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Asher Levine's fall 2013 fashion line goes future forward
Children of the '80s, you'll want to remember this name: Asher Levine. He's the young designer behind an also young label poised to make Marty McFly's vacuum-powered jacket from Back to the Future Part II a real-life retail item. But more on that in a bit. As you might've already guessed, Levine's brand is atypical of the industry, one based upon the incorporation of technology and innovation with style. It sounds strange when you consider this is fashion we're talking about -- a notoriously stodgy industry predicated upon its historical archives -- but then again, this is the very same designer that teamed up with MakerBot for his fall 2012 collection. Oh, and did we mention he dresses the likes of Lady Gaga and will.i.am? There's that, too. While that last crossover collaboration employed MakerBot's Replicator for 3D-printed eyewear, Levine's current fall / winter 2013 line is taking things into a less cumbersome, more practical realm. Through a partnership with Phone Halo, a company focused on mobile Bluetooth solutions, apparel in this new collection will feature integrated tracking chips to help high-end clientele locate lost or misplaced luxury items via a customized TrackR app. So forget about last season's trends, Levine is committed to pushing things forward, while also daring to dream a little sci-fi dream.
Phone Halo shows off the Cobra Tag and more at WWDC 2012
We talked about Phone Halo a couple of years ago, when the accessory company was making its own product: A little tracking tag that connected up to your keys or anything else you wanted to hang on to and used a free iPhone app to alert you whenever you needed to find them or whenever they wandered out of range. Since we last talked to them, Phone Halo was able to cut a deal with popular accessory manufacturer Cobra (best known for making speedtrap detectors) and has released the Cobra Tag, a branded and updated version of Phone Halo's original device. The company showed the model off to us at WWDC, and it was suitably impressive: The tag is small, well-designed and works over Bluetooth, with any combination of alerts available. You can search for the tag from the phone or vice versa, and you can have alerts set up for "disconnects" (when the tag leaves the iPhone's Bluetooth range). The app, available for free from the App Store, even tracks the GPS location of the disconnect when you flip it into recovery mode. So while you can't track your keys directly, you can at least see where it was you lost them. There's a lot of impressive things being done here: The tag has an LED light built in, so you have audio and visual feedback when you need to track it. And you can completely customize the iPhone's alerts, even down to choosing a song to play when a disconnect happens. The app runs in the background all of time, and it will even override your mute settings so you'll never miss an alert. Facebook and Twitter are integrated as well, If you consistently need to track keys or anything else around your iPhone, the Cobra Tag is a great solution. There is one major issue with the product, and that is battery life. The tag lasts for quite a while, but the biggest drain is on the phone, which needs to keep up a Bluetooth connection constantly, as well as GPS tracking. As you might imagine, that's a solid drain on the hardware. Now, if you really need to track your keys, that might not be a problem. If you usually keep your iPhone plugged in all day, like at the office or while sleeping at home, you probably won't have a big issue keeping your battery going. And if you absolutely need to track something, the extra battery use will probably be worth it. So while battery life can be a concern, it shouldn't rule out everyone on a product like this. The Cobra Tag is available now for about $60 at retail. Phone Halo also showed us something else they're working on: An app that will be able to track any Bluetooth device, not just the Cobra Tag. Using a generic Bluetooth headset or any Bluetooth device, the new app will be able to do all of the same things that the Cobra tag can do. It's very impressive. Phone Halo is still working on that app. It's hoping to team up with a sponsor of Bluetooth products or someone else to be able to provide the functionality to users for free, and still be able to make money off of the product. But however this tech reaches consumers like us, it certainly seems like Phone Halo is working hard on making it as cheap and easy as possible to track external devices from your iPhone.
PhoneHalo for your iPhone helps finds your keys
if(typeof AOLVP_cfg==='undefined')AOLVP_cfg=[];AOLVP_cfg.push({id:'AOLVP_us_102867356001','codever':0.1,'autoload':false,'autoplay':false,'playerid':'61371447001','videoid':'102867356001','publisherid':1612833736,'playertype':'pageload','width':480,'height':270,'videotitle':'TUAW','bgcolor':''}); If you've ever lost your keys in the house but have your phone, then PhoneHalo might be what you're looking for -- apart from your keys. The Bluetooth device attaches to something (typically keys) and allows you to "ping" the device via an app on your iPhone. It works the other way as well, although no word on support for backgrounding or push notifications. The video has a brief description, although the app isn't available on the iPhone yet. In the video, the narrator mentions a heavy social component, but I'm not really keen on telling my friends on Twitter and Facebook that a) I've lost my keys or b) where they are. Nevertheless, if you are a chronic key loser this could be your new best friend. Currently available for BlackBerry and Android, the iPhone version is slated for September 30 and you can (somehow) pre-order it now for US$1. You can order one PhoneHalo device (plus software for the currently-supported phones) for $59.95. Order 2 devices for $95.95 or 3 for $139.95. Or just tack a nail to the wall so you can hang your keys up.
Phone Halo and ZOMM face-off to secure your phone
We all have our senior moments, and the older we get the less funny they become. Where did I leave my keys again? How did I forget my cellphone there? Why is that turtle wearing my dentures? Regardless of age or mental stability, leaving your phone behind unintentionally is no laughing matter -- nor is having it stolen. Today we'll take a look at two options that might help, the $79.99 ZOMM and the $59.99 Phone Halo. Which can best work to augment your memory, and is either worth the continual risk of accidental alarms? Read on to find out. %Gallery-89474%
