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Tile, one of the more popular “item trackers” to launch from a Kickstarter campaign in recent years, has announced that its tracking app is finally available on Android.

Tile’s item tracker is a small square tag with a hole to attach it to a keychain. Its form factor is probably one of the better ones we’ve seen in this class, as the company seems to understand that trackers shouldn’t be obtrusive when they’re attached to your valuables.

The company’s also advising that they’ve now shipped their last pre-orders – it’s onward and upward from there. Tile’s tracker is available for US $25 from their site (it’s cheaper if you buy in bulk, too), and shipping to Australia is $14 per order.

The differentiator for me between Tile and other item trackers is that while others only track items registered in the app and in the vicinity of your device, Tile’s app will track any Tile tag nearby. Most other item trackers simply report the last known location, but if your item goes walkabout and passes by someone else with the Tile app you’ll receive a notification telling you where your item was seen. Tile calls this their “Lost and Found Network”, and with enough market penetration it presents a compelling reason to use their tracker above others. You don’t need a Tile tag to turn on the tracking functionality, either — you could get your friends to install the app and help find your things if you have a habit of leaving them behind.

Tile has only been available on iOS since its creation, but with the app now available in Google Play they’re hoping to increase the global reach of their Lost and Found Network — and bring Tile to more prospective purchasers, of course.

We’re told that the app is “optimised” for the Galaxy S5, Nexus 4 and 5 and HTC One M7 and M8 – a good cross-section of popular Android phones of the last couple of years. While we’re not sure what these “optimisations” actually are, Tile hasn’t restricted the app to only those devices. A quick look at the app’s page on Google Play shows that it’s also available for Sony phones, but it seems Huawei and some other Samsung devices are left out.

If you’re expecting to the app following Material design guidelines, you might be disappointed. It’s not Holo-compliant either, looking a bit more like an iOS port than we’d like to see. Perhaps in future versions Tile will update the app to make it look more at home on its new platform.

Tile: Making Things Findable
Tile: Making Things Findable
Developer: Tile Inc.
Price: Free

Do you use a Bluetooth item tracker? Will you be looking at Tile? Tell us in the comments!

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    Before discovering the Nexus One, Jason thought he didn't need a smartphone. Now he can't bear to be without his Android phone. Jason hails from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane depending on his mood and how detailed a history you'd like. A web developer by day with an interest in consumer gadgets and electronics, he also enjoys reading comics and has a worryingly large collection of Transformers figures. He'd like to think he's a gamer, but his Wii has been in a box since he moved to Sydney, and his PlayStation Vita collection is quite lacking. Most mornings you'll find him tilting at various windmills on Twitter - follow @JM77 and say hi!
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    Piers Porter

    This looks potentially useful, but the 1 year non-rechargeable, non-replaceable battery looks like a deal-breaker to me. Blutracker looks more attractive in the reusability stakes to me.