Whistle's PR Department Won't Talk To Me

Almost two months ago, Whistle announced their new GPS tracker, Whistle 3. As a Whistle 2 user, I immediately had questions. First, I tried their Facebook page. Many dog companies are happy to interact with their customers and fans through social media. I asked them my pile of questions, and the social media team responded the next day. They said they had forwarded my questions to their public relations department, and I could expect a response within a few days.

Nothing.

I waited 2.5 weeks for a response and then messaged Whistle via Facebook again. They apologized and said they'd send along my info to the PR team again. 

Two weeks later, I contacted them yet again. I was told to email the press department directly with my questions. It's been two  weeks since I emailed press@whistle.com, and I have yet to receive a reply.

Their unwillingness or inability to answer basic questions about their new product makes it difficult to compare to both their existing product and to other options on the market.

The Questions

1. Does Whistle 3 use 3G cellular networks? Does Whistle 2 use 3G cellular networks?
2. Is there any incentive for Whistle 2 users to upgrade? (Pod claims to offer a discount for existing users wanting to upgrade.)
3. Could an existing Whistle 2 subscription plan be transferred to the new device? If I purchased a 12-month subscription in December, would I have to buy a whole new plan for Whistle 3? Would my Whistle 2 plan be refunded?
4. Does Whistle 3 offer a virtual leash or temperature monitoring? What features does it have that Whistle 2 doesn't?

Those just don't seem like tough questions to me. Either Whistle is lacking in the customer service department, or their PR people don't actually know enough about the product to answer. What do you think?

Dog Tech: Updates!

The dog wearable tech market is expanding, and there's a lot of fun new smart collars and pet trackers on the horizon. March seems to be the month when almost everything will hit the market for real, and I'm hoping to have my hands on a couple of new products within the next month.

Whistle 2 - What We're Using Now

Whistle 2 is our first pet tracker smart collar wearable, and currently the only one I have actually used in person. Zip has been wearing this activity/GPS tracker for six weeks now. With our normal weekly routine of spending all day long away from the base station, and not using the active tracking feature, the battery lasts five days.

Whistle 2 is great if I want to know what my dog was up to yesterday. The active tracking is nice when I want to know precisely where my dog was 3 minutes ago. The alerts that my dog has left the safe zone arrive approximately 8-15 minutes after she has actually left. Overall the system is pretty good as long as I don't mind waiting for information. The tracker syncs with the base station and uploads data every 12-24 hours, so I can't use it to tell if Zip needs some extra dinner after a super active day because I don't normally have that data until the next morning.

The weekly report is nice, it gives me a summary of Zip's activity and rest, and compares it to other border collies the same age. She averages about two hours of high activity, and 13 hours of rest per day. I haven't had occasion to actually use the active tracking for anything other than my own amusement yet, but so far I'm not finding Whistle 2 to be worth the $10/month subscription fee.

Whistle 3 - February 2017?

Whistle 3 will use wifi, GPS, Bluetooh, and 3G cellular signal to accurately track your pet and record their activity. The collar unit is smaller than Whistle 2, so it's possible this one will be appropriate for cats as well as dogs. Whistle 3 is in the pre-order stage right now, and is scheduled for release this month. I have a bunch of questions for the Whistle team, but so far they've been saying they've "get back to me right away" for well over a month.

Nuzzle - March 2017

I love Nuzzle so much, I ordered them for all three dogs. This is a 3G/wifi/Bluetooth collar with geofencing, temperature monitoring, everything I want in a smartcollar. It does not work with a base station like Whistle 2, it just needs me, my dog, and my smartphone. It also does not have a subscription fee. Nuzzle comes with two batteries so I won't have to take it off to charge it every few days. We were expecting our Nuzzles to ship in the middle of January, but they discovered a quality control issue that has delayed the process until mid-March. 

I absolutely love this company because they have been extremely forthcoming with information about the shipping delay. I know exactly what happened, what they are doing to remedy the situation, and how long it will take. They even provided a breakdown of the entire process, and how long each step will take. Since the original notification of the delay, I have received two addition email updates. While I'm a bit sad to have to wait long for my smart collars, I am extremely pleased with how the company is handling it.

Link AKC - March 2017

I pre-ordered a Link AKC (<- this is an affiliate link) smart collar back in December, and at the time they were not forthcoming with an expected launch date. I've been expecting to get an email about it shipping since mid-January. I finally got a launch countdown notification a few days ago, and I'm expecting our collar to ship in early March. This is another wifi/GPS/Bluetooth/3G device, and it works with a base station that can be charged in the car. It can also use my phone as a base station. Link AKC has the unfortunate combination of a sky-high price and a monthly subscription fee, so I don't know how long we'll be using this one.

Pod 3 - March 2017

Pod 3's triple-funded Kickstarter (<- this is an affiliate link) projects it's shipping date at the end of March, with the interchangeable modules shipping in May. This is the smallest pet wearable out there, it was inspired by a beloved cat that went missing. It's a wifi/GPS/Bluetooth/3G device with a monthly subscription fee. I really want one, but I can't actually to buy ALL the smart collars.

Kyon - March 2017

The Kyon smart collar can display messages like "I'm lost!", and the GPS can tell you what floor your dog is on in the building. This is another one with both a high price ($250) and a monthly subscription fee. It offers temperature sensing, which is a big plus. It also uses a base station to set a safe zone. Kyon is an actual collar to which you can attach a leash, it doesn't have a removable module that can strap onto any collar or harness. This one is expected to ship at the end of March 2017.

Scollar - August 2017

Scollar is a small smartcollar designed for cats and small dogs. Unlike most pet wearables, this one has a tappable display right on the collar. This one does GPS tracking, and has add-on modules for geofencing and vibration. There is a lot of emphasis on reminders for medication, feeding, and flea and tick treatments. This is an interesting one, but not one of my must-haves.

WUF - Summer 2017?

Wuf is unique because it is intended to be upgradable. My smartwatch isn't even upgradable! It offers tracking, geofencing, and a virtual leash, but their Kickstarter was fully funded two years ago so I'm not putting a lot of faith in the Wuf team at this point.

Buddy - Nobody Knows...

Squeaker's Buddy collar sounded amazing, it was going to have customizable LED colors and patterns in addition to all the wonderful smart collar features. They missed their October 2016 release date though, and started sending out refunds for their IndieGoGo backers four months ago. Nobody has responded to comments on the campaign page in three months, and nearly all mention of Buddy has been removed from the Squeaker website.

Dog Tech: Pod3 Announced!

Pod has finally announced an updated version of the Pod Tracker! It's about damned time!  Pod 3 is being funded via Kickstarter (<- this is an affiliate link), and the new features are many and varied. In fact, there are way more options than I ever expected, because Pod has departed from pet tracking and entered the world of modular GPS trackers.

Photo by Erin Koski

Phenomenal Technological Power, Itty Bitty Package

I got to play with a Pod 2 at SuperZoo 2016, and I was very impressed. Compared to Whistle, this thing is super tiny. It comes with two batteries so you can always have a charged one ready to go, instead of taking the tracker off your pet for a few hours. My only qualm with the Pod 2 was that it uses 2G cellular technology that is rapidly becoming obsolete. The new Pod 3?

• 3G cellular tracking
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• GPS

Not Just For Pets?

Pod 3 isn't intended to just be a pet tracker, and that...kinda doesn't sit well with me. Most of the information and new features advertised have nothing at all to do with pets. Like, it's great that Pod3 can be used for your boat or motorcycle or golf clubs, but I'm concerned that these new applications will mean less focus on the original purpose of the device. Who needs a suite of new dog features when there are yachts to track, right? I love pet wearables and smart devices for dogs, but this is looking more and more like an all-purpose GPS tracker that can be used for pets.

Customization

The biggest addition to the Pod Tracker is the new interchangeable modules. You can customize your tracker to suit your needs, and change the features instantly.

• Sound Module: Produces a loud beep so you can locate your pet/stuff/whatever
• Ultrasonic Module: Produces a high-frequency sound triggered remotely, so basically a remote collar module for dog training.
• Light Module: Produces a bright light that can shine steadily or flash, to help with night visibility, or to help you find your boat.
• Power Dock Module: Plug your Pod into a USB power jack for continuous power. This is for boats and motorcycles and stuff, or at least my dogs didn't come equipped with power jacks.
• XL Battery Module: Adds more battery life.

New Direction

I guess my concern is that Pod might stop being a pet tracker. At least, Pod 3 seems to be less of a pet tracker and more of a stuff tracker. This seems like such an awesome company, so I'm a bit sad that they are going in this direction because it seems there will be less resources devoted to developing the pet tracking aspects. When a niche product becomes an everything product, it makes sense that there will be less attention paid to the original niche. I could be wrong, but the Kickstarter page for the Pod 3 makes me feel less confident in this product.

Dog Tech: Failed Smart Collars

I first read about "smart collars" before "wearables" was even a buzzword, before smart watches and FitBits were everywhere. They sounded AMAZING. Also, EXPENSIVE. I can't remember the first technological marvel I read about, but I do remember that it was supposed to be priced around $300. That may have been ten years ago, I'm pretty sure it was before we all had smart phones and smart everything else. Before the days of crowdfunding. Simpler times.

Just a regular dumb collar.
Photo by Erin Koski

I don't know if either of those "smart collars" actually made it to market. They were both supposed to monitor your dog's heath and activity, but I don't think they included GPS tracking. Since then, the world of wearables has expanded exponentially, and the idea of a smart collar that can monitor, track, and locate your dog has become much more reasonable. So has the price point for such technology. Crowdfunding is now a realistic way to get your dream project off the ground too, which opens up the doors for small startups and individuals with vision.

Unfortunately, not every dream becomes reality, and while delving into the world of pet wearables I've encountered a surprising number of failed products. Let's take a look!

Dogtelligent

Dogtelligent was an ambitious Indiegogo project to develop a Connected Collar. Features included an ultrasonic whistle noise, remotely triggered vibration, virtual fence and leash options, tracking, temperature monitoring, and bark control, all with 14 days of battery life, for under $200. It got a lot of press, and was originally set to ship in November of 2015. Then the ship date got pushed back to September of 2016. Finally the entire project was abandoned after two years, despite raising $136,332 from nearly a thousand backers.

What went wrong? It seems the project started with a really big idea, and all of the funding went towards development. Dogtelligent failed to secure funding for actual production. I'm told that a company needs to produce something like 20,000 units to get the best price for components and stuff. Unfortunately, many of the backers were led to believe that there was already a developed product, and they were just funding production, so there are a whole lot of angry would-be Dogtelligent customers.

Voyce

Voyce was a health monitor collar designed to collect diagnostic data like heart rate and respiration, Tracking was not one of its features. This one actually made it to market, and began shipping in early 2015. It included the ability to interface with veterinary software. The collar cost around $300, and required a $10 monthly subscription fee,
What went wrong? Voyce shut down in December of 2016 after failing to make any kind of profit. People weren't buying it. I suspect the price and the subscription fee turned a lot of people off. As many have mentioned, human activity trackers don't require a subscription fee.

Zazu PetLink

Zazu PetLink was supposed to be a sleek, small, brightly-colored tracker and health monitor. They planned to offer a very different sort of subscription, paid on demand and only when you needed it. Despite having over 1000 preorders by summer of 2015, the company appears to have missed their April 2016 ship date. Their Facebook page has not been updated since then, and the company website is still announcing an April 2016 ship date and accepting preorders.

What went wrong? This company is based in Colombia, and I haven't found anything explaining their dropping off the face of the earth. There might be some sources that I haven't found because they aren't in english.

PetTronix RomEO Seekr

 The PetTronix RomEO Seekr was a GPS collar with a handheld tracking device and no subscription fee. It offered active tracking and a virtual leash, and did not require a cellular signal to work. It looks like they had a successful product, and were planning to release an updated one.
What went wrong? I have no idea what is wrong with this company, but they missed their spring 2016 release date, and are no longer responding to people on social media.

Beagard Activity Collar

Beagard was an activity monitor collar that could run for months on a single battery. The collar interacted with a smart phone app. The company was supposedly running a prototype and was ready to start manufacturing completed units in 2015.

What went wrong? It looks like the Beagard Indiegogo campaign only attracted six backers.

Those are my favorite failed pet wearables. There are a few more that may or may not come to fruition, but I've learned not to hold my breath. Have you heard of any others?