Gadgets & Apps To Help With Personal Security
If you find yourself worrying about the safety of loved ones, technology might offer a solution. Hitesh Raj Bhagat shows you how you can take yours and your family's safety into your own hands
GADGETS
Garmin GTU 10 14,999 g a r min.c o .in
This tiny waterproof GPS locator from Garmin weighs about 50 grams, comes with a carry case and rechargeable lithium-ion battery — you can use it to track a loved one, your pet or vehicle. The price includes a year of the GPS tracking service. When you set it up, you can choose to have the device alert you via text or email, set a wake and sleep time and choose how often it reports back to you. You can also set up geofences, view a history of where the device has been, view the speed with which it was moving and locate it on demand, on a map.
Portable Battery Packs 1,500 onwards e b a y.in
Your mobile phone or tablet can be a lifeline if you're stuck and need to call for help. However, thanks to the limited battery life that some of these devices have, you're lucky if they last you more than a day.
That's where an external rechargeable battery pack comes in — some extra power for when you need it the most. Most battery packs have one or two standard full-size USB ports, so that you can connect any phone to it with your own cable. However, you can also get battery packs with iPhone or micro USB jacks built in so that nothing extra is required. The battery packs are rated with the capacity of the battery inside — usually between 1,500mAh to 6,000mAh.
Personal Security Alarm 250 onwards d x.c o m
This small innocuous keyring weighs only a few grams and can be attached anywhere on your clothing or bag. Inside is a pair of user replaceable CR 2032 lithium batteries (included in the price) and a loud, 60db sound emitter. The alarm sound is triggered the instant the keyring (pin) is pulled free from the device
— and can be stopped by inserting the pin back into the device. It is loud enough to alert anyone nearby that you are in distress and a pair of batteries is good enough to keep the alarm going at full volume for a few minutes.
Vehicle Tracking Device
14,990 m a p m yin dia.c o m
If you need a permanent solution to remotely track a vehicle, MapmyIndia's VT11 can help. This can be useful if a loved one often travels alone. It's a small box that uses a combination of GSM and GPS technologies to provide location and other information. It hooks up to your vehicle's power supply plus has a built in battery that takes over if the vehicle's battery is disconnected (such as in case of vehicle
theft). The price includes a year of the tracking subscription service ( 3,500 per year thereafter) but excludes the monthly SIM card charges (typically 50 per month). With the device installed, you can remotely track the location of your vehicle on a map, get SMS/email alerts, set up geofences, see where it's been, distance travelled and how fast it was going.
SMARTPHONE APPS
Life 360
Available free for Android, BlackBerry & iOS, Life 360 Family Locator uses functionality provided by GPS smartphones to accurately track members of your family on a (private) map. The app uses a combination of GSM triangulation, Wi-Fi & GPS to plot location. You can also use it to get help from family members in an emergency or track a lost phone.
ICE - In Case of Emergency
This free Android app by Sera Apps (there are various other apps with the same name) stores information that can be accessed by someone else in case you are unable to ask for help yourself. It can store certain emergency phone numbers, your Blood type or other vital information. With the help of another app called Widget Locker, the app can also be placed on the lockscreen.
Circle of 6
The developers of this free app for Android and iOS say that it can stop violence before it happens. The idea is simple — within the app, you choose 6 friends/family members to add to your trusted circle.
If you get into a sticky situation, the app can either send your location to your circle, ask your circle members to call you or it can just call a local emergency number.
BSafe
This free app for Android and iOS can turn your phone into a personal safety device. When you first start the app, you need to set up your own safety network — a group of people who you would like to contact in an emergency — as many as you like. Then, you can just press the big red SOS button and the
app will call/text the people in your network with your location.
Courtesy : Techtonic, Time of India dated 06-02-2013
