Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/06/24/this-power-pack-has-a-tracker.html
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And when civilization collapses you’ll be the only guy with a ruggedized power pack. Lord Humungus himself will nod respectfully.
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Gah, I like my Kmashi batteries cause they come in Boing Boing red and black.
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Wait. There is an official BB red and black? NEED THE PANTONE DIGITS!! 
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Sorry I have a patent on that shade of black. I call it 000000.
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o_o
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eta: I apologize for speaking to the user I spoke to, below, at all, but will not take any responsibility for the overall quality of the exchange. Sorry everyone else! I forgot I already had him blocklisted. I did know better. My bad!
Stop reading now to avoid poop??
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Wow; this battery is an astounding waste of gelt. You can get somewhat less pretty but very rugged battery banks with a solar panel for 1/3-1/2 that price, FFS. Excellent example ($39.99, 16,000 mAh, solar panel, “ruggedized”): https://www.amazon.com/OUTXE-16000mAh-Flashlight-Waterproof-Portable/dp/B01MDR2LDK/ref=zg_bs_2407762011_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CENAR69RCQXMKYV946EC. There are many other perfectly legit offerings, as well. For example, the KMASHI 10,000 mAh offering — possibly the one mentioned above by jlw —is $13.99!
Seriously, Boing Boing…?!
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In the fine print does it say which military?
Can it stand up to the rigorous testing of
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Hm. If you try this particular Tile out in L.A. it probably writes descriptive fiction about where it thinks you left it and what’s liable to happen. That’s for like 7 water bottles, sayin’.
I am in Compton and the power here is structurally the same as Downtown, but for converse reasons; federalist buyers in the zoo look for union construction, and in the fences both the union and federation buyers piece tiny solar inverters along. Shops in the canyons package AC and heat pumps in one inverter and polish fryers for the day of negative pricing, but think the fryer past the hill polishes solar panels and plan only that. The hosta on the corner that people dump bottles out for has consumed me. I could be anywhere now if cats didn’t keep unearthing me, then changing their minds. Sun-blotted colorless cats. But they made me well…
Power available: 2300mWH. Sun: Dandy Temp: 89 bwoop bwoop. Startup Ideas Rejected: 11 Startup Ideas that were Mine: 3 Guest Phones Flashed to Tizen: 30
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I have nothing against the idea of a Bluetooth tracker, of itself. While limited in what it can do, it’s a nice feature to have in an urban environment (especially if, like me, you’re “organizationally challenged”; ahem). But there’s two serious impediments to “true” utility for this specific device:
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Range. Bluetooth is very limited in range. Even the “crowdsourcing” feature Tile offers is only good if your protected item is near someone else that has Bluetooth on AND has the same brand device. That’s a pretty damn big “if”, in most places! It probably works OK in many larger cities (NYC, Chicago, et al.) but probably not so hot in Wichita, KS, for example.
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Cost. Considering you can add the exact same Bluetooth functionality for much less, this item is vastly overpriced, especially considering the rather anemic feature set.
I can clip a Tile to the battery I linked above (it even has a convenient spot to do so) for about $70, delivered, and gain the exact same location functionality, 16,000 mAh of storage, and a solar panel for charging when not around AC. Some batteries offer 35,000+ mAh and can jump start your car, as well (yes, I’ve tried one, and yes, it worked fine, although those models rarely have solar panels AFAIK)! The above offering simply doesn’t make the grade. Not even close.
This battery pack seems to cause a lot of fighting.
