Pocket smart.
Ever lost your wallet?
If so, we don't have to tell you want a total gut-wrenching pain in
the arse it is. Not only have you lost all your cash, but who knows
who could get a hold of your credit and debit cards and start a
contact-less payment spending spree until you can cancel them. Damn.
We've featured many ways to keep track of your most prized
possessions in the past, but all of them either involve clipping an
awkward tag to your wallet, or using something pretty blocky and
inflexible. Until now. We review Woolet.
Woolet is
Bluetooth-enabled wallet that works in conjunction with a companion
app on your smartphone (iOS and Android). Just like Chipolo and the
Ekster Senate wallet that we've reviewed before, the Woolet uses low-energy
Bluetooth to stay in constant contact with your phone, allowing you
to track and find it when lost, and also cause it to chirp and let
you zero in on it.
Sounds all quite
familiar so far, eh? However, Woolet is different in that it is an
actual leather wallet that is slim and pocket friendly. It isn't a
bulky box of a cash and card carrier, and instead is flexible and
very tactile. And it just looks like a decent and stylish wallet with
no obvious buttons or charging ports anywhere on it.
So how do you charge
the battery? Qi, bitches! The Woolet is Qi wireless charging pad
compatible, meaning you need one to power up the small, long-lasting
(apparently up to six months on a single charge) power pack. Woolet
also sell those to match your new wallet, or you can use any standard
charging pad (such as this one) to juice it up.
Woolet sent us the
larger Travel XL wallet, which is big enough to comfortably hold your
passport, as well as a wad of cash and cards. The leather is of high
quality and it feels great in the hand. Give it a squeeze and you can
feel the electronic workings on the inside, but these are very thin
and don't take up the entire inside of the wallet, giving you lots of
flex around the edges. On the inside is a large notes compartment,
complete with hidden pocket, and also small, twist-open ball point
pen.
The Woolet app is clean
and easy to use, and can be set in several configurations depending
on how you want to use it. By far the most useful is the alert that
sounds as soon as your phone (therefore you) separates by a given
distance from the Woolet, letting you know that you've left your
wallet behind. If you are indeed travelling with it, and have
important documents stored within, that reminder could be
life-saving.
You can also use the
app to track the wallet if you can't find it, and it displays a rough
impression of how far you are from it and in which direction it lays.
Once you're close, you can hit the 'woof' button, and the Woolet will
make a happy little sound so you can dig it out from the back of the
sofa, or from the depths of your litter-filled car. The alert is loud
enough to hear outside from a few metres, so there is a lot of peace
of mind if you were to lose it in public.
Woolet were also kind
enough to bung us one of their own Qi charging pads, which looks
pretty awesome. It is coated in the same soft-touch leather and looks
nice sitting on a desk or bedside table. Being able to drop the
wallet down onto it to receive an instant charge was great, however,
because the Woolet battery lasts so long, you'll hardly ever use it –
unless you have a Qi-enable smartphone. Then you've got a sexy new
charging pad to use everyday.
Bluetooth trackers are
nothing new, but integrating that technology so seamlessly into an
attractive and stylish product is. Even if you never lose you wallat
– or even if you never bother to charge up the battery, you madman
– you'll still have a good looking accessory that is genuinely
handy.
£120 (£105 for the
smaller wallet)