I settled on the Verizon GizmoPal2 for Sam and the GizmoGadget for Josh. After about 2 weeks they didn't want to wear them because they were bulky. The phone feature was nearly useless because we couldn't hear each other. Eventually, I just put the watches in their backpacks to track their bus rides. But the location updating was slow and unreliable. I just got tired of it and I tossed them in the closet.
This summer I wanted to find something better.
Jiobit was the new device I found. I hadn't even realized I was an early adopter when I got it. It seemed complete to me but they keep improving it.
The device is smaller than a key fob for a car. It has a great waistband clip that Josh wears everyday around the city with his therapist.
No matter where he is, I can check his location in seconds -- even when he was at the top of the Empire State Building.
I also like that I can set "Trusted Places" like home, camp or school and I automatically get notified when Josh leaves school or Sam leaves camp. Also his grandfather can track him in real-time so that he knows when to go down and meet the bus.
As you can see, I also get notified when the battery is dying.
Other great features:
Real-time tracking for the hide and go seek game that goes wrong (or when he disappears in the park). I'm looking forward to testing this at Universal Studios at the end of the summer for those heart wrenching moments when he disappears in The Wizarding World.
Jiobit doesn't connect to a single cell server and and can be used with any carrier. It can also link to trusted phones by Bluetooth to save on battery life when we are together.
There are many features that I don't even use because the primary reason I bought it was to be able to track Josh and Sam in real time when I have to; not because I'm worried they're going to run off. That kind of monitoring is just an added bonus.