I wasn't sure if this belonged here or in Layin' Down Tracks....but since the SPOT Messenger is "equipment" I'm posting here. In one week, I'm leaving for a the month trek through Mexico and Central America. I am carrying a SPOT Messenger with me. Does anyone have any experience with which site is better/easier for friends and family to track my progress Spotwalla or SPOT?
There's another significant difference: Spotwalla's map are up indefinitely, or until their server money runs out. Maps on Spot expire after a while. (I think it's 90 days, unless they moved it.) Spotwalla also has the ability to embed your trip into an ADV message for reference like this... <IFRAME height=500 src="http://spotwalla.com/embed.php?id=31a84e0a72e3c70dd&width=600&height=500&scale=on&zoom=default" frameBorder=0 width=600>Embedding failed because inline frames are not supported by your browser or the web server.</IFRAME> ...which lets folks zoom around on your route. Spotwalla's interface takes some getting used it, it's definitely the way to go.
Everything said previously is correct BUT: I think it depends what you want to do and who's looking at your track. For exemple, when I'm on a solo trip and my track is just for my wife to be reassured, Spot website is what I use... Or what I have to use, since my wife thinks it's much more simple to use. She just wants to log in and see that I'm still moving. But I totally agree with others, for blogs, forums and people that like more details and play around with your track/map, Spotwalla is better. So, if your wife is staying home and is going to be watching you, you should ask her which one she likes best. It will give you an excuse to go for a quick ride, so you can use it as a demo... Have a great trip. Eric.
SPOTWALLA for me; I never use SPOT's site. If I'm concerned about who's seeing it, I can make the trip only accessible to those I want to. I do use 'Secure' zones (or whatever they are called) to protect key personal locations.
+1, and I don't like the advertisement aspect of the spot site. Use spotwalla all the time on the bike or in the plane.