PenPoint vs WAVE Tactical Communicator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PenPoint
This app provides secure mobile access to communications surveillance data for law enforcement investigations. It helps users understand target locations by mapping cellular tower sectors and ping services.
- Secure mobile access to surveillance data
- Mapping of cellular tower sectors
- Precision location ping services
- Analysis of target location patterns
- Support for law enforcement investigations
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PenPoint works with PenLink’s on-premise software, PLX, to conduct lawful communications surveillance operations in support of law enforcement investigations. PenPoint provides secure mobile access to communications surveillance data collected and stored by a PLX system. Specifically and primarily, PenPoint helps mobile users understand the probable whereabouts and location patterns of targets by mapping cellular tower sectors and precision location ping services offered by several mobile carriers.
WAVE Tactical Communicator
This app transforms your device into a secure broadband push-to-talk handset for unified workgroup communications. It enables secure voice and text messaging, location sharing, and integrates with land mobile radio systems.
- Secure broadband push-to-talk
- Encrypted voice and text messaging
- Location and presence information
- Group and private calls
- Land mobile radio integration
- Emergency support
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WAVE Tactical Communicator by Motorola Solutions turns your device into a broadband push-to-talk (PTT) handset for fully secure, unified workgroup communications anywhere you have a network connection. WAVE is the industry's most powerful and flexible work group communication tool for secure PTT on the go. It transforms smartphones, tablets and PCs into team communication tools and integrates with land mobile radio (LMR) to provide unified voice, text messaging, location and presence in a single application. • AES256 encryption of all communications • Group calls for secure one-to-many communications • Private calls for secure one-to-one communications • Group and Private text messaging • Presence & location information • Emergency Support • Remote PTT accessories for most devices (Bluetooth low energy, wired headsets, badge microphones) WAVE Tactical Communicator is utilized on the WAVE Tactical System, which is Motorola's highly scalable, feature-rich, enterprise-grade PTT solution. It enables full interoperability between different radio systems and extends the reach of these systems using any combination of broadband networks and devices. Radio Integrations: • Motorola Solutions ASTRO 25 with wireline interface • Motorola Solutions DIMETRA with wireline interface • Motorola ASTRO 25 and TETRA with MOTOBRIDGE wireless interface • Motorola MOTOTRBO with wireline interface • Other vendor P25 and non-P25 systems with MOTOBRIDGE wireless interface • Other Analog Radio interfaces WAVE Tactical Communicator supports WAVE Server Release 5.19.1 and newer, and will operate in the following environments. • Public cellular networks, if the device is Mobile Device Managed and configured in Supervised mode • Private cellular network • Pre-configured Wi-Fi networks • Via a VPN over Wi-Fi and cellular networks Note: For use with Wi-Fi networks, the Wi-Fi must be configured via in App Settings under Configure Wi-Fi. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: PenPoint at 100% against WAVE Tactical Communicator's 25%. PenPoint also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.8). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
PenPoint holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 16 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of PenPoint's written reviews are positive against 25% of WAVE Tactical Communicator's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PenPoint | WAVE Tactical Communicator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (8 ratings) — better | 1.8 (16 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 25.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 16 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 461 MB | 133 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pen-Link, Ltd. | Motorola Solutions, Inc |
Customer experience
PenPoint
WAVE Tactical Communicator
In-app purchases
PenPoint
No in-app purchases
WAVE Tactical Communicator
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is PenPoint free?
Is WAVE Tactical Communicator free?
Which has better reviews, PenPoint or WAVE Tactical Communicator?
Do PenPoint or WAVE Tactical Communicator have ads?
Which is updated more often, PenPoint or WAVE Tactical Communicator?
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