Happy
Halloween to my American readers, this is the Halloween article for my blog! No,
I DON’T celebrate Halloween but still, I’m wishing everyone to be safe and sound
at the end of the ghoulish night, as per the song Safe and Sound by Capital
Cities!
Ever
travel on an airline and when you’re checking out you can’t locate your
luggage?
With
so many tracking systems to locate lost items, such as the Nokia Treasure Tag
for locating lost or stolen items as described in my blog article
entitled “Nokia
Treasure Tag to launch in April 2014 - Pirates on the Caribbean on Stranger
Tides will find locating lost keys that much easier”, it seems that the time
has come for a tracking device for Suitcases as well!
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Introducing
the latest Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for a GPS Trackable suitcase
called the Bluesmart,
billed as the world’s first Cary-on suitcase as reported in the article “Bluesmart
carry-on suitcase can't get lost”, published October 23, 2014 10:51 AM PDT
by Amanda Kooser, CNET News.
The
US$235 Bluesmart
Connected Carry-On Suitcase is basically a smartphone connected suitcase that a
use Bluetooth to create proximity alert if it strays too far from your side. It's
built strong so that the TSA can’t just bust into your suitcase with asking you
nicely first.
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Made
of three (3) layers of polycarbonate, it's got a 34-liter capacity weigh 8.5
pounds albeit the team designing the suitcase promises something lighter is in
the pipeline. Nice set of wheel on this baby, four (4) to be exact, with a
waterproof zipper and an anodized aluminum handle for that nice solid grip.
And
that's just the aesthetics.
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Its internal gadgetry has gotten them US$$678,766 in funding, totally surpassing their precious goal of US$50,000 with some 24 days to go as of October 31st 2014. Once they’re completed their funding round, they expect to ship by July 2015 for US$235, so this won't make a great Christmas gift, but something worth considering for Summer vacation in 2015.
Ok,
so it's got a proximity alert via Bluetooth and trackable via GPS. Still, why
the huge interest in the world's first connected suitcase? One word really: convenience
of Travel.
US$235 Bluesmart
Connected Carry-On Suitcase - How a Proximity and GPS suitcase makes securing
your luggage easier
Yes
convenience, as this baby does it all and is well thought out by the Bluesmart
Team as noted in the article “This
suitcase knows how much it weighs, where it is, and charges your gadgets”,
published October 20, 2014 By Andy Boxall, DigitalTrends.
It
has a digitally controlled lock that's opened using your Apple iPhone or Google
Android smartphone. Should you drift out of range of the Bluetooth Proximity
Sensors, it's programmed to go into lockdown and only open in your presence or
with a special key which you alone possess. Even so, it’s TSA friendly,
allowing them access should they want to inspect your luggage for no apparent
reason.
It's
go a built in scale that allows you to weight your suitcase to see if you’re over-packed.
Best of all for the Tech obsessed, it's got a built in Battery that allows you
to charge your gadgets, should in case you get stranded at an airport under
attack by Russian Rebel separatists and decided to cut off the power and storm
the building.
For
the social media say, the GPS Tracker means not only can you track it out of
range of your proximity alert, but if it gets misplaced, you can actually
locate it in all that mess of Suitcases on the airport. All that trackable data
can be uploaded to a social Network, so your enemies can follow where you’ve
been and how much stuff you’re packed into your suitcase.
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Plus
it's got neon blue accents, which'll make it stand out real easy in a crowd of
look-alike suitcases.
I
hardly travel, but I like this idea of NOT losing my suitcase and being able to
locate it. Bluesmart
is an idea that is necessary and it behooves me as to why no one thought of
putting a GPS tracker in a suitcase or even making a secure suitcase that can
be opened ONLY by your smartphone.
Still,
it's not too late as Indigogo supporters have heard the clarion call and have pitched
in to get your US$235 Bluesmart
Connected Carry-On Suitcase delivered to you….safe and sound!
