Wondering where you left your dang car keys this time? Well, you might not be if you were using BiKN. Pronounced "beacon," this tracking system consists of an iPhone case, an app, and up to eight tags that can be attached to items of your choice. Should you not be able to find one of those items, BiKN will help you relocate it. The system will also give you a holler should a particular "item" wander away on its own.
The case features a black or white base, which slides into a colored electronic unit that accesses the phone via its 30-pin connector. The phone can be charged while in the case.
That case is able to track the radio frequency tags, which can be clipped onto things such as key chains, bags, or children's clothing (yes, while the children are wearing them). Both the case and the tags must be charged in order to work, with the BiKN app displaying how much juice they have left.
Users can keep track of their stuff/offspring in three ways. In Find mode, they use the app to locate lost items, using a visual display and an audio tone - sort of a like a biologist tracking moose in the woods. In Leash mode, an alarm will sound on both the case and the tag, if a tagged item moves beyond a user-determined distance from the case. Finally, in Page mode, a user can cause multiple tags and/or other bases to sound an alert - useful for getting the attention of tag-wearing people, or just to locate something by sound alone.
Because the last two modes don't incorporate the app, they can be used even when the phone is turned off.
While the app can be downloaded for free from iTunes, the case and tags should be available via the BiKN website starting sometime in December. The price has not yet been announced.
