Why You Can Trust CNET Organize and track your keys with the KeySmart Pro for $45
This clever organizer includes a Tile tracker -- and solves Tile's biggest problem! Plus: another shot at a mobile charger.
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Normally $60, the Tile-equipped KeySmart Pro is just $45 for Cheapskate readers.
You know how chocolate and peanut butter are awesome on their own but even better together? This is like that.
The KeySmart has earned legions of fans for reducing unwieldy keychains to slim, pocket-friendly carriers. The Tile, meanwhile, has earned legions of fans for helping locate stray keychains -- and using keychains to locate stray phones.
No-brainer: Why not combine the two? And, lo, the KeySmart Pro was born, offering sweet key-management with even sweeter Tile tracking baked in.
At $59.99, though, it feels a little pricey. Thankfully, for a very limited time, Cheapskate readers can get a KeySmart Pro for $45 shipped when applying discount code President25 at checkout.
Chocolate, meet peanut butter
The KeySmart part is simple enough, especially for anyone already familiar with the product: You install your keys in the slim carrier, adding extensions (not included) if needed to accommodate extras. The result is something akin to a Swiss Army knife.
It comes with a bottle opener that doubles as a loop ring for attaching a car fob, and it has a built-in LED flashlight for good measure.
Now for the Tile part: It's a Bluetooth tracker that pairs with your phone. Can't find your keys? Use the Tile app to locate the KeySmart. Can't find your phone? Double-press the Tile key on the KeySmart and your phone will beep, even if it's on silent mode.
The problem with pretty much every standalone Tile tracker is that it incorporates a non-removable, non-rechargeable battery -- meaning after about a year, you have to buy a replacement. Barf.
Hallelujah: The KeySmart Pro is rechargeable, and its battery is good for up to three months, according to the company.
Let me be clear that this isn't the perfect solution for everyone. I have a relative, for example, whose keychain includes three fobs and a couple oversize car keys that just don't fit the KeySmart. He'd be better off with a straight-up Tile.
It's perfect for me personally as I have about four normal-size keys and one fob. You can also add any standard keyring to the bottle opener, effectively giving a home to non-standard keys.
I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this. Yes, you could buy a regular KeySmart and a standalone Tile for about the same price. But here you're getting the absolutely essential rechargeable battery, to say nothing of the not-essential-but-still-nice LED flashlight and bottle opener.
Who's in?
Bonus deal: I know many of you were bummed about missing out on the mobile-charger deal last week, so here's another: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Amazon has this Pisen 20,000mAh dual-USB power bank for $19.83 when you apply promo code MXD9SONE. (That's for the white one. The black model is, at this writing, nearly sold out.)
In place of an LED flashlight, this charger has a pretty slick LCD status display. Pisen backs it with an 18-month warranty.
Regarding the reviews, many of which may be of questionable origin, read my comments from the Friday deal. The same opinions apply here.
And don't worry: If this one sells out, too, I'll keep finding more!