Gadget of the Month: Cobra Tag

Have you ever been halfway to work when you realize you forgot your phone? Or what if you’re rushing to a meeting, a dinner, or a recital for your kids and you cannot find your cellphone? What do you do? If you’re like most of us, you‘d start tearing your house apart running from room to room trying to find it. But all that is no longer necessary with the Cobra Tag.

The Cobra Tag attaches to a device of your choosing (eg. your keys, laptop or tablet bag, camera case, or your purse) and monitors the distance of the device from your phone using a Bluetooth connection on your phone and a cobra tag app.

For example, you could have the tag on your keys and your cellphone is in your pocket. If you get more than 30 feet away from your keys, an alarm will automatically sound on both the phone and the keys. This solution works the same way if your phone gets left behind.

The best part is that you can control the ringing from the application, so if your keys are lost and you didn’t hear the initial alarm you can keep ringing it until you find them. Or conversely, if you misplace your phone you can set off the alarm by pressing the button on the tag. The alarms can be customized through the app so you don’t get an earful every time you go to the kitchen to get a drink.

The application can support up to 7 devices simultaneously on Android and Blackberry devices. Compatibility with iPhone has been slower, so the app can only support one device at the moment, but given Apple’s market share this will be expanded in future. The battery on the tag lasts about 7 days and the app tracks the battery level so you’re never caught without it. The tag also has a rechargeable battery, so you don’t have to worry about the cost of replacing batteries.

With the proliferation of portable devices, the Cobra Tag is going to be an essential accessory for many of us.