When you think about GPS tracking watches you first have to realize that there are two very different goals that people try to achieve with these devices. Some people want to use a GPS watch to track past activity. Most people who want to do this type of thing with watches are sports enthusiasts who are looking for ways to improve race times or measure metrics that will help them improve their cycling, running, or swimming.

The second type of GPS tracking that people wish to achieve with watches is the real-time tracking of people or children. A parent who wants to be able to find out the location of their children at a moments notice is going to find this application particularly interesting. They want to be able to locate their kids in case of an emergency or in the unlikely occurrence of a child abduction.

Both of these tracking options are available today and have different companies offering different solutions.

GPS watches designed for fitness are definitely a hot commodity for serious runners and multi-sport competitors. When coupled with heart rate monitor, these devices are powerful training tools that can provide the competitive edge needed to take you to the next level.

There are three main players in this area of GPS tracking watch development. The are Garmin, Suunto, and Timex. Of all three, Garmin has definitely done the best job at integrating GPS with the actual watch itself. The other companies mainly rely on separate GPS pods that runners or bikers attach to their shoe or waist in order to get a GPS signal.

Because of the integration of GPS directly into the watch, Garmin watches were generally much bulkier than their Suunto and Timex counterparts. That all changed when Garmin released their Forerunner 405. This watch is regular sized and light weight - coming in at 2.11 oz (60g) this watch might just be lighter than some of the normal men's watches out there. It still has all the GPS capabilities of previous watches, but now it also can be wirelessly integrated with your personal computer so you don't have to keep a cable cluttering your desktop anymore.

It is a powerful watch that marks the beginning of a new era in GPS tracking watch designed for fitness.

Then there are parents who wish to be able to tracking their children's activity in real time through a GPS watch. This is actually a much more difficult task than the sports watch companies have to deal with and as a result there has been less technological and commercial success with this product type. In fact, neither Garmin, nor Suunto, nor Timex have begun to enter this area.

One of the main hurdles that companies face is the ability to transmit location information from the watch to someplace where it can be used to track a person in real time. Despite the massive improvements in both GPS and cellular technology, devices that have both the ability to determin their location and transmit that information are fairly large by wrist watch standards. Cell phones are relatively small, but no body wants to carry one on their wrist - and this is exactly what this type of GPS tracking watch tries to accomplish.

Brickhouse Security does offer a GPS tracking watch that does solve this problem for parents, but it is not cheap and carries a reoccurring service fee. It is the only real solution that I have found for this type of child tracking - and Brickhouse Security is a very credible and reliable distributor of GPS tracking products. Some of the kids watches I have seen advertised don't appear to be credible solutions to a child tracking problem.