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:
-
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.
-
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.
