Hasta La Gadget!

Nothing can help the gut-wrenching sensation of despair you’ll feel when you realize you’ve lost your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. But by following a few simple steps in iOS, there’s at least some hope it can land back in your hands.

Nokia has unveiled a new accessory designed to make sure users of its Lumia smartphone are never parted from their handset. Or at least, that when they leave the house with their tagged keys or bag, they’ll be reminded to pick up their phone too. Or vice versa.

Called Treasure Tag, the smart fob can be paired via NFC or Bluetooth 4.0 with a Lumia smartphone running the Lumia Black update to link the two devices — so that if either one moves out of range of the other an alarm sounds on both to alert the user that all is not well with their favourite gadget.

Now there are scores and scores of startups building lost and found gizmos. One of which, Tile, which we covered last summer, managed to amass $2.6 million in crowdfunding before the field started getting insanely crowded. And now Nokia has thrown its hat into the ring — although most lost and found startups aren’t going to see the Treasure Tag as any kind of competition.

For one thing, Nokia’s system is currently* a closed one, limited to use with a sub-set of Lumia smartphones, rather than allowing the ability to tag any kind of treasured possession (inanimate or otherwise). (*Nokia does say there will also be third-party apps for Treasure Tag to support Android and iOS devices in future.)

Nokia’s tag also offers a very limited feature-set vs some of the more elaborate tracker tag concepts out there. Whereas Tile’s plan, for instance, is to build a distributed network of other Tile users so that the community  of users can expand its location-pinpointing range, Treasure Tag is not so smart, with only the paired link between phone and tag to go on.

So expect its alarm to sound when you’re popping to the toilet with your keys in your pocket but not your phone, for instance. (The alarm can be muted or put to sleep via the corresponding app, or you can long press on the tag itself to deactivate it — all of which sounds like a fair bit of hassle.)

The Treasure Tag system also supports locating a lost tagged item, such as your keys or bag, on a map within the app — or it will if you are within range of it. It can only report the last known location, so if the item has been moved since it’s not going to turn up.

And if you want to tag multiple items to link them to your phone, you’ll need to buy multiple Treasure Tags. Up to four different tags can be simultaneously connected to the handset — with the ability to assign ready-made icons to each (such as a keys icon), or use a photo, to try and make the managing multiple tags scenario less confusing.

Either way, with the tags themselves being relatively large vs some of the tracker startup competition — each Treasure Tag is a roughly matchbox sized 30 x 30 x 10mm — it’s not exactly an elegant solution to forgetfulness. Forget slipping a tag inside your wallet, for instance, as you can with the likes of Protag Elite.

The battery life of each Treasure Tag is pegged at ‘up to six months’. A standard coin cell type battery that’s user replaceable powers each tag.

Nokia said it expects the Treasure Tag to go on sale via global retailers in April, costing €24,90 ($29.90). Colour options are the bright yellow and cyan that Nokia also uses for its phone range, as well as white or black.

Sony’s My Xperia phone-finding service isn’t just for Nordic climates anymore; following a pilot earlier this year, the recovery tool is now rolling out worldwide. Anyone with a 2012- or 2013-era Xperia phone should get access within the next few weeks. Whatever Sony device is involved, the web-based controls are the same: owners can pinpoint a lost phone’s location, lock it down, sound an alert and wipe its storage. If you just can’t bear to part with your Xperia Z, you’ll want to sign up for My Xperia at the source link.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony

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Via: Sony Mobile

Source: My Xperia

Love it or hate it, LOST had a good run while it was still on air. While the show’s finale answered several burning questions, it left even more unanswered, which led to extremely polarized reviews on ‘The End.’

And even though the show wrapped up in 2010, it’s still got a pretty strong fanbase which eventually led to the creation of this hilarious and unexpectedly accurate parody…

If you’ve ever wondered what LOST would be like if it were a 16-bit RPG video game, then wonder no more because College Humor did all the thinking – and Doctor Octoroc did all the animating – for those those of us who want to know.

Check out the video below and see for yourself. Personally, I think they did a really good job summing up the show and its often frustrating plot devices.

Maybe with this video out, gamemakers and the show’s producers would consider making an actual LOST RPG for us to play and enjoy? That part where you have to enter the numbers into the old computer could be a whole minigame unto itself.

[via Buzz Patrol]