If you lose your phone, you probably don't want the person who finds it to rifle through all of your personal information. A passcode or pattern lock is one obvious deterrent, but then you have to enter numbers or draw a pattern every single time you unlock your phone. It's more secure, but also a bit of a pain. Motorola Skip is a new accessory that offers a pretty clever solution. Using NFC, you can unlock your phone by simply tapping it against your clothing.
The Motorola Skip made its first brief appearance today on Motorola's website. The product description is short, and its page has since been taken down, but it appears to be a small clip that you attach to your clothing, perhaps to a shirt of pair of jeans. Pair it with your Moto X via Near Field Communication (NFC), and you'll be able to bypass your secure passcode or pattern lock with a quick tap. Anyone who finds your phone, though, will still be locked out (assuming they don't also find the Skip).
If the Skip works as advertised, it could be a good way to balance security and convenience. It isn't yet clear whether it will be available on other phones, but we're guessing the accompanying app will only be officially supported on the Moto X. The accessory fits with the overall customer convenience theme that Motorola is going for with the X.
If the Moto Skip sounds familiar, that's because its functionality is pretty similar to that NFC Ring that's still cleaning up on Kickstarter. The ring also lets you unlock your front door, but it too will unlock your phone. In its case, you give a quick tap on your phone's backside with your ring finger, and you're in like Flynn.
This might all sound a bit primitive soon, though, if Apple releases that rumored iPhone 5S with fingerprint sensor. It will reportedly have a sapphire-made home button that unlocks your phone by scanning your thumb. More secure (assuming you can keep tabs on your thumb), and no NFC-enabled accessories required.
As we mentioned, Motorola has pulled the plug on the Motorola Skip website, so we'd consider this unconfirmed until it makes a reappearance. But you can still check out some official documentation for the as-yet-unconfirmed US$20 accessory at the source link below.
Source: Motorola, via Droid-Life