Bosch GSH27-26 Brute Turbo Breaker Hammer with embedded GPS at the World of Concrete 2018
At the World of Concrete 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Bosch unveiled a world’s first in the form of their 15-Amp Corded GSH27-26 Brute Turbo Breaker Hammer with integrated GPS tracking. While many tool manufacturers have begun adding Bluetooth technology to tools, like Milwaukee’s One-Key and DeWalt’s Tool Connect, there is a limit to what Bluetooth can do. Mainly, the user has to be within about 100 feet of their Bluetooth enables tool to be able to use any of the features.
With GPS capabilities, users have the ability to connect to and control their tool no matter where they are in the world. GPS does present some major challenges to manufacturers though, because it’s much more expensive and battery hungry as compared to Bluetooth.
GPS
The Bosch GSH27-26 Brute Turbo Breaker Hammer with GPS does have a solution for GPS’ battery problem, but the price problem is a little more subjective. The GPS module on the Bosch tool can operate for months at a time, thanks to an on-board lithium ion battery that charges every time the tool is plugged in.
Bosch GPS Tracking Smartphone App
The GPS function will not only allow the user to track the tool’s location in real-time, but can also notify the user through Bosch’s GPS Tracking smartphone app if it’s moved from its location, moved outside of normal working hours, or if the GPS system has been tampered with.
Cost
The GPS Tracking ability does had two cost premiums over top of the cost of the non-GPS version of Bosch’s Brute Turbo Hammer: initial costs and monthly/yearly GPS service costs. The GSH27-26 will retail for $2049, which is $250 more than their original Brute Turbo Hammer, the BH2770VCD.
The first year of the GPS tracking service is included in that $250 upcharge, but after that the service will cost an additional $99 per year or $9.99 per month. You will still be able to use the tool as normal, if you choose not to extend the GPS service, but would lose all tracking abilities. That additional cost will have to be factored into the cost of replacement, if the tool is stolen or lost.
Retrofit Option
Bosch GPS Retrofit Cord
Bosch is also offering a GPS retrofit option (model #GPS25-4) for their 10 varieties of corded SDS-max hammers, which adds all of the same GPS tracking functionality as the Turbo Breaker Hammer to the tools. The short term and long term cost is the same as above, $250 for the GPS module, first year of service is free, and service will cost $99 per year or $9.99 per month after that. In order to be retrofitted, the SDS-max hammers have to be sent to a Bosch Service Center for conversion. Due to certification requirements, Bosch cannot add the GPS retrofit to any non-Bosch Tools.
“If you’re running a jobsite, you need to know where key assets are all the time. The Bosch Brute Turbo Breaker Hammer with GPS along with any Bosch SDS-max hammer featuring GPS retrofit represent important concrete demolition and drilling tools,” said Daniel Dietsche, product manager, Bosch Power Tools, in a press release. “These tools offer the performance users have come to expect from Bosch with an added layer of security.”
What do you think? Is the additional cost worth the added benefits of GPS tracking?
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