Back what seems like a lifetime ago I headed off into that there London to the PC World Currys Christmas in July event. As I’ve mentioned before, the goodie bag from that particular event was fantastic and, alongside my friend and newly recruited gadget reviewer Kyle, I’m slowly working through the contents and trying to get reviews up here.
One thing that intrigued me in particular was Tile – described a bluetooth tracker that can help you find your keys, phone, or anything else that you may have lost. Now, the last tracker of any sort that I reviewed was one of those things that you attach to your keyring and whistle and try to locate it based on it beeping in response to your whistle. In summary it was rubbish.
Technology has moved on in leaps and bounds since then though and making use of bluetooth too, so the Tile is simply leagues ahead of what used to be possible.
The Tile that we reviewed is physically quite small and is designed so that it can go on a keyring or be attached to something like a lanyard with your work pass on or similar. You then also need to download the Tile App onto your phone and this works in parallel with the Tile itself. Let Kyle take over explaining how to set it up and make it work.
The feature which I think impressed me most with the Tile is the reverse find where you can use the button on the Tile to make your phone sound, enabling you to find it. The number of times I put my phone down somewhere in the house and then spend ages trying to remember where, or instead trying to find the house phone (only ever used to wind up those people ringing from India to scam me in someway) so that I can phone my mobile. And even then it often turns out my phone is on silent so phoning it doesn’t work, yet using the Tile to find it works even when your phone is on silent.
One of the other things that I’m really liking about the Tile is the innovative ways that I’m seeing people using them to help find other lost items. On the Tile Facebook page I’ve seen examples of them being attached to bicycles, suitcases, laptop bags and even motorbikes. Heck – you could probably even put on in your car and use it to help you remember where you parked!
Those clever people at Tile have also followed up the original Tile with the new Tile Slim, designed to fit inside a wallet or purse. It works in exactly the same way as the original Tile, again with the reverse look up capability for finding your phone.
It seems a tad daft to be sat here in a 30 degree September heatwave thinking about Christmas presents, but I genuinely know that the Tile (both in its original and Slim forms) is going to be on my list of things to buy as gifts for friends and family. With the original Tile retailing for around £20, and the Tile Slim for around £30, the price point is just right for gifts too. Time to start thinking about Christmas lists…
Disclaimer: I was given a Tile after attending the Currys PC World Christmas in July event. All opinions remain my own. This post contains an affiliate link.
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