Ekster Tracker Card is a small GPS tracker that, put in a bag or left in the car, allows you to be tracked at any time (and with it the associated object) via smartphone.
With solar charging, it promises a virtually unlimited life: supplied with a leather wallet that enhances its appearance and improves the portability of credit cards, in an era in which cash is increasingly in crisis.
Ekster Tracker Card, the review
Business card
The dimensions of the small Ekster Tracker Card speak for themselves: 8.5 x 5.5 centimeters (by 2 millimeters thick) form a box that we all know very well: it is the most common cut of business cards in Italy and as such can stand in any wallet, pocket, purse or whatever because the format is accepted almost everywhere.
But the other qualities are no less: very light, quite flexible and with solar energy charging, it is a level GPS tracker, for those who follow this market niche.
The Ekster brand behind it then makes it a very refined product, even if technological: the plastic construction differs a little from the realizations of the luxury house, but it is clear that the design is thought to be a product that, let me watch with pleasure.
What it does
For those who do not know, a GPS tracker basically does two things, but with different ramifications of use: connected to a smartphone via App (the technology is that of Cipolo, a product that we have already reviewed here) Ekster Tracker Card basically communicates with the smartphone in proximity and when this connection is interrupted, it leaves the last detected position.
For example, we keep it in the computer bag: if we go out without it, the App realizes that the connection is interrupted and first warns us by message, then providing us with the last detected position of the device (so where we left the bag ).
The warning from the GPS Tracker, here on a Fitbit Charge 4
In itself, however, it does a couple of other interesting things: it allows the tracker to make the phone ring (to find it) and vice versa, the latter makes the device ring (for the same reason).
The use is very simple and, indeed, once decided in practice it is forgotten, remembering to recharge it maybe every two months (with charging times of about three hours).
The operation is completely automatic and based on the associated object (for us the bag but it can be inserted anywhere, from the wallet to the suitcase, to find the car to the bicycle and so on).
Cipolo
The underlying technology, as we have said, uses the Cipolo network, which is good because it is a mature network.
The App is very well done and it is simple and intuitive: in addition to offering the map, it also allows you to share the GPS Tracker with other users to offer them the same functions (for example, if left in the car it can be convenient so that wife and husband find her in the same way) and in case of loss opens the network of all Cipolo scattered around the world, so there is the possibility of tracing an object if it approaches another user's Cipolo.
Obviously, Ekster Tracker Card also accepts the combined use of other Cipolo, without any ambition of exclusivity.
Parliamentary portfolio
In our case, the Ekster Tracker Card came with a The Parliament Wallet, a small credit card holder in worked leather that perfectly contains the GPS tracker, and which replaces the classic wallet.
As we said before, in an era in which electronic payments are increasingly widespread, the use of credit cards becomes widespread and very common (as well as that of associated devices, from smartphones to smartwatches) and The Parliament Wallet aims precisely at this.
The small wallet, made in an ecological way starting from recycled material (as indicated by the site), is an important object that shifts the balance from the Hi-Tech world to that of luxury, with a look that seems to come directly from the Downtown series Abbey.
The Parliament Wallet has three side pockets to hold relatively useful documents or cards, an internal elastic strap (perfect, for example, for the Ekster Tracker Card, and a credit card holder module with a plastic mechanism for automatic ejection (by pressing it, the cards come out already positioned for use (the procedure is mechanical, the wallet has no batteries inside).
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It must be said that a The Parliament Wallet is certainly not necessary for the correct use of the Ekster Tracker Card, but their natural combination is certainly not a coincidence.
The Esker catalog is lavish with many other products, from iPhone cases, to battery packs to the most classic wallets.
Considerations
The considerations on Ekster Tracker Card can only be more than positive: it is a discreet object, with unlimited charge, which uses a robust network and a capable App. It is not an object that is used every day but when needed it is incredibly useful (especially for those who travel a lot).
The association with a wallet is convenient, in order to “protect” credit cards and possibly some cash from an inappropriate departure by quick hands, since the smartphone would immediately alert us, helping us to solve the stolen goods.
Not to mention that both are a choice of style and originality in a world in which such devices often conform to the same design or, as in the case of the original Cipolo, are oriented towards a more casual audience while Ekster's solutions aim at a clientele. more mature and more demanding in terms of appeal.
Pro:
• Slim and practical • Solar-powered • Works well with a credit card holder
Cons:
• The battery charge indicator is missing
Price:
• 59.00 Dollars (Ekster Tracker Card) • 89.00 Dollars (The Parliament Wallet), currently at 78.58 Euros on Amazon
All Ekster products can be found starting from the parent company's website (where there are several other items), some are also available via Amazon.
