There are dozens of Bluetooth trackers being released or crowd-sourced by companies every month, but most of them suffer from the same issue. Once you're no longer within Bluetooth range, these trackers are useless. Sure, they can do the job for keeping an eye on belongings that should always stay near you, like wallets and handbags, but when it comes to travel luggage, you're inevitably going to be separated by more than a few hundred feet. You need a more robust location system like GPS to be able to follow your bags across vast airports, and maybe even halfway across the world if they get sent somewhere by mistake.

However, GPS tracking tags are a lot less prevalent than Bluetooth ones. Good and reliable ones that can work across continents even less so. But Tumi, the known travel suitcase and bag manufacturer, seems to have hit the nail on the head with its new Global Locator. The tag has GPS, GSM (in collaboration with AT&T), Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. It uses LugTrack's technology to follow your luggage everywhere and notifies you through an app on your phone.

It's not clear if there's a monthly fee associated with using Tumi's tags on AT&T's network. The PR also doesn't specify whether the Global Locator will employ all of LugTrack's features, but if it does, you'll be able to track your bags every 5 minutes, know if they're mishandled or vigorously moved, set a perimeter around your hotel, be warned if they're further than they should be from you in an airport (if left behind or sent on the wrong plane), and follow them along if you use a shipping or forwarding company.

What is certainly known about the Global Locator though is that it's FAA compliant, so it will turn itself off in-flight then turn itself back on when it lands. You won't have to worry about it sending signals and messing up connections while the plane is flying.

There's no word on pricing yet, but you should be able to buy a Global Locator from Tumi's website or Tumi's store in the fourth quarter of the year.

Source: Business Wire, Tumi Global Locator