IRVINE, Calif. -

Some smartphones no longer need a cord to recharge, and now Advantage GPS has a unit that doesn’t need wires to function in a vehicle connected with a retail installment sales contract held by an auto finance company.

On Wednesday, the Procon Analytics company that captures and translates raw data into actionable business intelligence, launched its suite of wire-free GPS tracking devices aimed at solving one of the most common problems with using these units to mitigate risk. The company believes Revo is a game-changing, wire-free family of GPS vehicle tracking devices that is designed to revolutionize the way buy-here, pay-here dealers and subprime auto finance companies protect their collateral and gain valuable automotive analytics.

“Over the past 10 years battery technology has steadily improved and has now reached a level of long-term, stable dependability,” said Bill Cheney, chief technology officer and managing partner for Procon Analytics. “This in conjunction with the advancements in 4G LTE cellular and GPS receiver technologies have made our Revo family of products practical and affordable.

“We believe these Internet of Things innovations will revolutionize the GPS tracking industry,” Cheney continued.

The company highlighted Revo’s sophisticated, battery-powered technology can be secured almost anywhere in a vehicle in five minutes or less. Because of Revo’s revolutionary technology, battery life and ease of installation, Advantage GPS contends the device can reduce the No. 1 reason for device failure — improper installation — to near zero.

“It was important to design battery-operated devices would hold up for the duration of long-term finance contracts to protect our customers’ vehicle assets,” said David Meyer, president of Advantage GPS.

“Working side-by-side with leading experts in battery technology, we did it. We developed three new wire-free devices that provide more flexibility, control and, in the end, reduce costs and the hassles of installation for our customers,” Meyer continued.

The company explained all three Revo devices — SmartStop, 3000 and 4000 — take only about 10 seconds to activate and are immediately connected to the platform via 4G LTE wireless technology. The three different Revo models can give dealers and finance companies the flexibility to match device to loan terms or risk factors.

Other capabilities of the units include:

• Revo SmartStop: Collects a continuous stream of data for all start and stop events of a vehicle up to 3,000 events or approximately one year.

• Revo 3000: Provides auto finance companies with flexible operating modes that gives them more control and help preserve the battery life of the unit. The unit is designed to capture 3,000 events just like the SmartStop, but this device has a life span of approximately three years.

• Revo 4000: Includes the three flexible modes and captures at least 4,000 events for at least four to five years.

The company went on to mention the discovery, standby, and recovery operating modes are an integral part of the Revo 3000 and 4000. Here is a further explanation:

• Discovery mode: Provides a detailed history of the vehicle for the first 250 events. This sets up the vehicle’s routine. Much is learned during this period, but once completed downshifts to the less power-consumptive standby mode.

• Standby mode: Reports a vehicle’s location and device health (such as battery life and tamper alerts) twice each day. Finance companies, when they see a need, can change to the third recovery mode. Despite the low-power consumption of standby mode, the company said valuable data is collected every day.

• Recovery mode: With a simple keyboard click, Revo reports a vehicle’s movement every five minutes and also sends stop events. To preserve battery life, Revo will automatically revert to standby mode (after seven days or 500 events) or SmartStop mode based on the customer’s product choice.

Importantly, the company added that Revo devices also have many of the same features that hard-wired devices do, including:

— Drive reports
— Stop reports
— Repo mobile tool
— Geofencing
— Tamper alerts
— Battery life indicator
— 4G LTE service

Meyer pointed out that what it has doesn’t come with is the average $55 installation fee, extra cables and accessories and a device service plan. He said the company has already started shipping Revo devices to auto lenders across the country.

“We also guarantee the number of events for each Revo device,” Meyer said. “That guarantee, along with the savings from not having to pay for hard-wire installations will save dealers thousands of dollars during the course of a year, with nearly no installation failures.”