Those of the absent minded ilk will surely take solace in the BiKN. It’s an iPhone case that can not only keep tabs on your gear, but helps you locate it in the event that you misplace the item in between a seat cushion or leave a set of keys in a coat pocket.
It works by wirelessly connecting with a set of tags which can be strapped onto anything that has a belt loop sized hole. So think keys, a bag or even a mischievous child. The accompanying app lets you page one tag at a time or a group of tags. It can also assign a proximity alert, so if the associated tag leaves a selected area the iPhone case will sound an alert. Lastly, it can track down your stuff using a find feature, which provides a visual meter as well as an audio signal.
The case contains its own battery so it won’t draw juice from the iPhone’s already taxed power source. However, each tag, which charges via micro-USB, will need to be recharged periodically. So as you’ve probably already deduced, a major caveat to this product is that if the tag goes dead the device is rendered useless. But, on a positive note, you can pair the tags together and use one of them to page any tags that are paired or joined to it. So in other words, you don’t absolutely need an iPhone to be present for the system to help you find your stuff, though 5 tags ringing simultaneously might defeat its purpose.
The BiKN will arrive this December. They haven’t released pricing, but $40-50 for the case and some tags seems reasonable. We’re a bit concerned about the usability since the tags can’t be easily attached to a computer or other portable devices, unless they have some sort of loop built into them.
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