eTrak CEO John Harris sat with David Johnson in his show, CEO Spotlight With David Johnson, on News Radio 1080, KRLD. Harris explained many features about the eTrak device that makes it a standout against all other existing tracking devices: accurate tracking technology, ease of use, inexpensive fees, etc.
It was a non-technical attribute that drew some additional praise for eTrak in the aftermath of the show’s airing: the fact eTrak will be manufactured in the USA, right in Dallas, Texas. John Harris is a tenured tech executive and grew tired of watching jobs head overseas, so he made a conscious effort to produce and manufacture eTrak in Dallas to keep the jobs at home.
See a transcript of the video after the jump.
Radio Interview Transcript (Click HERE to visit KRLD’s website):
David: Well location devices have become, well, not as unique as they were. You can dial-up and find out where you left your iPad or iPhone, but it gets a little dicier if the product or the individual, say, is moving and you want to keep up with them behind closed doors or inside buildings or maybe around the world. Soon, that will be a lot easier because of eTrak. A product that’s being developed and ultimately manufactured right here in the Dallas area. John Harris is the CEO of eTrak and joins us right now, it’s good to have you with us.
eTrak: Well thank you, David
David: Great guy, like I say… It’s pretty easy to track devices now a days, but doing it economically and behind closed doors is a lot tougher. And that was the challenge for you, right? Tracking Alzheimer’s patients or wayward dogs or whatever…
eTrak: Well that’s true, David. I have Autism and Alzheimer’s in my family. I was looking for a better solution because all the ones I found weren’t very accurate, they just didn’t measure very close and they were expensive, they were big and bulky, and hard to carry around. So I began looking and searching and developing a new product, and we have an exciting new line of products to show you.
David: And the interesting thing is, so this obviously uses GPS technology, which we all know about now, but I gather you incorporate WiFi and even… What is it? Cellular technology, too?
eTrak: That’s correct. We invented a hybrid tracking system, actually, that incorporates WiFi access points in addition to GPS. And what the means is that our device sees a WiFi access point when it in near focus to it, sends that location to our server, and then we send that location back to you on your cell phone or your computer.
David: So what sort of cost are we talking about? Something like this I know can be fairly expensive.
eTrak CEO John Harris
eTrak: Well, they are in some cases. This product, we’ve been managing to get our cost down for the last two years of development, now we’re going to retail this product at $99.
David: So you pay $99, but there are ongoing fees to track it?
eTrak: There are. There are three subscription plans to choose from for the monthly service. You can actually pay $99 in advance for a full year of service, or you can pay $15 per month to pay as you go, no commitment, you can turn it off whenever you want. Or we’ll give you a 20 percent discount and do it for $12 per month if you want a 12-month agreement.
David: Is it one device that has many applications or would you have the same device your 7-year-old as you would your labrador retriever as you would your car?
eTrak: Well, actually, there are three separate devices. We have a human device that’s called the “eTrak“. That’s good for all human usage: Alzheimer’s, Autism, Down Syndrome, special needs. Even a child going to school, you could throw it in your backpack and you could track your child that way. Then we have a pet tracking device which is less expensive, actually. It’s only $7.95 for the PetTrak device. And then we have a hard-wired car tracking device, CarTrak, which plugs directly into your car’s charging system. You just plug it in once and you never have to worry about it again.
David: So I’m intrigued and I could understand it being developed here; you guys are the brains behind this. But manufactured here? Nobody manufactures electronic goods in the US, do they?
eTrak: You know, not many anymore. I have been doing this a lot of years, and I watched all the jobs leave the US and go overseas. And, part of the thing I wanted to do was create new jobs back at home. So what we’ve done is we worked with a local manufacturer to shave the cost as close as we can and we’re going to produce the product right here in Dallas, Texas.
David: Alright, so how do we find… It’s not available right now, right?
eTrak: No, sir. It’s in test mode right now, field testing. And it will be available sometime late-June to the public.
David: And distribution points? Are you distributing yourself or is this an Amazon item, in stores?
eTrak: It will be on Amazon, it will be on eTrak.com, it will be in all of the cell phone wireless stores, like Verizon and stores like that. We haven’t signed the final deals yet, but we’re fairly sure it’ll be in Walmart and Target, and stores like that, as well.
David: John Harris is the CEO of eTrak, spelled e-T-r-a-k. Good to have you with us!
eTrak: Thank you, David!
David: Thanks, I’m David Johnson. News Radio 1080-KRLD.