Key finding gadgets (e.g. Tile) -- Recommendations, experiences?

Chain Smoker

I've a brother who runs a farm and is constantly losing his keys. Figured I'd get him some kind of gadget to make this less of a challenge as part of his Christmas gift.

Tile seems to have a pretty solid rep but it's a bit beyond the price range I'd be looking at. If it's genuinely that good in regards to battery life and smartphone integration though, I'd definitely consider it. Are there cheap chinese alternatives that provide the general functions well enough (e.g. paying $5 for a Chinese one with it's own crappy app that lasts 6 months would at least give a good idea of whether it's worth paying $25 for a good one)?

The fact I haven't seen these pop up in any kind of "gift ideas" articles makes me think maybe they're not very reliable yet? I was kind of thinking of just getting a bunch of wearable tech like super cheap junky smartwatches for people this year but this is one that would actually need to be somewhat dependable instead of just novel.

vibe666

I backed these on indiegogo last year and they were delivered a few months ago and they are small and work very well.

https://www.thetrackr.com/bravo

Chain Smoker

vibe666 wrote: »

I backed these on indiegogo last year and they were delivered a few months ago and they are small and work very well.

https://www.thetrackr.com/bravo

Cool, being able to use it to find your phone is defintely a feature that would be worth a few extra euro!


How's the battery life? I see the replaceable battery as a huge positive but perhaps a potential risk if it's not as durable. This is very much a case where the thing would have to be 99.999999% waterproof (and ideally manure proof too).

Mattyking

should be carefully when you decide to buy from China.