New gadget “ZOMM” helps avoid losing your cellphone
If you want to avoid losing your dog when out walking, you keep it on a leash. Now one company is using Bluetooth to provide a similar tactic for your cellphone.
Many of the products debuted at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas will provide extremely complicated solutions to very niche problems. The same can’t be said about the remarkably simple ZOMM. It’s a device the size of a keyfob which connects wirelessly to your cellphone and sounds an alert if the pair are more than a set distance away. The idea is that you keep the ZOMM attached to a belt or keyring and the alert stops you accidentally walking away and leaving your phone behind.
While that’s the primary feature, it wouldn’t be much of a sell by itself, so ZOMM performs some other potentially useful functions. It can give an audible and visual alert when your phone rings (for example, if you’ve left it inside a purse or bag), and you can even use the ZOMM as a speakerphone to save you having to dig out the phone. That said, you will have to balance the convenience of doing so against the embarrassment of appearing to be conversing with a poker chip.
The device can also be set up to act as a panic button, meaning that one click can call police or other authorities and let you talk to them without having to reach for a phone.
One notable downside of the device is that its powered by a lithium ion battery which needs recharging every three days. That’s a simple enough process (it can charge by a wall socket or a USB connection to a computer), but if your concerns about losing a phone are down to significant absent-mindedness, making sure the ZOMM is always charged may be a mental challenge.
The other big drawback is the price of $80. While that’s obviously not much compared to the cost of replacing a high-end handset such as an iPhone, it may be too high for mass appeal. There might be a market for a slimmed down version which simply offers the lost phone alert service for a much lower price.
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