Sounds like a cop out to me!
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If they can "brick" it, can't they...
Instead of just killing it, why not have the unit send it's GPS location in an e-mail or in a URL to one of their servers? Then you could report it to the police and give them an official contact at the company, and they could then give the officer the GPS location(s). If they marketed it correctly, it could be a LoJack+GPS unit.
I can see this as being another electronic nanny that parents could use to track their kids car and e-mail parents if they were speeding or weren't at a series of pre-defined locations (home, school, work, friends houses, etc).
If nothing else, hack the unit and put on your own utility that e-mails you the location.
Dan
Hack-able device?
This device sounds like a really fun toy for the geek hackers like myself. If it ran a stripped down OS (Linux or WinCE) and allowed you to run ad-hoc programs that could gather GPS data and access the Internet, then there could be a cottage industry of tiny apps for this. Ideas:
1: Remind me when...
- Pop up a reminder when you're leaving work. ("Pick up the milk on your way home.")
2: Remind me at...
- Pop up a reminder when you're passing a specific location (or getting close). ("Get bread from this store in 2 miles.")
3: Track my route.
- Record the location of the GPS unit and save the data (or e-mail it at regular intervals)
4: Cyber-nanny.
- Give the device a list of appropriate spots (and maybe another list of no-go zones) and have your kid stick this in their backpack or purse (or leave on the dash). Then if they are tempted (or peer-pressure) to go somewhere else, they can say "Sorry, no can do - I've got the GPS with me." And for most kids, having a way to back out by putting the pressure on their parents is easier than saying no to peer pressure. (No, this won't stop the kids that *want* to go there, but that's an issue technology won't fix.)
5: Cyber-cop
- Have the unit record and/or e-mail whenever acceptable speedlimits have been broken.
Dan
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