While we’ve seen plenty of smart locks — and debated their effectiveness — this one’s particularly nice for two reasons: It’s made by a highly reputable design team, FŪZ Designs, and it’s an ultraportable padlock.
Like most smart locks, Noke — get it? NO-KEY — works with Bluetooth from your phone to unlock it. Using digital keys from an Android or iOS app on a Bluetooth 4.0-equipped phone, you can set it to simply unlock when you’re nearby, or program a code. Should your phone run out of battery, there’s a manual unlock mode where you click the loop on top in a particular pattern. Clicking the loop is also the way you pair it with your phone.
FŪZ Designs has a solid track record for its products: Its universal docking device
EverDock was a success on Kickstarter and post-fulfillment, reviews have been very good. The price for Noke, per Kickstarter, is $US59. The campaign has already passed its funding goal and it looks like you can still order one the next 28 days.
The video’s a little cheesy (also, don’t use a padlock to lock up your bike) but the idea is solid. Having a padlock that you can take anywhere improves immensely on the concept of a smartlock in general. Where I could see this really coming in handy is at the gym. [Kickstarter via Techcrunch]