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The Zoomback is essentially a GPS receiver tied together with a cellular modem. The tracker portion of the device reads data from the GPS satellites to pinpoint the device’s location, then the cell modem transmits that location back to the Zoomback server.

Setting up the Zoomback is fairly simple. Every Zoomback has a unique Device ID that you enter into the Zoomback website to activate the device. You then select your service, choosing either a monthly, biannual or annual payment plan.

You can add several devices to your account if you need more than one Zoombak… a nice option that lets you track all your Zoombacks from a single login.

Once you’ve setup the Zoombak, you simply attach it to whatever you would like to track. Zoombak sent us the pet model which includes a collar attachments, but there are also standard and car versions. The base device is the same, but each kit has slightly different accessories.

Logging into the Zoombak website will allow you to track your activated devices though the locator center.

The Zoombak is setup to automatically communicate with the central server every few minutes. This gives you the ability to track the historical location of your device. However, if you click the “Find Now” button you can force the Zoomback server to communicate with the tracker, finding its present location in real-time.

One of the cooler features of the service is the user configurable “safety zones.” You can setup a “home address” for a particular locator, then set a safety zone around that location. Should the tracker stray out of that safety zone, Zoombak’s servers can contact you though your email or cell phone. It can also alert you if the battery is running low or if somebody has powered off the device.

Battery life is difficult to estimate because our testing found a range of widely-varying times. Our longest test time was 7-1/2 days. The shortest was 4. We think this has to do with how hard the Zoombak needs to “try” to contact the central server. Essentially if the cellular modem detects a low signal, it boosts its own power to complete the transmission. Still, I would guess that with typical usage you can expect that the device will need to be charged every 5 to 6 days.