There are quite a few Bluetooth trackers on the market, all designed to help you keep track of your keys, wallets or generally anything!

Market leader Tile has just given their bestselling product, Tile Mate, an impressive update.

What does Tile Mate do?

Tile is a Bluetooth tracker, if you have heard of Tile you will probably know its ‘controversial feature’ – on previous models the battery was not changeable. This was done for many reasons but mainly to create a reliable product. As the biggest downfall of most of these products is the battery.

Fast forward to today and sustainability is key, even in smart home tech. Tile listened and created the updated Tile Mate – the first Tile with a changeable battery.

The battery is a standard CR1632 and will last 12 months, as before if the battery is low it will let you know. If you subscribe to the Premium service, it will even send you a replacement battery.

When updating the design, Tile also boosted the features, it is now louder than before and has an impressive range of 45 Meters.

The new Tile Mate still features a lost mode, if you mark an item as lost in the app other users apps can update you on its location.

How easy is it to setup?

Very simple, setup is done by pressing the tile and opening the app. The app then activates the tile and its ready to go.

To setup with Alexa or Siri there are a few additional steps but again nothing complicated.

What’s the connectivity?

Tile works via Bluetooth LE.

It also connects to a range of smart home assistants (Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri) allowing you to ask them to find your keys. Great if you cant even find your phone and need to find your keys!

How much does Tile Mate Cost?

Tile Mate cost £20 or a 4-pack for £54.99. This is good value for money if you consider how much time is often wasted looking for lost items.

Tile also have a service called Tile Premium, this includes a range of additional features for example notifications if you leave home without your keys.

Premium also includes free automatic battery replacement and costs £30 a year or £2.99 a month and can be purchased in the app.

You can  buy the new Tile mate on Amazon.

Tile Mate with Replaceable Battery

What’s it like living with Tile Mate?

Tile is brilliant!

We gave the new Tile Mate a good test – the range is spot on as advertised and the volume very handy.

What are our final thoughts?

Great evolution of an already good product. We are often losing our keys and Tile solves the problem. Now with the changeable battery this truly deserves 5*.

For more information or to buy a Tile check out Amazon.

What do the Lithe Audio garden rock speakers do?

They are cleverly designed Bluetooth garden speakers that blend into your garden. Allowing you to listen to your favourite music outside.

They are waterproof, IP 56 – if you don’t understand what that means read our guide here, so you do not need to bring them in during the in the rain.

They can also handle temperatures from -20°C – +85°C so no need to worry about extreme temperatures either.

Lithe Audio LGS1P All-in-one Passive Outdoor Garden Rock Speaker

How easy are they to setup?

Setup is very quick!

The master, active, speaker plugs into the mains, one great feature is the transformer and connectors are all IP68 so can be left outside.

Once plugged in, to a waterproof outside plug, search for the Bluetooth device, enter the pin, written in the manual, and then play the music!

The speakers work 10 meters from the Bluetooth source – we tested it with a range of phones and a laptop with no problems at all.

They come as either single speaker or as a pair with a passive speaker. To connect the speakers as a pair is equally as simple and done using the provided cable and screwing the connector together.

It comes with a 5M cable allowing it to be placed where you want it rather than where the power is. In the box is also a mounting screw so it can be fixed to where you want it.

How much do the Lithe Audio gardens rock speaker’s cost?

Single speaker – £269.99
Pair of rock speakers – £349.99

Not the cheapest but you get what you pay for, hassle free setup and build quality.

What’s it like living with them?

These speakers feel like quality are well designed and perfectly moulded.   The sound quality is impressive not only powerful but clear and crisp, they have a built in 60W RMS Amplifier.

Having a pin is a good feature as prevents anyone changing the music or connecting by mistake.

What are our final thoughts?

These rock!

Puns aside we are very impressed, such a simple and well designed solution. The only one thing we could comment negatively is that a 3.5M audio line in would be a nice addition to connect additional sources. However this can easily be fixed by a cheap 3.5M to Bluetooth sender, so not really an issue.

For more information visit Lithe Audio’s website.

How often do you find yourself looking for your lost keys, bag or wallet?! If like us it’s often then this review is for you, today we are looking at Chipolo a Bluetooth tag.

Before you ask the name is not Slovenian, where they are based, but it  comes from a mix of Chip and colour: CHIP-cOLOur.

What does Chipolo do?!

Chipolo is a small Bluetooth tag you can connect to almost anything to help you find it if you lose it. This is done via connecting to your phone via Bluetooth. You can then use the app to ring your items or see where they are on a map or where you last had them. The range is up to 60m but as it uses Bluetooth range depends on where you are using it.  You can also double press the Chipolo to find your phone, so it works both ways – find your items and phone.

It also has a feature called community search where you can mark your item as lost and if any Chipolo user walks past it you will get a notification. You can even share your Chipolo via the app, great for an item that belongs to a family.

The great thing about Chipolo is it comes in few different versions each designed with a slight different purpose:

Chipolo Classic

This was their first product and has the standard features plus a changeable battery. Great if you like the idea but want freedom to change the battery. They state a battery on the classic will last up to 6 months.

Chipolo Card

Chipolo Card is a super slim sealed unit and designed to fit inside a wallet, brilliant idea! The card is guaranteed to last for 1 year. After which the app prompts you that it needs replacing and you can use the renewal program to order a new one with a 50% discount after recycling yours. If the battery does not last the year they inform us that customer service will assist but are confident it will.

Chipolo Plus

This is their highest spec model and is also a sealed unit with a years guarantee and the renewal programme. The great feature of Chipolo Plus is it’s water resistant (IPX5) and super loud 100dB vs 92dB of the classic or card – making it much easier to find. No matter how far its stuck down the sofa!

How easy is it to setup?

Setup was easy and you can tell they have tried hard to make this step intuitive and friendly.

1. Install app (iOS or Android)
2. Register
3. Select your Chipolo type
4. Press your Chipolo
5. The app then registers your Chipolo, one nice touch is the fact the app picks up the colour of the Chipolo.

You can now set up additional options like naming locations, for example home or work.

How much does Chipolo cost?

• Chipolo Classic – £23
• Chipolo Card – £31
• Chipolo Plus – £24

Chipolo Classic Bluetooth Leash Tag/Keyring

Chipolo Plus Smart Keyring Item Finder Bluetooth Tracker – Pearl White

What’s the connectivity?

Chipolo works over Bluetooth and does not yet connect to any other smart home tech. However they tell us the developers are working on an Alexa and Google assistant integration now, but don’t have release dates yet.

What’s it like living with it?

Very handy! The app is packed with features and is intuitive to use.  It even has a selfie mode for taking photos on your phone?!  Naming locations is also great so you can easily see ‘Last seen at Home’ not just a map.

We have put one in our wallet, one on our keys and one on our office pass – things you always misplace!

What are our final thoughts?

As you can tell with the name these little gadgets have quite a personality, they have managed to make something quite dull fun and very easy to use. The app is great and its easy to manage multiple Chipolo. The one thing missing is a leash feature and smart assistant connectivity – both of which are in development!

For more information have a look at their website or have a look at the product page.

How often do you lose your keys or wallet? Tile want to make this problem a thing of the past. They have a range of different Tiles for different purposes, in this review we are looking at Tile Pro Style.

For more information of the differences between Tiles look at our article – Tile Pro vs Tile Mate.

What does Tile Pro do?

Tile Pro is a Bluetooth tracker that connects to a smart phone app. The app then lets you ring the items. Cleverly you can also use the tile to ring your phone, so it works both ways.

Tile Pro is louder than its counterparts making it easier to hear if under the sofa and is also water proof to 1.5 M for 30 minutes.

One problem with Bluetooth trackers or location stickers is the distance is not quite good enough. That is not the case with Tile, it has a range of 61 meters, if the Tile is out of range the app shows ‘last place seen’.  However the really clever part comes into it if you misplace the item, as other users app’s can update your items location!

The part that makes this so impressive is the amount of users they have – they state on their website ‘more than 10 million Tiles sold’, impressive numbers especial as all these users can help you find your items.

We tested it in a small village in the UK and were very surprised to see 1,389 people were using Tile. This is pretty powerful as it means these people can help us find your items. Tile call these users you ‘search team’.

How easy is it to setup?

Super easy in 4 steps:

1) Install the app, for both ios and Android
2) Place the tile near your phone
3) Press the tile logo on the tile
4) Name the tile on the app

As its a sealed unit there was no headache with a battery or activating.

What’s the connectivity?

Tile Pro works on Bluetooth low energy, it is also works with Alexa via a skill

“Alexa, ask Tile to find my keys”

How much does Tile Pro Cost?

A single Tile Pro cost £30 or a twin pack is £50 (Get it here)

Tile Pro

However Tile’s battery cannot be changed – it has a guaranteed life of 1 year, after this you can use their ‘ReTile program‘ to get a replacement with ‘up to 40% off’.

Another good point is Tile is 99% recyclable.

What’s it like living with Tile Pro?

Really good! Tile has thought long and hard about the design, usage and app, small things like the phone can be rang from Tile even if its on silent – taking it out of silent mode.

The tile looks great and not out of place as a stylish key ring.

What are our final thoughts?

At first we were very sceptical especially with the built in obsolescence, however after using it and many of its competitors it makes sense as it creates a product they can guarantee.

We are now hooked and will be getting more tiles to add to our collection!

For More information check out Tile’s website: Tile.com

This is a review of the SoundSOUL Bluetooth Water Speakers Fountain Speakers.

What does SoundSOUL Bluetooth Water Speakers Fountain Speakers do?

As the name slightly gives away these are dancing water speakers! They can either be plugged in via USB or use the inbuilt battery.  Charging time is 2 hours for a 3 hour playtime or 6 hours standby.

The two speakers come as a pair, with each having 4 coloured LED lights inside as well as a water that dances and moves inside the speaker with whatever is played. The unit is sealed and feels well made.

The best way to understand what they do is to watch them.

How easy is it to setup?

There is not really any setup, the speakers connect to each other via a link cable.

You can either connect to a media source (Phone / Laptop etc) via the supplied aux cable or via Bluetooth.

How much do they cost?

£50.99 on Amazon – at time of reviewing (2/1/18) on sale £25.99!

Soundsoul Bluetooth Water Speaker

What’s the connectivity?

They connect via a supplied aux cable or via Bluetooth.
The smart part is the Bluetooth connection is pin less, this means it can be connected to Alexa!

What’s it like living with it?

These are a really fun portable speaker, the lights and water dancing look great.
The fact it can connects to Alexa via Bluetooth is a big plus.

What are our final thoughts?

Perfect for a kids bedroom. The sound quality is good enough, we didn’t expect mind blowing audio as the main feature of these speakers is the fun!

This is a We Own It review of SoundPEATS Q30 dual 4.1 Bluetooth headphones with microphone.

What do the SoundPEATS Q30 do?

They are Bluetooth in ear headphones with a microphone. One of the things that initially really stands out is the price – most wireless headphones cost near £100, these have a very reasonable RRP of £39.99! At the time of writing of this review, they’re on Amazon for under £22.

The earbuds are metal and stick together with a magnet making sure they don’t rattle around or get damaged in the case. You can also clip them together around your neck so you don’t lose them.

A helpful, although little scary sounding, voice lets you know when the battery is low or when connected to a new device.  Great idea as nothing worse than trying to remember what a status light means, voice is much easier. 

They have a built in microphone so you can use them as your phones headset and answer calls with them.

They come with an almost excessive number of accessories to make sure they fit in everyone’s ears:

6 x Ear Fins (yes this is what they are called)
10 x Ear Tips

The manual states 75% of people need medium we did and everyone we tested in one did as well but nice to see they cater for everyone.

One nice feature is they come with a little leather carry case, good for keeping them all together.
How easy are they to setup?

Setup was simple, they came with a charge so didn’t need to wait for them to charge before having a play.

The first thing you need to do is connect them to a device.

To do this you press the middle play button, or multi-function button as they call it. It turns blue to show it is in pair mode. Now on your phone or whatever device you want to pair select Q30 from the list and your good to go.
They take nearly 2 hours to charge but when tested lasted over 7 hours listening to music – with the odd phone call as well. Not bad for such a small bit of kit.

What’s the connectivity?

These work on Bluetooth 4.1 and state they have a 10-meter range. We found they had just under this for a good signal about 7 meters, but let’s be honest – why do you need a long range on headphones?

As these work on the Bluetooth profile A2DP and AVRCP they can connect to Amazon Alexa – creating a portable Alexa around your house!

To connect them to Amazon Alexa put the headphones in pairing mode.

Open the Alexa app, go to Settings > Alexa > Bluetooth > Q30.

You can now use the in-built microphone to control Alexa, perfect for when doing the hoovering and want to listen to music.

As it fully connects you can also control anything connected to Alexa like lights.

How much do SoundPeats Q30 4.1 Cost?

The RRP is £39.99 making them very cheap Bluetooth headphones, especially considering the build and sound quality.

You can buy them from amazon usually for under £22.

SoundPEATS Bluetooth Earphones with Mic, Q30 Dual 4.1 Magnetic Wireless Headsets

What’s it like living with them?

Impressive! The sound quality is good and balanced. Due to the fit in the ear you can hear very little else, good for commuting and when you don’t want distractions.

They do get occasional interference if you walk too far away from the source, but normally with a phone in pocket it’s not an issue.

What are our final thoughts?

These are great little headphones, especially as you can connect them to Alexa and almost any Bluetooth device. The microphone is a handy extra as is the magnetic catch.

For more information there website is: www.soundpeatsaudio.com

( For best prices check out their website direct )

If you have not heard of Tile before it’s a small Bluetooth tracker that uses Bluetooth Low Energy (LE). It is attached to items like keys or bags to help you find them when you have misplaced them using their app.

Tile comes with a handy community feature. If another user of Tile walks past your item marked as lost you get an alert on the location. Seeing as they have sold 10 Million of these devices they have a lot of users making this a potentially useful feature.

However take into consideration Tile has only officially been on sale in the UK since February 2016. It’s been on sale in USA since 2013 so how many of these 10 Million are in the UK we do not know.

The new Tile Pro series comes in two types:

Pro Sport

Pro Style
Both are slightly larger than the previous Tile mate and Tile slim. The idea with the Pro series is it is clipped to the item rather than put in a wallet.

Not only has the design had an upgrade but so has the features and functionality.

The range has been doubled from 30M / 100 feet to a impressive 60M / 200 feet. To put it into context that is over the length of 5 London busses!!

The volume has been doubled, allowing you to hear your tile more easily when looking for it.

The waterproofing has also been increased from IP67 to IP68 ( if you don’t understand IP rating reading our What is IP rating guide). This means it can be underwater at a depth of 1.5M for one hour.

Along with hardware updates the app has been upgraded adding:

• Volume control
• Custom rings
• Updated proximity meter

One super interesting addition to us is the integration with Smart Home tech.

Tile now works with Google Assistant and very soon Amazon Alexa.

You will be able to say to Alexa “Alexa, ask Tile to ring my keys”. If they keys are not in range it will return the last location.

For best prices and offers buy direct, their website is: https://www.thetileapp.com/

The post Tile Pro released appeared first on Smart Home Geeks.

This is a We Own It review of the SoundPEATS Bluetooth wireless Speaker P4

What does SoundPEATS Bluetooth wireless Speaker P4 do?

It is a portable Bluetooth speaker and microphone in one. There are two 5W speakers, one at the front and one at the back of the cylinder creating a ‘360’ effect.

The volume and track can be changed using the controllers on the top of the device speaker.

The microphone adds functionality if connected to a phone, allowing you to answer and speak as well as reject calls. We tested this and the caller could hear and understand us, the call was a little muffled but good enough.

It is powered by a 2000mAh lithium battery, taking 4 hours charge for a mighty 6-8 hours use.

It’s light weight and you can tell care has been taken when designing it.

SoundPEATS Bluetooth wireless Speaker P4 Bass Portable Stereo Bluetooth 4.1 Wireless Speaker

How easy is it to setup?

Very easy, from unboxing to playing in less than 2 minutes.

One nice feature is it comes partially charged allowing you to use it straight out the box.

To pair the device turn it on, the musical note on the dial flashes blue – then connect via your device. We tested with an iPhone 6.

What’s the connectivity?

It connects via Bluetooth 4.1 as well as a supplied 3.5 aux cable. The advertised Bluetooth range is 10m – we tested it in the park and got just over 9 meters range.

How much does SoundPEATS Bluetooth wireless Speaker P4 cost?

The retail cost is £60

What’s it like living with it?

Good! It’s small yet powerful. This has become an essential holiday addition.

What are our final thoughts?

This is a handy speaker, perfect for the garden or taking away on holiday or camping.

Unlike a lot of the smaller plastic speakers we have used this one sounds good, looks good and has an impressive battery life.

You can purchase the speaker from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MTKTF7G