Keys are pretty important little nubs of metal. Without them, you can’t really do much. You can’t start a car. You can’t get into your house. You get my point.
But just because our most essential bits and pieces are easy to lose, doesn’t mean that they can never be found again.
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Technology has helped the human race in many ways before with some of the most seemingly trivial inventions (think of the bread slicer, or the microwave), and now, it’s here to help those with three-second memories find their oft forgotten bits and bobs.
These seven gadgets, many finding their footing in Kickstarter and other crowdfunding havens, will make it a lot harder to lose your keys, wallet or smartphone in the future.
Tile
“The world is big, your keys aren’t.”
That’s the marketing quip from Tile, a company that builds these key chains dubbed (rather obviously) Tiles, which clip or stick onto anything you could possibly lose.
Using the Tile smartphone app, you can track the distance to your tracked item or log on using another device, just incase your lost the smartphone itself.
The Tile also rings, sings or screams until you find it, all of which can be tweaked on the app itself. Mark an item as missing on the app and other Tile users will be notified about your missing item, which adds a rather unique social element to losing things.
Tile itself is about US$20 and available online, so check it out here.
TrackR
Although you can’t attach this particular device to a phone, the TrackR is specifically designed to track that leather bound wad of cash in your pocket. Click the button on the device itself and your phone will ring, even when it’s on silent.
And it’s useful even if you haven’t lost your wallet. Leaving your wallet (and driving license) at home is a thing of the past with this thing too.
Stick N Find
Stick N Find is a tiny coin-sized, stickable chip-like tracking gadget with Bluetooth support. It sticks onto practically any surface, so it’s one of the more utilitarian devices of the lot.
By using the smartphone app, users can detect the location of the chip and its host, while the pager-like button to makes the chip call and light up, not even the dark stands a chance of consuming your beloved items. The device also alerts users when the sticker travels a little too far or comes within a certain predetermined distance.
Gecko Tag
This tracking gadget is rather handy when it comes to looking cool under lost-item stress.
Through the app on your iOS or Android phone, the coin-sized device can pair with certain functions on the device. Using Bluetooth and motion gesture technology, shaking the Gecko once allows users to locate their phone, two shakes plays music or switches songs, and shaking it three times will snap a picture.
Yes, that means the selfie now just got even easier. Check out their campaign on Indiegogo here.
Bikn
The Bikn is a phone cover with a twist.
It’s fairly cool too, protects your iPhone and comes in a variety of colours. You can tag multiple items and use the app on your phone to locate other things like your keys or wallet. Charge your phone and your case will charge simultaneously, so if your phone is dead, you can still ping your case.
FOFA (Find One Find All)
Here’s a tracking gadget for those who can’t find milk on a dairy farm.
Locate up to 36 items using the FOFA. Your entire house can be sound-organised too; as you select the item’s number, it will create a loud sound and the LED will blink faster and faster the closer you get.
You might want to lose things deliberately after playing around with it for a while.
