Mobile manufacturing giant Samsung recently unveiled the Connect Tag, a new multi-purpose tracking device, which is touted as “the world’s first consumer mobile product to use narrowband network technology”.
The Samsung Connect Tag is different from similar tracking devices, as it doesn’t utilise Bluetooth in its tracking, although it does use a combination of GPS and WiFi-based positioning, together with Cell ID, to receive accurate tracking information both indoors and outdoors. Its narrowband network technology (NB-IoT, Cat.M1) is specially designed to use low amounts of data and power, and to securely connect to the internet.
The Connect Tag forms a part of Samsung’s SmartThings ecosystem, and can work across devices. This means that users will be able to connect with other Samsung devices in their homes. As soon as a user approaches, the Tag’s geo-fence feature will notify the user’s smart devices and these can be turned on in advance.
The geo-fence feature is also useful when the device is used to keep track of children or pets, as the Connect Tag will notify users as soon as children or pets enter or exit pre-defined zones. Children can use the “Send my Location” function to notify parents who are picking them up.
The Connect Tag can be used for a variety of purposes, and these are not just restricted to attaching the tag to things that move, but also to things that we often tend to misplace, like keys. The Connect Tag’s on-demand function allows users to request a notification of the current location of the Connect Tag by pressing a button on your Smartphone.
This device is a new frontier in terms of tracking devices that seamlessly fit into the growing movement towards the Internet of Things, and it was released at this year’s Samsung Developer Conference, held in October in San Francisco. It is currently only available in Korea, but will be expanded to selected countries in the next few months. Watch this space for more information.