Android and ios. Once synced, all reports are passed to the mobile app which can store up to 6 months of tracking history for remote monitoring. According to the watch makers, the battery should last for a full five days or so before it needs to be charged again. That is also important because you don t want the juice to run out in the middle of an emergency. Of course, there are a couple extras too, like a pedometer which means the watch can track physical activity and steps walked. If this feature set sounds enticing to you, read on to find out if it works well or not. Overview The MX-LOCare is meant to keep your loved ones safe. It can be worn by just about anyone, and it s easy to put on too. There are removal alerts, so you ll know right away if the person you re monitoring takes off the watch. If you need to get in touch with them, you can call out to the watch, and leave voice messages through the smartphone app. Those wearing the watch can also dial out to several pre-programmed numbers, which you must authorize in the app. There are several modes we ll get to them later and the watch delivers realtime location tracking through Wi-Fi and GPS. It works anywhere there are GSM networks (Quad Band: 850/900/1800/1900). You pay for and activate the service through the company s official site. Though they do claim you may incur additional charges if you re using the watch outside the US, so keep that in mind. Activation is easy and quick. You do it by entering the serial number for the watch on the website. As for the watch, it s fairly durable. It s made of tough plastic and the band is a polymer (rubber) material. The watch is rated IP66 dust and waterproof, which means it is protected against dust ingress and is

3 waterproof for short periods. So, while it s not indestructible, it should hold up just fine to normal wear and tear. The app is nothing special, but it works, exactly as advertised. That s enough to deem it worthy of use. We ll also get to more details on that later. All in all, the MX-LOCare is reliable and safe. Overall: 4/5 The MX-LOCare provides all the tools you need to monitor a loved one remotely, 24/7. Build As we said already, the watch is made of a tough plastic. The band is a rubbery-like polymer and it s fairly comfortable to wear. One thing to note is that on the rear of the band is a unique locking mechanism. You can put the watch on whoever you want to keep safe, and then lock it so they can t easily remove it this is a unique model, there is one with a standard watch strap. Of course, there s nothing stopping them from cutting the band away, but you ll know if that happens. There are tamper alerts to let you know the watch has been removed. An IP66 dust and water resistance rating means it s protected well from the elements. While you can t take this thing scuba diving or deep underwater for long, you can bring it in the shower or on a run when it s raining. There are two physical buttons on the right side of the watch and between them is a faux crown. Throughout the review period, we didn t run into any problems regarding the build and external quality of the watch. It should be durable enough to survive time spent with kids, elderly, or anyone really. Build: 3/5 While it s not stainless steel, the tough plastic should hold up well and the IP66 waterproof rating is definitely a plus.

4 Design As far as design and appearance, there isn t much to say. The MX-LOCare looks like a digital watch, one you might buy at a department or retail store. There s nothing overly special about the way it looks, and nothing stands out. The content on the display is monochrome (black and white) so it s not all that flashy for passerby. The speaker can be loud but this isn t a problem. You want whoever is wearing it to be able to hear you and vice versa when they speak into the mic. Design: 3/5 There s nothing particularly outstanding about the design or appearance, but it works and that s what matters most. Tracking The location tracking is pretty straightforward. In the app, you can see where the watch is on a Google Maps interface at all times. You can ping the watch for an update anytime you like. It can take a minute or more to return the results sometimes, but the delay is not bad it s just how GPS works. In fact, the MX-LOCare watch and app both are surprisingly accurate. This is a company that specializes in creating GPS and tracking solutions. They make products for transportation and logistics, law enforcement, and more. It would be a little ridiculous if they missed their mark in this category, but don t worry, they didn t. Tracking: 5/5 The location tracking is reliable and accurate.

5 Functionality Because we covered the GPS and location tracking in another section, here we re simply going to talk about the additional features. The MX-LOCare has several emergency modes to keep the wearer safe. A guard mode can be activated from the app, and it will dial-in to the watch and listen to the surrounding environment. A panic mode can be activated from the watch, and it will automatically begin calling contacts for help. From the mobile app, you can also define safety zones through geofencing. Basically, this allows you to set boundaries via GPS, so you get alerts when the watch exits or enters those zones. Every time this happens you will be sent a notification on your phone. You can also get notifications for when the watch is removed, or when it has a low battery and needs to be charged. Up to 8 zones or boundaries can be defined per watch. You can also create them in a variety of shapes like squares, circles, rectangles, or polygons. The watch has a built-in pedometer which is a nice touch. There are a lot of trackers that don t have activity support. This allows the watch to monitor the number of steps the wearer takes. It will also report this information to you in the app, so you can see how active or sedentary someone is. If your children or parent could stand to get more exercise, you ll know. The watch will store up to 16 contact numbers, which can be systematically called in an emergency. The wearer can also call out to these numbers at any time directly from the watch, so keep this in mind when you re adding contacts. You can also leave voice messages for whoever is wearing the watch. This is done quickly and easily through the app. Once they get a message, they have an option to respond in kind. It works pretty well both ways, and the mic picks up their voice even if they re not leaning close to the watch. Though, occasionally we could hear some background noise like wind and cars which is to be expected really. Functionality: 4/5 The MXLOCare can do a lot to keep your loved ones safe and in touch, and that s good to see. The features are also reliable and work excellent.

6 Compatibility The Adiant GPS app which is the app used in combination with the MX- LOCare watch is available for both Android (4.1 and up) and ios (7.0 or later). There s no word on Windows Phone support, but Android and ios are the two most popular platforms. Compatibility: 3/5 The MXLOCare app is available for ios and Android smartphones. MX-LOCare Personal and Emergency Safety Watch Review: Conclusion Just to reiterate, the MX-LOCare is a great GPS-capable watch that you can slap on the wrist of your loved one. Once synced, you can track their location and communicate with them no matter where they are using your mobile device. You can also pre-program emergency contacts, that the wearer can dial out to. When a special SOS mode is activated the watch will automatically begin calling those contacts one-by-one. It s great for kids, seniors, adults, and anyone you want to keep an eye on. If you re looking for a device you can count on, then this one is definitely a solid choice! We hope you enjoyed our MX-LOCare personal and emergency safety watch review! Stay tuned for more coverage!