Tile bluetooth tracker and locator for iOS and Android review
Tags :prodduct review bluetooth Tracking
The Tile tracker attaches to most everything and uses bluetooth and crowdsourcing to help you find lost devices. The Tile app is available for iOS and Android. As we walk through in the video, set up for the Tile is so simple. Load the app on iOS or Android, create an account and add your Tiles You can add a maximum of 8 tiles per account for tracking purposes.
The Tile device itself is small in nature, as shown the in video. There is no external port for recharging so the battery will need replacing at some point. Hopefully there is some warning in advance so you are not in a lost scenario when it finally dies. Battery life will depend on usage.
The Tile can be attached to a keychain, slid into a pocket of a purse, backpack or computer bag or attached to anything with one of those sturdy lanyards (not included). An additional sticky backing is included in the packing with the instruction booklet so do not lose that. It allows you to actually stick the Tile to someone. I would recommend the sticker option as a last resort though. The lanyard or directly attaching makes the most sense.
The usage of the app was very simple. Each Tile can be named and you can also take a picture of what it is attached to. This makes identification of which Tile simple. The screens show if the Tile is in arms reach, nearby or should be tagged as lost. If it is in Bluetooth range then it can kick off an audible alert. While not very loud it is a big help once you get close to the lost item. I can see them including automatic triggers later to help want you when a device "walks" away without your knowledge. A map showing the last known location is also included when you open each Tile listing in the application.
The crowd sourced feature of the Tile device is a key component of making this successful The idea is the more people with the Tile app running will scan the Tile and show the locations. All of this is done anonymously when you put your Tile in Lost mode. This means that if yours gets lost and passes someone running the app, it transparently uploads that Tile location. They do not know they uploaded your Tile location or who it belongs to. You never know who marked it as seen. All you get is an updated map location. This is a huge benefit. So the more people running the application in the world means the greater chance of finding your lost item.
Overall it does eat normal Bluetooth battery life on a phone or tablet. But with the sheer number of devices I connect to now I did not see any difference. If you are not used to even running Bluetooth and run it just for this app then you will see a battery life difference, of course.
We are giving this the 5 stars since it meets what they state it will do, was easy to set up, had a simple UI and the crowd sourcing ability that comes with it. We hope to add more Tiles to the account for some computer bags and even test it on luggage for travel!!
You can get yours here in single or multi packs on Amazon today http://idonot.es/tiletracker.
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On Monday, January 19th, 2015 by Chris Miller
