Articles
Are you sick of continually losing your keys, your phone or even your cat? If this the case, it might be worth considering an ‘item finder’. I had been looking for one for a while, and thought I’d try the Chipolo Bluetooth device. The 3cm disc, whose development was funded on Kickstarter, costs £25 and can be easily attached to anything that you tend to misplace regularly.
One of the big differences between this device and other Bluetooth finders is that it functions on Android, iOS and Windows Phone and comes with a free app. Users can also connect as many as nine of the discs to the same smartphone.
The app can be used to monitor the location of the disc and set it to make a sound when it’s nearby. Alternatively, if you’ve lost your phone but have your Chipolo at hand, you can shake the gadget to set off an alarm on your phone, even if it is on silent.
Although there are alternatives to the Chipolo, this tracker is said to have the farthest reach, which means, in ideal circumstances, 60 metres. The device has a ‘geo-fence’, so it remembers its previous location even when it’s out of range. It also has a temperature sensor, to indicate whether the misplaced item is indoors or out. The battery in the device lasts for around six to 12 months, and a spare battery is provided with it.
The European-manufactured device does have its downsides, though. During my testing of the item, I attached it to my house keys, which I ‘lose’ on a regular basis at the bottom of my handbag. However, because of the required Bluetooth connection, I found that my smartphone battery was draining far more quickly than usual, as it had to be left switched on.
To easily bypass this problem, I figured out that instead I could quickly pop my smartphone’s Bluetooth on only when I was searching for my keys, and hit the button on the app to make the tag chime if it was within range. But the problem arises the other way around. If you lose your phone with the Bluetooth turned off, the device is useless.
The Chipolo item finder is available from Amazon and other online outlets.