Kensington widget warns when iPhone goes walkabout
The Proximo key fob sounds an alarm if you get too far from your iPhone and can help you find your keys. The system also feature GPS tracking.
- Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
Kensington has launched a system called Proximo that it promises will alert people when items like keys and iPhones are lost or stolen.
The Proximo kit consists of an iPhone app, a key fob for a keychain, and a third device to track something else like a backpack or car, the company announced at CES. If the items get too far apart -- people can specify the exact distances, which are measured wirelessly using BlueTooth -- they sound an alarm.
The fobs and app each come with buttons that triggers an audible alarm from a paired device to help locate it. And the app offers a map for GPS-based tracking for devices that are out of range.
The kit costs $60, and additional $25 tags can be purchased to track up to five devices with the app.
Also at CES, Kensington announced a few other accessories:
• The $50 TriFold Folio iPad case for fourth-generation iPads, with a protective shell back and a three-fold front cover that can serve as a stand.
• The $35 PowerBolt 4.2 Dual Fast Charge car charger with dual 2.1-watt USB charging ports and two detachable older-style iPhone charging cables. Those with iOS devices using the newer Lightning port will have to use their own cables.
• The $30 PowerBolt 2.1 Fast Charge car charger with a single attached Lightning cable.
• The $90 Contour Overnight backpack that features a laptop compartment that can be unzipped and laid flat for easier trips through airport security. It's got a larger capacity than earlier models of the company's Contour backpack models.
