'Alexa, where are my keys?' TrackR syncs with Amazon Echo to help you find your stuff
A new integration between the Bluetooth tracking tag and the popular smart speaker means you'll be able to ask Alexa to help you hunt for misplaced items.
- 10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team
Add the TrackR Bluetooth tracking tag to the rapidly growing list of gadgets that will sync up with the Amazon Echo smart speaker. With the new integration, you'll be able to ask Alexa -- the Echo's cloud-connected, voice-activated AI -- where your TrackR Bravo tags are located. And, thanks to TrackR's Atlas plugs, which map out your home, Alexa will be able to tell you what room your stuff is in.
That means you could clip a Bravo tag to your keychain, then have Alexa tell you "your keys are in the living room." Of course, you could use TrackR with just about anything -- your wallet, your purse, your pet; you name it. If you've got a cat that's especially good at hiding from you, TrackR and Alexa could help even the playing field.
TrackR is also integrating Alexa into its own app. That'll let you ask her where your stuff is straight from your phone -- though that seems to miss the point a bit, as Alexa's voice controls are designed to help you keep your phone in your pocket.
Thanks to a new "Works with TrackR" program, you'll soon see products designed to work specifically with TrackR's system, including this HP laptop bag.
Also new at this week's Consumer Electronics Show here in Las Vegas: a "Works with TrackR" program designed to give you even more TrackR-specific stuff to keep track of. The idea is that partners can team with TrackR to offer products designed to work especially well with TrackR. For instance, HP is releasing a TrackR-friendly laptop bag with a special pocket designed specifically for Bravo tags.
Other integrations can go even deeper, thanks to TrackR's open software. If third parties so choose, they'll be able to add Bluetooth radios to their devices, then sync them up directly with TrackR's crowdsourced GPS network, no Bravo tag needed.
TrackR's Bravo tags cost $29 each, while the Atlas plugs sell for $39. We'll keep track of the system this year, and maybe test those Atlas plugs and Bravo tags in the CNET Smart Home. Stay tuned.
