App: Tile & Tile App

 

• Device(s) this app available on: iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch

 

• Price: $24.95 (£16.27) for Tile, app is free

 

• Straightforward user interface and easy to use: Yes (from the demo)

 

• Easy to set up: Yes (from the demo)

 

App Summary

We’ve all been there – discerning gents who have lost something and driven mad trying to find it. Well the guys at the helm of Tile seem to have found a way of ridding us of this age-old problem. The solution is a small tile that you attach to anything you want to keep track of – your keys, a laptop, a bike, a dog – the list is endless. Once attached, use your iPhone to track it in the same way a tracking device works – beeping louder within a 150ft range as you get closer to your target. The genius of Tile is that you can tap into the Tile user community to help reunite yourself with the lost or stolen item over a much wider geographical area.

 

The Good

The Tile service is what makes this compelling. The crowd-sourced model means that you have a much bigger chance of finding your Tile (and what it’s attached to) beyond the 150ft range. It’s like having the world help you locate something. You can choose to share your Tile with other users so they’ll get a discreet alert on their device if they come close to your missing Tile. Check out the video below to see it in action:

 

 

The Bad

Security and data protection are the obvious concerns here but the company has assured investors and users that other Tile users cannot search for your Tiles or your iPhone. Additionally, only you and the Tile users you’ve explicitly shared your Tiles with can search for your missing Tile.

 

The service needs a large user base to be successful and would be perfect in large metropolitan cities, but less so in sparsely populated areas. However it’s looking to gain critical mass very quickly judging by the vastly exceeded results of its latest crowd funding campaign.

 

Verdict

Losing keys, bags and laptops is frustrating and the pain of a missing pet cannot be overlooked so this simple yet effective idea really appeals. Tiles are currently only available in the US but if the company continues of its current trajectory then global availability and access to the service is only a matter of time. Elysium Magazine is excited by the concept and will be keeping close tabs on the project.

 

Score: 8/10 (for the concept)

 

Link to buy Tiles download the app when available (currently US only): Here