Tag-in Review: Treasure Tag for the Forgetful

Nearly every one of us has at some point frantically patted our pockets and emptied our bags because we couldn't find your keys, wallet or phone just when we needed them the most. When you're in a hurry, there's a good chance that you will forget the one thing you need and end up doing things like locking yourself out of your own house or car.

There is a gadget to ease all these woes - called a proximity tag. This is a tag you attach to the thing you keep misplacing or forgetting the most - your phone, wallet, pen, baggage, keys or any other object. It pairs with your phone via Bluetooth and alerts you when it's too far from the phone.

We got a chance to use the Tag-In anti-loss device, a reasonably-priced proximity tag that works with Android and iOS devices - you can get it for less than Rs. 1,000 online, and the battery lasts for six months according to the manufacturer. We used it for a week to see how useful it actually was.

The Tag-In is a tiny proximity tag - the whole thing is only slightly larger than a coin, with the same shape. Weighing in at 32 grams, the tag is also very light. It has two buttons along the circumference, and one side has a removable plastic cover that you open to replace the battery. The good thing about this product is that it uses a standard button cell, which gives it up to six months of battery life. Instead of recharging it repeatedly you just buy a new battery after six months.

To use this device, you'll need the AXAET app that runs on Android or iOS. The app is free, so you can install it to see if it is compatible with your phone before you buy the Tag-In. Pairing the device to your phone is fairly straightforward, and if you've ever paired any device via Bluetooth, you will be able to pair the Tag-In with the AXAET app easily.

You can tap the "Find Me" button in the app to make the Tag-In beep, and it also starts beeping if you go too far from the device, along with a short notification tone on your phone, which is useful if you tag it to your keys.

While the app does work, we were let down by its interface. The labels are not very clear, and some buttons are marked "OFF" and "Device" without any hint about what they do. In case you were wondering, "OFF" doesn't switch off the tag. It shows you when you last looked for the tag!

We felt the volume was good for silent rooms, but for any kind of noisy environment, the beeping is too quiet to be audible. We spoke with a company representative about this issue and they said it's a trade-off between the size of the device and the speaker volume. They said they could have increased the speaker's size but that would have made the device look bulky. Instead, they chose to keep it sleek at the cost of lower volume.

The Tag-In has an MRP of Rs. 1,010, but we saw it being sold online for around Rs. 900. The price is reasonable for this type of gadget, but with the volume being as low as it is, we don't think the device is going to be very useful. If the beeping was louder, we would recommend this to the forgetful. Until then, you're better off looking at other alternatives such as the Nokia Treasure Tag, which is available online at almost the same price.