Credit: Tile
Losing my laptop might seem like an unlikely situation - after all, it's hardly as small as my keys or my smartphone. But if I've learnt anything from leaving an umbrella at a restaurant while on my recent summer holidays, it's that big things can be easily misplaced or forgotten about too.
For that reason, Tile's announcement that it has partnered with Lenovo to make Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 laptops findable via Tile technology, is welcome news to me. That means if I'm working on a Lenovo X1 Carbon 10th-gen, X1 Yoga 7th-gen or X1 Nano 2nd-gen laptop and I happen to lose it underneath a pillow at home, in my car, or anywhere else for that matter, I should theoretically be able to find it.
Tile says setup does require a few steps, though. First you will need to download the Tile Windows app from the Microsoft Store and activate the software so that your X1 ThinkPad becomes a 'Tile'. It's then simply a matter of downloading the company's free app onto your smartphone to locate your misplaced laptop. Tile promise you can do this even if your laptop is shutdown or offline, and for up to 14 days, which does give one some reassurance that things will workout if the worst does happen.
Credit: Tile The smartphone app locates your laptop by ringing your PC within a Bluetooth range of up to 250 ft, which should be enough to help you if you've lost your laptop nearby. If you've had a shocker and left it further afield and out of Bluetooth range, you may still be able to locate it. Tile says you can opt to view your laptop's most recent location, or you can enlist the help of the company's global network to find your beloved silicon.
This recent collaboration with Lenovo is part of a rapid expansion by Tile as it goes head-to-head with Apple after last year's Apple AirTag release. Tile now claims to have embedded their finding technology in more than 40 devices, including HP's Elite Dragonfly laptops, which were the first to receive the technology back in 2020.
With laptops costing so much these days, it seems like a good idea to have extra safeguards in place to protect your assets. Here's hoping the technology works as seamless as promised.
