The tags will let you know if you're leaving the house without your essentials
In October, news got out that TrackR, maker of the smart Bluetooth fobs, had rebranded to Adero after a challenging few months for the company. Now it’s going official with the new name and announcing its next product, a more advanced tracker that now acts a little more like a personal assistant.
Adero is actually made up of two types of device, tags and taglets, which communicate with one another. Attach the tag to your bag and the taglets to your most treasured items – wallet, phone, headphones, whatever – and Adero will let you know that everything is together. Press the smart tag and if it lights up green, all your items are accounted for. If it’s red, that means something is missing. You can name your individual taglets in the app so you know exactly what you forgot to pack.
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You can set up proactive notifications on your phone too for specific times of the day. So if you need a reminder for your 7am gym session, Adero will send you an alert to let you know that all your gym kit is in your bag as it should be. If something’s missing, Adero will let you know exactly what you need to go searching for.
And like TrackR, you can use the app to find items that have gone astray. There’s a compass-like navigation feature that shows how close you are to the missing item, and if it’s not on your radar at all there’s a ‘Last seen’ feature that will show you the GPS position on the map where the tag was last connected to your phone.
Company CEO Nate Kelly tells The Ambient that everything is encrypted end-to end. He also said that the name change to Adero was partly because it knows the word “tracker” can set off alarm bells in people’s heads. That, and the fact the company is trying to be more than simply a Tile competitor.
The smart tags have a battery that lasts up to two months before it needs recharging, while Adero says the taglets will get between 16 months and two years of life.
The future potential of Adero is also interesting. Kelly told The Ambient that the company plans to improve Adero in the future with over-the-air updates, while owners of the existing (but now discontinued) TrackR tags will continue to be supported, he said.
Adero is shipping 3 December. You can get a pack of three smart days and three taglets (along with all the accessories) for $119.99 on Adero’s website, while there’s also a “Deluxe” kit coming for $199.99, which bags you five smart tags and nine taglets.
