Samsung taps the Internet of Things to track your stuff
Samsung wants to make sure you never lose your stuff again. And is tapping the Internet of Things to do it.
The consumer electronics giant has introduced the Samsung Connect Tag, which can clip on to any object, and accurately relay the object's location to your smartphone.
Connect Tag will, as its name indicates, help you keep track of your stuff. If you've lost a device attached to Connect Tag, you can request its location from an app on your phone. And if your kid gets lost, they can press a button on Connect Tag to send you their exact location.
But Samsung's late to the track-your-stuff game. There are plenty of other companies already trying to help you do just this, the difference here is that Samsung is leaning hard into the Internet of Things to extend range with its Connect Tag -- no bluetooth needed.
While competitors like Tile and TrackR rely on Bluetooth, the Connect Tag will instead utilize narrowband networks. Narrowband networks are made to connect smart devices to each other over cellular data. Samsung claims they use less data, and less power, than Bluetooth, and are more secure.
Over narrowband networks, your Connect Tag will function as a smart device, joining the Internet of Things. If you carry Connect Tag with you, it will notify your other smart devices when you're approaching and turn them on for you in advance. If you put the device on your kid or pet, your smart devices can notify you of when they've come into range.
This announcement is just the latest step in Samsung's quest to dominate -- and get people to join -- the personal smart devices revolution. It recently released Gear Sport Watch, which allows its wearer remote control of home smart devices.
Samsung has also recently partnered with residential security corporation ADT to launch a home security system that allows a user to control and monitor an array of smart motion sensors from a digital security hub, which can also control other smart devices.
The tag will be unveiled at the Samsung Developer Conference on October 18-19. Samsung has not disclosed the price.
Topics Artificial Intelligence Samsung
Monica wrote for Mashable's Tech section with a focus on retail, internet of things, and the intersections of technology and social justice. She holds a degree in creative writing from Brown University, and has previously written for Dow Jones Media, the New York Post, Yahoo Finance, and others. In her free time, she can be found attempting to cook Asian food, buying board games, and looking for new hobbies.
