Quantcast
Channel: Technology-Headlines » BlackBerry OS
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 5

CobraTag your items with a trackable Bluetooth tag

0
0

by George Heymann

Technology-Headlines

A Cobra Tag is a compact rechargeable bluetooth sensor approximately 2.5”L x 1”W x .5”D that pairs with your smartphone to prevent you from losing keys, purse, computer bag, or any other item you want to protect from loss. The sensor communicates with an app currently available for Android and Blackberry that will remind you with an audible alarm if you leave your phone or other item behind.

The Cobra Tag also acts like a two-way finder, tap the button on your Cobra Tag to ring your phone or conversely use the phone app to make the tag ring to help locate your other items.

The installation and setup on the Cobra Tag is straight forward, very similar to pairing with a bluetooth headset. After charging the Cobra Tag, install the free app for your smartphone from the respective app store. You then pair the phone with the Cobra Tag following a few simple steps. Turn on the Cobra Tag, then go to the wireless settings on your phone and turn on bluetooth. Check the option to make your device discoverable and click the option to scan for devices. Your phone should show you ‘Cobra Tag’ as an available bluetooth device. Click on Cobra Tag to pair it to your phone no passcode is necessary.

Once paired your smartphone and tagged items are protected. Now when the tagged items are separated from your smartphone by approx. 20-30 feet the smartphone and Cobra Tag will beep alerting the user the protected items are being left behind or in the process of being stolen. In my testing the Cobra Tag seems to be more distance sensitive then my smartphone. The Cobra Tag rings after being separated by approximately 20 feet while the smartphone doesn’t start alerting till that distance is almost doubled.

Users can choose to automatically lock the device and display a user defined message on the smartphone screen. Optionally users can configure the application to automatically notify contacts by email, Facebook, or Twitter when the device is lost or stolen.

Cobra Tag is based on Phone Halo technology but the hardware on the Cobra Tag appears to be far more reliable as well as considerably better looking, it looks like a high-end car remote. The original Phone Halo tag was housed in a cheap plastic case and proved to be unreliable in my testing. The phone alarm would at times ring with the phone on my belt and the Phone Halo Tag attached to my keys in the other pant pocket. To their credit when I contacted Phone Halo support regarding the problems they issued a full refund and suggested I wait for the updated Cobra Tag version.

The new Cobra Tag design has reliably activated in my testing and the alarm is noticeably louder than its predecessor although it could stand to be louder when using the two-way finder feature.

My only concern with the new Cobra Tag design is battery life, the documentation estimates the charge with typical usage at up to seven days but it has been far short of that in my initial testing. I’ll have to run the tag through several charge/discharge cycles and report back once that’s completed.

The $59.95 Cobra Tag is currently available for phones running Android OS 2.1 or higher and Blackberry OS 4.5 or higher, the phone applications are free to download. An iOS version has been rumored since the original Phone Halo design but remains unavailable.



Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 5

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images