[Aditya]

MapmyIndia has announced the launch of Rover, a vehicle tracking solution with house-level data. This device allows users to track their vehicles anytime and anywhere using their mobiles and web browsers.

Rover is equipped with maps with house-level data. It has an internal battery back-up, which enables it to function even if the vehicle's engine is turned off. The device is water and dust proof and has an internal antenna. It can send text messages and emails across multiple numbers and email addresses of the user's choice. Rover also has a function by which the vehicle can be immobilised in case it is stolen. The vehicle can be located by sending an SMS "FIND Vehicle Number" to 56161 from any number.

Rover also has a feature called Geo-fencing (setting geographical boundaries) and route setting that will set off alerts in case of any deviation. This will allow users to take corrective measures before the situation becomes worse. Additionally, Rover allows users to mark important places that are visited regularly.

The device also allows users to keep a check on vehicle running, which helps the user monitor the movement of the car and keep a check on over-speeding and other undesirable activities. This in turn helps him in optimising usage and increasing efficieny.

MapmyIndia has equipped Rover with its latest version of maps - 8.1, which has a 2 million km road network coverage, 10.54 million points of interest, 6,028 cities at street level with house address-level data for 52 cities, 6,00,000 villages and 3D & 2D landmarks in 88 cities.

Rover is available at leading automotive accessory retail outlets across India and has been priced at Rs. 11,990. Technical assistance and installation facilities are being offered at no extra cost.

Link to Team-BHP News Article

[silverado]

If this works as expected, Mahindra should be the first company to offer it as standard fitment, especially for bolero and scorpio.
If it has geofencing, does it have a mechanism to set it right at the place the vehicle is parked?

Also can the vehicle be set to default immobilised setting when parked?

[autonarr]

This should be a good investment for people who want to keep tabs on their drivers. I have seen many high end cars left in the care of their drivers who simply goof off. Of course, some may use it to keep tabs of their family members too!

[slicvic]

We have seen numerous instances of dealerships using customer vehicles, with this they certainly would be scared.

Will there be an annual fee or subscription charge?

[RSR]

This is fantastic!

It seems to tick all the right boxes required in a GPS tracking system, hopefully. The water and dust resistance, along with the engine immobiliser, are most welcome.

12k rupees seems just a bit on the expensive side, but if it is only a one time cost, with no yearly subscription charges or stuff like that, then it would be a real value for money device.

[slicvic]

Originally Posted by silverado

If this works as expected, Mahindra should be the first company to offer it as standard fitment, especially for bolero and scorpio.

Mahindra already have a system of their own. Mahindra Telematics, check this thread

[SDP]

Originally Posted by slicvic

Mahindra already have a system of their own. Mahindra Telematics, check this thread

Yes, Mahindras have a in-house product. But the unfortunate thing is absolutely nobody - including Mahindra's own people - have no clue about it. When inquired at Global Gallerie, they gave me a reference of a third-party GPS tracker vendor. After chasing multiple leads, I somehow managed to call up the business development guy in Mahindra for the telematics solution and he was least interested in selling the product. I had sent him a few queries on email which are unanswered after almost 2 years. He hasn't even bothered to call back or show any interest in installing it in my XUV. May be private car-owners is not their target market and they are happy dealing with fleet-owners.

[GTO]

Dedicated GPS devices in the era of free Google Maps + Smartphones must be a tough sell.

I appreciate how these companies are venturing out in related product categories that leverage their existing strengths. This is one example, Garmin's HUD is another (link) and I'm sure there's plenty more to come.