Tile Review
How many times have you lost your keys, wallet, bag, or just simply misplaced one of your everyday items that holds a high value for you? For most people, this can be an everyday occurrence. Never fear! The Tile App and family of products is here :)
I have many gadgets, and am pretty satisfied with my daily carry setup. That's why I was surprised when my friend Kyle, of Dogpatch Advisors, told me that I 'needed' one of these. He knows me well, and wouldn't make a recommendation like that lightly. Kyle demonstrated how he used his Tiles, while traveling and at home. I was sold.
The Tile is a bluetooth accessory that you can attach to your keys, put in a bag, or even use the new slim version to slip unnoticed into a wallet. It is compatible with Android and iOS. 'Bluetooth' made me think that this was going to be yet another item that I had to charge on a regular basis, but that is not at all the case. Tile designed the device to be extremely durable, and last a whole year on one battery. The technology that allows this to happen is the Bluetooth LE that is standard on all reasonably current smartphones.
My Tile Mate, wallet, and knife for scale.
Tile is managed and controlled by a smartphone App. That is where you will register, and find your items on a map. For iOS at least, there is also an Apple Watch extension. The app will let you know where your item was last in touch with the watch, and show it on a map. Should you lose your 'Tiled' item, you can put your tile into 'find' mode via the App, and it will begin emitting a beep, which will stop when you click the button on the tile, or stop the beep via the App. Your phone or watch will also send a push alert when your item has been found / is back in range.
As with all things, eventually the battery will run out. When it does, Tile provides a very easy exchange process so that you can not only 'Re-Tile' your item cheaply with a brand new tile, but ensures that your old Tile is responsibly recycled. The replacement price is roughly half of the new cost of whichever model Tile you own. My Tile Mate cost about $20, and now I no longer have to worry about the whereabouts of my bag on a daily basis. I will probably be picking up a few of the Tile Slims as well for my family.
If you want to get your own Tile, or learn more about it: http://ssqt.co/mzckwBJ.
Have a great week!