Misplacing things, whether it’s your keys, your laptop - even an airline losing your luggage - is frustrating. If you're a loser (in the nicest sense possible), you may already have invested in a Bluetooth tracker to help keep tabs on your possessions.
These small gadgets can be attached to your stuff, and wirelessly connect to your smartphone. This means you can track down the whereabouts of your wallet, for example, and be guided to it by making the tracker play a tune.
Longer range
But if a misplaced item is out of Bluetooth range, you can only see its last known location. Now Vodafone hopes to solve this problem with its V-Multi Tracker TrackiSafe Mini, which uses GPS rather than shorter-range Bluetooth to let you know you where your items are, even if you're nowhere near them.
It comes with an app that shows you the exact location of whatever the gadget is attached to, and if the GPS tracker is connected to a wi-fi network, you can get an address too.
The tracker comes with different attachments so you can fix it to pretty much anything. These include two types of clip, a plastic carrying pouch, a lightweight pouch and a lanyard.
Extra features
It will give you proximity alerts, too, so if you and your phone move beyond a certain range of the tracker, you’ll get a notification. This means your kids should never forget their school sports bag again, and you can rest assured your keys will never end up on the wrong side of a closed front door.
The app has a few other handy features to help keep your possessions safe. For instance, you can make sure that the tracker alerts you if any of your belongings that shouldn’t move do move, courtesy of a third party, for example.
Sometimes we all need an extra layer of security and reassurance, and the device's SOS function provides just that. If you find yourself in need of assistance, press the button and it will send an SOS alert along with your location either to the app or to an email address.
Verdict
The circular Vodafone tracker is slightly bigger than similar devices on the market, measuring 3.9cm in width, and just over 1cm thick.
It's hard to put a price on the peace of mind that comes with knowing your possessions are safe but we were a little disappointed that the battery only lasted just over a day, making this more suitable for keeping tabs on luggage when you travel, for example. Having said that, the email reminder you get when it's time to recharge the tracker, is a handy feature.
The V-Multi Tracker, £45 plus a £2 per month subscription fee
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