The likelihood of getting your gadget back based on some software is highly unlikely. I have been tracking my stolen smartphone for the past 5 months online. I havent bothered to go to the cops since it is in Tanzania and the bagga keeps changing sims. Seeing as how Tanzanians and kenyans treat each other suspiciously, the official route will just take me in circles.
The odds worsen if its a laptop since it has to connect to the internet for it to call home. I have installed PREY before on my laptops but I doubt it would survive formatting the HDD. If Laptop Manufacturers incorporated tracking at the BIOS level then maybe this could be done. Maybe keep a log of GPS locations and WIFI connections to pinpoint location? Send screenshots and online activity maybe?