Nokia planning new 'Teasure Tag' Bluetooth device to help keep track of your keys

The eternal hunt for house or car keys 15 minutes before leaving for work is the bane of most of the working class. Nokia is preparing to address the problem with a proximity sensor accessory which can be paired with its range of Lumia Windows Phones, according to the Verge.

The Finnish smartphone maker is planning to launch a "Treasure Tag" accessory with the combined features of Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC. This accessory will be able to sync with Lumia Windows Phones through NFC to allow users to track the whereabouts of their elusive belongings. In order to make the device more user-friendly, Nokia plans to ship the device with a loop strap which can be attached to a set of keys.

The core idea is simple: Windows Phone users will be able to track items attached to the small accessory with a special application that is installable on their smartphones. Users will be able to use the installed app to locate the Treasure Tag on a map, which will come with Nokia's LiveSight augmented reality view thrown in. And the accessory works both ways; users can find the phone paired to the sensor by simply pressing a key located on the device. The sensor will then trigger a notification sound on a phone, most likely a beep, which will alert the user of the phone’s location. The limitation here is that it is only useful if the sensor is within a certain range of the smartphone.

Nokia is planning a close proximity sensor called Treasure Tag to keep track of your keys

The accessory is designed to always “be on” and will include a battery with a life of around six months. The report has stated that Nokia is planning to update its Lumia Windows Phones with Bluetooth 4.0 support, which the Treasure Tag will definitely be able to use for Low Energy support. Treasure Tag is likely to be seen soon, most probably when the Finnish company starts rolling out its Amber update, which comes with Bluetooth 4.0 support.

While Windows users will surely find a lot of uses for this nifty product, iPhone users need not worry much. A recently funded Kickstarter project called Tile also functions in much the same way as Nokia’s Treasure Tag. It comes as a small square shaped device that can be paired to a user’s iPhone. From the look of the Kickstarter page, the Tile device may be a lot more user friendly, as it allows for up to 10 Tile devices to be synced to the phone and also keeps a log of the last place it registered the Tile being placed. There also doesn’t seem to be a limitation to the belongings that Tile can keep a track on as well. Tile also lasts for about a year, according to the Kickstarter, which is another advantage. However, the biggest flaw could be the range of the device, which is merely 50 to 150 feet.