BiKN makes your iPhone into a beacon

David Friedman / msnbc.com

BiKN tags can be used with pets - or people.

By Suzanne Choney

You can find your iPhone using a handy app by that name. But soon you'll be able to use your iPhone to find your cat. Or your keys. Or just about anything or anyone you can put a tag on.

The BiKN ? pronounced like "beacon" ? uses a low-power radio in an iPhone case to communicate with the tags, also equipped with low-power radios.

"It's kind of like a Wi-Fi network for your stuff," said Nancy Crume of Treehouse Labs. The BiKN's range is 100 feet indoors, and 800 feet outdoors. The company gave a preview of the BiKN at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Due out in the next month, the BiKN will work with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. It will cost $99.99 ? and comes with one tag. Additional tags come in pairs, and will cost $49.99 for two. The BiKN will work with up to 8 tags at once. But that will increase big-time with the next version of the software, the company says, when it will be able to support up to 256 tags.

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Source: http://gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/08/10059815-bikn-makes-your-iphone-into-a-beacon

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