Don’t forget to bring the phone
Accidentally leaving your smartphone at home puts you out of touch with clients and colleagues and cut off from useful apps that let you work remotely.
If you live in the suburbs and work in Manhattan, forgetting your cellphone could be an even bigger problem because of the long journey you’d have to make to retrieve it. The commuter-friendly Bringrr will keep you from driving off without your handheld workstation.
Bringrr works with any Bluetooth-enabled phone. Just insert the circular device into your car’s power port or cigarette lighter and pair your phone with it when you set it up.
Every time you turn on the car, Bringrr searches for your cellphone. If your phone’s with you, the device will emit an innocuous beep, but if Bringrr can’t find it in the first eight seconds, a “bring, bring” alarm will sound three times over 15 seconds and Bringrr’s light will turn red.
Bringrr’s range is only about 10 feet, so it shouldn’t tell you your phone’s with you if you left it in the kitchen. Even if this does happen, Bringrr is constantly checking for your phone and will let you know it’s not with you before you get too far away.
The gadget will also alert you with a single “bring” if it loses the connection to your phone, which likely means your battery died. But if you buy Bringrr’s charger model, you won’t have to worry about running out of power.
While city dwellers might be better served by a phone leash that attaches to your keychain, car-driving commuters can make sure they have their phone when they leave the house without having to worry about false alarms if their phone and keys get separated. Bringrr’s $34.95 price is also less than half that of some phone leashes.