Hands On: Tile Adds Replaceable Batteries to Mate, Pro Trackers | News and reviews



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For years, Bluetooth trackers such as Tile Pro Style and Tile Pro Sport, the Editor's Choice winner, have been a convenient way to keep track of easy-to-lose items.. By attaching the sticker to something like a wallet, keys, backpack or purse, you can use the Mosaic application to locate where your item is, provided it is in the Bluetooth range. There is also a community element in which other mosaic users can help identify something that you have misplaced.

The disadvantage we found in previous reviews is that tile batteries have never been replaceable by the user. In other words, if the tile attached to your keys ran out of juice, you just had to throw it away and get a new one. In addition to being a useless cost, it is also a waste.

This will change with the all-new Tile Mate and Tile Sport. Both models now incorporate a user-replaceable battery. On the back, you now have a battery door. Opening it with your nails gives you access to a standard CR1632 coin cell. They are affordable and easy to find, which means that when your cell is out of juice, you can simply switch cells without much difficulty.

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Both slabs are expected to last up to one year before battery replacement, although this is done at the expense of water resistance. Although the new Tile Pro is rated IP55 as resistant to water and dust, it is technically protected from the factory.

"We can not be sure that the consumer will close the door, so we do not want to make promises that we can not keep," said Simon Fleming-Wood, head of experience at Tile.

I found it easy to lever with the two battery doors open with my fingernail, but I had to really push to make sure everything was closing and that there was no more stitching, so it seems that Tile is right to be cautious in providing assurances regarding waterproofing. If you are planning to place a tile on your backpack where it is exposed to moisture, you will certainly want to be aware of it.

As for the new Tile Pro and Tile Mate, they have not changed dramatically. They both have a thin polycarbonate structure, the more durable Pro having a thicker ring at the edges and a more adhesive tread-like texture. You can press the Silver Tile Center logo to activate your phone's ringtone if you've lost it.

Some of the most interesting changes are under the hood. The new Mate has a Bluetooth range of 150 feet, ranging from 100 feet, while the Pro has doubled to 300 feet. Both are now much easier to locate and have 50% stronger alarms. Of course, you are not limited to Bluetooth and audible technologies.

One of Tile's key elements is community-based monitoring. "We have sold more than 15 million tiles to date," Fleming-Wood said. "We have well over 90% of the market, four million of these 15 million tiles are seen on our network every day, we are aware of their location, we have at least one update every day."

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Essentially, if you lose your mosaic and you are out of range Bluetooth, but someone else on the mosaic network is nearby, you will receive a ping if your lost item is found. This network will only get stronger since Tile has partnered with Comcast to extend monitoring to existing home access points, such as set-top boxes, routers and other devices.

"This will greatly enhance the Tile network's ability to find items," said Fleming-Wood. With a sufficiently large network, mosaic devices could be used as a tracker for pets or to help keep track of children, at least in terms of overall location. Although they do not have GPS capabilities, one of the advantages of mosaic devices is that they do not consume a lot of power and do not require a separate data plan.

Premium tile

Tile is also launching a new Tile Premium service. For $ 29.99 a year or $ 2.99 a month, the subscription service offers you features such as free replacement of the battery with button batteries sent before sending your mosaic, the 30-day historical location tracking, unlimited user sharing, an exclusive line of text with customer service, and an extended three-year warranty.

The most interesting feature of Tile Premium is smart alerts. It's in beta, but it gives you "messages that we think are relevant to you right now," Fleming-Wood said.

With smart alerts, mosaic becomes a proactive way to not lose something in the first place. By combining the address of your home and a geographical barrier around your home, it allows you to identify when you left home without anything, whether it's your wallet, your laptop or your keys Of house. You will receive a notification inviting you to turn around before going too far. More use cases should be deployed in the near future.

The Tile Mate will be priced at $ 25 and the Tile Pro at $ 35. Both will be available online on Tile.com, alongside leading retailers such as Amazon, AT & T, Best Buy, Target and Verizon. We will look at Mate and Pro, so come back for more details.

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