Saturday Nov 22, 2008

RoamEO™ -VS- The Competition

Features and Costs	RoamEO�	Zoombak�	PetSafe� GPS Locator	Global Pet Finder�
Uses GPS Satellites	Yes, Completely GPS enabled	Yes, but needs cell phone service to work	Yes, but needs cell phone service to work	Yes, but needs cell phone service to work
Shows Pets Location on a map	Shows Pets exact location in real-time on handheld go anywhere screen. Go directly to where your pet is; not where your pet was 3 minutes ago	Details limited at this time, but seems to be very much the same as the PetSafe� and Global Pet Finder� Units	Yes, to your home computer or you may call their service center and have someone navigate you through your town until you find the pet.	Yes, on your computer screen at home, not very mobile.  Will send text message updates to your cell phone every 3 minutes, showing where your pet was at that time.
GPS Fence Feature	Yes, customized to whatever size and shape you need.	Details limited at this time, but seems to be very much the same as the PetSafe� and Global Pet Finder� Units	Sort of.  You need to set up a circular radius (Safe Zone) 300 feet in radius or larger.  Great if you have a round yard.	Sort of ..You need to call the company and guess the size that you will need to set your boundary.  It also is a circle.
Ease of Use	All settings and controls are at your finger tips.  No need to contact any call centers to have a technician set it up for you.  Most functions can be set with 2 � 4 pushes of a button	Must contact a call center to make changes and activate your system.	Must contact a call center to make changes and activate your system.	Must contact a call center to make changes and activate your system.
Low Battery Alert	Handheld unit shows battery status for both the collar and the handheld unit So you know at all times how much battery life you have left	Details limited at this time, but seems to be very much the same as the PetSafe� and Global Pet Finder� Units	Yes.  Sends a text message or e-mail 24 hours before hand	Yes.  Will send a message to cell phone or other wireless device
Countries approved for use	USA, The U.K., all of Europe (Canada coming soon)	USA Only	USA Only	USA Only
Made In	USA	Does Not Say	China	Does Not Say
Early Termination fees	NO FEES NO CONTRACTS NO PENALTIES NO HASSLES	$100.00  ("Customer may terminate the Services at any time.  Except as provided in sections 5.2 and 5.3 of this Agreement, if Customer terminates the Services prior to the expiration of the term of Customer's contract with Zoombak: (a) Customer's payment card will be charged $100 as an early termination fee...") Read this legal document on their site... Click Here	EARLY TERMINATION POLICY �GPS Locator Location Service during the initial commitment period, except as provided under the PetSafe GPS Locator Guarantee, you will be assessed an early termination fee of up to $240	$175.00 ("In accordance with the Globalpetfinder Satisfaction Guarantee, you must return your equipment within 15 days of purchase to receive a full refund. If you cancel service within 15 days of the purchase of your device, but do not return your device as required, you will be responsible for payment of the $175 early termination fee in addition to all locates, access and other applicable charges incurred prior to the termination of your service.")
Purchase Price	$399.95	$199.99*** ***Does not account for monthly fees	$299.99**	$289.99**
Activation Charge	NONE	NONE	NONE	$34.99
Monthly Fees	NONE	Yes; however they have not yet been announced	Plan 1 - Annual Plan $16.58 month ($199.00 per year) One year automatically renewing plan billed ONE TIME on an ANNUAL basis. Plan 2 - Monthly Plan $19.99 per month ($239.88 per year) One year automatically renewing plan billed on a MONTHLY basis.	$215.88 - $239.76 per year
Additional Costs	NONE	Need to have a text message plan with your cell phone provider cost vary but usually start at an extra $4.99 per month or $59.88 per year	Need to have a text message plan with your cell phone provider cost vary but usually start at an extra $4.99 per month or $59.88 per year	Need to have a text message plan with your cell phone provider cost vary but usually start at an extra $4.99 per month or $59.88 per year
Location Fees (An additional fee to activate your system and locate your pet )	NONE - find your pet as many times as you need to in real time all the time.  There are never any additional costs	None	None	Basic plan $17.99/month gives you 3 locates a month you must pay for additional �Locates� at $4.99 ea if you go over �Escape Artist� Plan $19.98/month only give you 3 locates a month as well but will give you 3 more if you go over for �Only� an extra $7.49
Total Upfront Cost to Purchase	$399.95	$439.75	$558.87 - $599.75 (Factoring in activation fee, basic monthly plan, and text message fees)	$600.74 (Factoring in activation fee, basic monthly plan, and text message fees)
Ongoing Costs	NONE	$14.99/month $179.88/year	A Minimum of  $199.00 per year	A Minimum of  $215.88 per year
Average Life expectancy of a dog = 13 years	Total Cost of Ownership after 13 years $399.95	Total Cost of Ownership after 13 years assuming minimum costs   $2568.31	Total Cost of Ownership after 13 years assuming minimum costs $2958.75	Total Cost of Ownership after 13 years assuming minimum costs $3191.30
Savings	With RoamEO you SAVE $2408.88 - $2641.35 During the life of your pet	-$2198.32 Compared to RoamEO	- $2408.80 Compared to RoamEO	- $2641.35 Compared to RoamEO
Zoombak�,  PetSafe� GPS Locator,  Global Pet Finder� are all wholly owned registered trademarks of their respective companies.  We in no way claim ownership of these trademarks or a relationship to these companies.  This chart is for informational purposes only and is 100% true and accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time it was made.  All information was retrieved from each manufacturers website.  If any information contained in this chart can be conclusively shown to be inaccurate in part or in whole, please provide proof of these inaccuracies and they will be corrected.