Lost your dog? Use your phone to track Rover down

This little bit of useful technology (for dog-lovers, at least) comes by way of Retrieva, who makes the world’s first tracking and anti-theft dog collar, and ViewRanger, who develops GPS mapping software. It’s a pretty simple partnership that ties the two services together, allowing you to track your Retrieva collar-wearing dog using ViewRanger’s app installed on your Symbian-based smartphone.

The Retrieva-ViewRanger dog-finding solution isn’t really new, although they did announce an update that adds some new features to the service. The firmware update includes a new feature that let’s you predict where your dog may be headed, plus a feature that adds global map coverage and improved feedback from the collar’s status, including the battery’s state.

The Retrieva dog collar itself is a rugged device that uses three wireless tracking technologies (GPS, GSM, and RF) that allow you to trace your dog’s whereabouts from anywhere in the world, and a feature that alerts you via SMS whenever your dog wanders out of a predetermined area. The integrated battery is listed to last for a week between charges, and comes with a personal panic button that you can use to alert family and friends if you feel threatened while outside walking with your dog, and it just so happens that your dog isn’t a Rottweiler or Doberman.

The kit that includes the collar and tracking software can be bought from Retrieva’s website for £200 (around $300) plus a monthly £10 communication bill. The software currently supports a lot of Symbian smartphone models from Nokia, Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sony Ericsson, although ViewRanger is working to release versions for the iPhone and smartphones running Android.