Web User - UK (2019-11-13)

Discusstrackingdevicesatwww.facebook.com/webusermagazine

Tile

13 - 26 November 2019 39

last noted position, go back, and – with a
bit of luck – find your keys still there. It’s
also possible to get directions and ‘ring’
the Tile when you get close.
Problems can arise if the app wasn’t
running at the time the item was lost.
However, this is where Tile arguably
comes into its own, since you’re then able
to tap into its large, existing network of
users for help with retrieving it.

How does Tile’s community
help find items?
Tile users form a Bluetooth-based peer-
to-peer network and, if your item has
truly gone astray, it’s possible to call on
this community by tapping Notify When
Found. This issues an alert in the hope
that another user’s app will end up
detecting your item as they wander past
it. That person won’t know this has
happened but the location of your Tile
will be relayed back to you via a
notification and an email, allowing you to
pop back and collect it. You can then
anonymously thank the user who
inadvertently helped you.

How big is the Tile network?
Recent figures suggest that Tile sold 22
million trackers across the world in 2017
and 2018, which means the network is
potentially huge, depending on how
many are actively in use. Tile is
supplementing the standalone trackers
by integrating the technology into other
devices. A range of headphones by
Skullcandy, for instance, have Tile
technology built in, as do the Sennheiser
Momentum 3 and Bose SoundSport
Wireless headphones.
Tile has also attracted investment from
telecommunications giant Comcast,
which wants to place the technology in
its set-top boxes, so they can be used to

locatelostobjects(

chancethiscouldeve

SkyfollowingtheCo

takeover).Otherdeals

beenstruckwithDialog

Semiconductor,Cypress,

NordicSemiconductor,

SiliconLabs,Toshibaand

Qualcommtointegrate

Tiletechnologywiththese

manufacturers’chips.

Arethereanynotable

rivals?

Yes.Aswellasthosecitedin theboxout

below,it’sworthmentioningthestrong

rumoursthatAppleis interestedin

launchingitsowntagtracker.

Screenshotstakenfromaninternalbuild

ofiOS 13 in Juneappearedtosuggestan

ItemstabwillbecomingtoApple’sFind

MyiPhonetool.SpottedbyMacRumors,

it is suggestedthatthetagswillbefitted

withtheultra-widebandU1locatorchip

foundin theiPhone11 thatcanpinpoint

itemswithincentimetresoftheirlocation,

andthatthetagswillpairwithyour

iCloudaccount.

AreTiletrackersexpensive?

A two-packofTileStickersis pricedat

WHAT OTHER TRACKING DEVICES ARE THERE?

Tile is currently the main player

in the tracker market but there

are several other options to

choose from

Chipolo

chipolo.net

Chipolo hasthr

products: Class

and Plus are

colourful circul

fobs, whilethe

super-slim Card

designed forke

in a wallet.LikeTile,Chipolooffers

communitysearch,anappandvoice

control, as wellascustomringtones,

differing loudness depending on the

device, and a range of 200 feet.

Orbit

findorbit.com

In addition to a key finder, Orbit has

has a stick-on tracker and a credit

card-like device, a leather wallet with a

built-in tracker and even a tiny device

that is designed to be stuck to a pair

of spectacles – handy if you’re always

losing your eyewear.

The key finder’s range is

just100 feet, however.

dero

ww.adero.com

cked by Amazon and

ceknown as TrackR,

eromade close to halfits

affredundant earlier this year, but its

ainselling point is that its trackers

orktogether to determine that,

hencarrying your bag around,

erything you need is inside. The

SmartTags aim to prevent you losing

stuffin the first place.

£34.99,a singleTilePro

costs£29.99anda Mate

£19.99.TheSlimcosts

24.99,butthere’sa

bopackthatincludes

atesandtwoSlims

9.99.Noneofthese

e a subscriptionbut

s alsoa Premium

e thatwillnotify

u leavea location

u particularitem.

alsoincludesfree

replacementbatteries,30-day

locationhistoryandunlimited

sharing,andcostsfrom£2.50permonth.

ree

sic

ar

dis

eeping

Til Chi l ff

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wh

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S

You can stick Tile Stickers on any item
you want, including a scooter

Apple is rumoured to be introducing

Tile-style tag tracking in iOS

Image: MacRumors

Skullcandy Venueheadpho

Tile’s tracking techn

there’sa

en cometo

cast

ave

g

£2

com

twoM

for

req

there’s

packag

youifyou

withou

s

ho have

n gy built in