Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Find Your Excrement

There are about a million reasons to use a Bluetooth tracker. The simple and easy is stuff like finding your keys, your luggage, or anything that you need to keep track of. Obviously you should go out of your way to not misplace things, and my simple solution for that is to always have a place where things go when they aren't with you or on your person. But that said, sometimes excrement happens. And I fear that as we age, that excrement creeps in where you least expect it. Modern tracking technology helps a lot when it comes to keeping that at bay.

There are several different technologies out there that you may be interested in. I'll briefly discuss 3 of them: AirTag, SmartTag, and Tile. Let's talk about AirTag first.

AirTag is an iPhone/Apple only product. If you're an Android person, that lets you out right at the onset. AirTag only comes in one form factor, which means that you'll really need something to hold it if you want to use that technology. Fortunately there are several options from Apple as well as aftermarket vendors, to include keyrings and wallets. They have a replaceable battery which supposedly lasts for about a year. They are also water resistant, but I wouldn't take one scuba diving or put it in the laundry if you can help it.

AirTag's real advantage is that its find network is functionally infinite as long as anybody with an iPhone is near it. That means that probably any population center, airport, etc., will allow you to track your AirTag. The AirTag doesn't include GPS, it simply uses proximity to other Apple devices, so you can conceivably end up playing a game of hotter/colder to find your AirTag. Additionally, you can't reverse locate your phone with the AirTag, so if you lose your phone often, it would probably be better to go with the Tile or another similar technology that includes that functionality.

SmartTag is Samsung's answer to the AirTag. Similar functionality in most respects, but Samsung has two versions. If you opt for the SmartTag Plus it uses Ultra Wideband, which gives much more range, but is only usable with newer generation Samsung devices. The one feature that SmartTag has is the ability to use that SmartTag to turn on devices in your house by way of IoT style device control.

Tile doesn't have quite the ability to use any phone around it to give greater network access, only Tile app enabled phones. But what it lacks there it gains in the ability to use either Android or iPhone devices, as well as the ability to find your phone through it, which neither the AirTag or SmartTag will do. This may be the generalist in this category, but still quite useful for most people. Tile also comes in multiple form factors, from the original, to slim, to stickers which adhere to things and have a 3 year integrated battery.

No matter which one meets your needs the best, I find these to be quite useful. If for nothing else than for travel, because losing luggage is still sometimes a thing. I'd definitely throw one into a checked gun case at a minimum. And there's always the ability to add one into your wallet, keys, day planner, or any other thing that you cart around with you that is important.

AirTag wallet

AirTag

SmartTag

Tile Slim

Tile slim (square white thin)

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