New Service Enables Parents To Pinpoint Kids’ Whereabouts

It’s 10 PM. Do you know where your children are? uLocate Communications is launching a new service that enables parents to pinpoint their children’s whereabouts – around the clock – using their cell phones, the Internet, and the latest in GPS satellite technology.
uLocate (www.ulocate.com) is introducing the service by offering three months of free
service as part of its national launch strategy to demonstrate the peace-of-mind it brings
to families.
“We recognize that more and more kids are clipping cell phones to their backpacks when
they head off to school as parents face complicated family schedules and increased
concerns over their children’s personal safety and security,” said Alan Phillips, CEO of
uLocate Communications, Inc., based in Newton, Mass.
uLocate enables parents (with security/permission access) who provide their children
with GPS-enabled cell phones to:
• See the “real-time” location of family members displayed on a map on a “24×7”
basis via a secure website;
• Retrieve and view locations of family members directly on their cell phone,
• Review the histories of locations
visited, the routes taken, and even
the associated mileage, during a
specified time frame; and,
• Receive an alert, via an e-mail or a
SMS text message on their cell
phone, when family members leave
from or arrive at pre-defined
locations (sites or areas a parent
has defined, such as home, school,
a neighborhood, etc.).
New Service Enables Parents To Pinpoint Kids’ Whereabouts Using Cell Phones
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“We find that parents will strike a deal with their children – they’ll supply them with a cell
phone in return for enabling the uLocate service,” Phillips said. “Or an individual may
request the service for an elderly parent, two partners for each other, and so on – for
virtually any group or relationship where one or more members will appreciate the peace
of mind knowing where their loved ones are.”
Utilizing the latest in satellite and wireless technology
uLocate utilizes the government’s Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network –
effectively putting the technology to work today that all 911 organizations must have in
place by 2005.
The uLocate service works with cell phones that can establish and
broadcast their own location in terms of latitude and longitude using
GPS. The coordinates are then translated, through technology
provided by MapQuest, for viewing as a local map after logging into
a secure, private account on a Java-enhanced cell phone or on the
uLocate Web site.
Currently, the service is available to Nextel customers using either
a Motorola i88 or i58sr cell phone and to T-Mobile, AT&T, or
Cingular subscribers using any model Benefon. Additional phones
and carriers will be supported as they become GPS compatible,
Phillips noted.
Users can create a free uLocate account through the end of the year by enrolling online
at www.ulocate.com or calling toll-free: 1-888-641-0102. Following the free trial, users
will be eligible to continue their uLocate service on a monthly or annual subscription
basis. Various discount plans are available.
“Cell phones are becoming multi-purpose devices capable of much more than simple
voice communication. By leveraging the latest in satellite and wireless technology,
uLocate is providing a secure, reliable, service that creates value for families,
individuals, and small businesses without any additional overhead, hardware or
software,” Phillips noted.
For more information about uLocate and the 2003 free service offer, visit uLocate
Communications on the Web at www.ulocate.com or call toll-free 1-888-641-0102.
About uLocate Communications
uLocate Communications, Inc. (www.ulocate.com) is an application and technology
service provider of location-based services. uLocate integrates GPS enabled cell phone
technology with the convenience of the Internet to provide global, real-time tracking and
associated LBS services for both enterprise applications and personal use. Based in
Newton, Mass., the company operates web sites at addressbook.com and ulocate.com.