ZOMM’s Wireless Leash for Phones Doubles as Personal Alarm

Zomm Black & White 3 by theZomm

Amongst the many tables at last night’s CES Unveiled mini-show, one device that caught my roving eye was the ZOMM. With an interesting name and very small product, I had to stop by to see what it was. Turns out that the ZOMM solves a potentially common problem — losing your phone. Although my phone is never more than an arm’s length away, I constantly see people walking away from their handset. That’s where ZOMM comes in.

The tiny device connects to your feature-phone or smartphone by Bluetooth and you keep it on your person. ZOMM fits on a key chain or can clip to a pocket, belt or anything else you’re wearing. When you walk away from your phone — or if your phone “walks” away from you — ZOMM lets you know. A cool solution, but then again, we’ve seen similar products in the past. Ah, but the ZOMM does more.

Built-in the small device is a microphone and speaker, so you can use ZOMM to actually take a call. It was way too noisy to test the speakerphone on last night’s crowded floor, but the ZOMM folks say that they all use the product as a speakerphone for work calls. If that function works well, the only downside I can see is that you don’t know who’s calling you — ZOMM doesn’t have a caller ID display, it only has a blue LED notification.

And in an homage to product pitch-man Billy Mays: “But, wait — there’s more!” ZOMM also acts like a personal alarm system. Press the center button for 10 seconds and an audible alarm sounds, alerting everyone around you that there’s an issue. Or it simply tells them that you wondered what would happen if you held the button for 10 seconds. ;) Even better is if you hold the button longer. ZOMM will actually initiate an emergency call on your phone which, if your phone supports it, can provide authorities with your location. The ZOMM team expects the device to sell for $89 later this year and hopes you can walk into a local Best Buy to pick one up.

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