Santa Tracker live: how to follow Santa through Norad and Google

Date:
Fri, 24 Dec 2021 01:59:31 +0000

Description:
Want the best Santa Tracker and to play some fun games with it? We're live-blogging it all for you.

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We're back for another year of Santa Tracking, where we'll be bringing you
all the updates from the top Santa trackers all over the world - and this year, we'll be live-blogging the experience for you too.

There are a variety of ways to track Santa these days thanks to the advent of the smartphone, so if you're looking to find out precisely when you're going to get your presents, that's what we're here for.

The tradition began in 1955 when, legend has it, a child mistakenly called Colorado Springs' Continental AIr Defense Command (CONAD) Center after a misprint in a Sears catalog for a number to call to speak to Santa.

The American military realized this was a PR dream, and began putting out press releases on the whereabouts of Santa each year, with comical stories added in too - in the early 1980s, a hotline was added to allow people to
call to find out where he s.

Fast forward to today and there are a number of ways to find out what's happening to Santa - and these are the key ones to look out for. (Image credit: Google) Santa Tracker: Norad vs Google

You've got two main choices when it comes to tracking Santa - both offer different ways of following jolly ol' St Nick, but it depends on the experience you're looking for.

Norad Santa Tracker

The original way of following Santa and, some would say, the best. This website, run by the US military, fuses gruff colonels presenting a video
about Santa Claus with live, up-to-the-minute info on where the man in the
big red suit is.

You can download the app on the App Store or Google Play Store, and from
there you'll be presented with a number of mini games to play as well as
being able to follow the progress of the present giving live.

It's a far more rudimentary experience than other trackers out there, lacking a lot of polish and website design.

However, it's also the most popular and has the heart-warming history behind it - as well as an army of volunteers ready to take your call to find out where Santa is.

NORAD has also added in an AI chatbot called Radar to help you spot Santa
too, if you can't be bothered with all that talking.

Google Santa Tracker How to play the Santa games on mobile (Image credit: Google)

Every year, when we publish this guide, we have people wondering how to play the games on mobile as the big 'PLAY!' button in the middle of the screen sometimes fails and will only ever give you random game or video anyway.
Well, just go to the Santa Tracker site on a mobile browser, click the three lines in the top left-hand corner and see all the games to play. (Note - the 'install' option, which tells you to 'Add to Home Screen' doesn't work on iPhones).

A more recent addition to the Santa tracking mix, Google's Santa Tracker has still been going since 2004, combining the power of Google Maps with the
savvy knowledge of where Father Christmas is.

While Google doesn't have the same satellite tracking power of NORAD, one has to assume the search giant has struck a deal with the North Pole to figure
out where he is in real time using search and radar and lazers and... stuff. Don't ask us to interpret the magic.

Backing up the Santa Tracker are a whole host of minigames to play, as well
as a month-long website encouraging children to learn to code while they encounter a winter wonderland.

There are some pro-Google tools moments in this Santa Tracker - the Quick
Draw game is designed to teach Google's image recognition Tensor to improve, which feels a bit odd - but it's a wonderfully-designed site and arguably the most visually accessible way to follow Santa.

You can download the app from the Google Play Store , but in our eyes the mobile site is just as good and accessible for iPhone users, plus Google's Santa Tracker has the best, simple-to-use desktop experience too.

Well, here we are. Santa is set to take off in just a few hours, and we'll be following his progress closely. Here's a taste of what you can expect from last year, when he was sailing over the Taj Majal - Google showed him landing gifts for thousands of children, with a total of how many presents he's dispensed.

Spoiler, he does loads. Even with the magic of the sleigh, I'm not sure how
he manages to carry them all, but I've watched enough Christmas films to know never to question the magic lest he miss my house this year. Santa delivering gifts to the Taj Mahal in India last year (Image credit: Google)



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/live/santa-tracker-live-how-to-follow-santa-thr ough-norad-and-google/


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