If you’ve ever left a friend’s house or your house without your backpack, purse, keys or other important item, you may want to spend $50 for the Cobra Tag. This device is small in measurement, but big on innovation. Essentially, the Cobra Tag is a sensor that can let you know when you leave something valuable behind. In addition, this device makes it simple to find that lost item.

Recently, the popular tech blog CNET reviewed the Cobra Tag. The CNET reviewer found this device to be helpful and useful in a variety of ways. While it’s obvious that the Cobra Tag does have its place, there are a couple of reasons why this device may be slightly overhyped. On the flip side, it is the perfect device for someone who’s highly forgetful.

The Price Issue

You can only use one Cobra Tag to “tag” one item. For example, you can attach a Cobra Tag to your purse, but you can’t use the same tag to keep track of your keys. So, you’ll have to fork over another $50+ to purchase an additional tag. If you happen to be one of those people who carry around a number of different items, it could become costly to track every item with a different Cobra Tag.

If price isn’t an object for you (and it might not be if you value your personal items), the Cobra Tag may be just what you need to get through your day. But, I might be getting ahead of myself here. What exactly does the Cobra Tag do? More importantly, how can it possible help you remember where you left things?

How the Cobra Tag Functions

The Cobra Tag comes with a free download for Android and BlackBerry users (sorry, iPhone fans!). Once downloaded, this app allows users to “ring” an item from a smartphone. Alternately, it is possible to hold down the location button (part of the actual Cobra Tag device) to find your smartphone. If you’ve turned off the volume on your phone, you don’t need to worry – this device will cause your phone to ring and vibrate.

Certain clues (reminiscent of childhood games) such as “close” “far away” and other notations will let you know how near or far that item you are searching for is. When your smartphone and tagged item become separated, both items will alarm. In short, it’s hard to lose anything when you have a Cobra Tag. But, I will reiterate that the Cobra Tag is not a GPS tracking device.

So, you can’t go online and locate your lost item via the Internet or through some other software. If someone’s removed your Cobra Tag, your smartphone will sound off. If someone’s stolen your purse with your smartphone inside of it, you might be out of luck.

'Useful or Gadget?

Is the Cobra Tag a useful device or a mere gadget? Well, it all boils down to price in the end. If you think that paying more than $50 for a small tagging device is worth it, and you lose items a lot, then the Cobra Tag is a good purchase. If you always make sure that you have every item with you before you leave the house, you may not need this device at all.