Tile: Lost and Found

Do you often lose things such as your wallet, keys, bikes, even your iPad? Have you ever heard of Tile? Tiles are low energy tags designed to be attached to your valuable items such as wallets, suitcases, bikes, keys, etc. so you can locate or trace where they are when you have lost track where you placed them.

Tiles are square-shaped location tracking device that doesn’t need recharging. Tiles have the GPS-like + bluetooth functionality, as claimed by the Tile co-founders Nick Evans and Mike Farley. Of course, in order to work, tiles must go hand in hand with the Tile app. The Tile app allows the user to view a map of the last known location of his or her item tagged with a tile. If you’re in the house, you can use the app to buzz a particular Tile to figure out where you placed you wallet or keys. It has a built-in speaker, and it the tile will sound an alert if triggered. Keys that are hidden underneath your couch cushions? No problem, you’ll be able to hear your tile. And because the app remembers where you last saw your tile, it allows you to turn on a range view if you are within 100-150 feet of a Tile – this way, you can try to retrace the steps and find the item.

A tile costs $25, it’s not cheap, especially if you have several things you want to tag. Each tile lasts for about a year. Around your 11th month of using it, you will get a notification to return your Tile to the company for recycling. You’ll need to pay again if you want to get a replacement.

Overall, Tile is a useful device. However, with the cost, we are not sure how soon the public will catch up on it.

To learn more about Tile, click here or visit their website at www.thetileapp.com.