by Julie Clover
Nomad today announced the release of the Tracking Card, an ultra-thin Find Me card that can be carried in your wallet so it can be tracked using your iPhone.
The tracking card is the thickness of two credit cards (2mm), so it doesn't take up too much space in your wallet. It's also the size of a credit card, meaning it can be carried around other cards. There are several Find My cards on the market right now, and at 2mm, it's one of the thinnest available. The Eufy SmartTrack, Chipolo CARD Spot and Tile Slim are slightly thicker.
One side of the black plastic card is mostly plain except for the logo, while the other side features a second thin Nomad logo with light gray lines denoting the hardware inside the card . It cannot be identified as Find My tracking card, so if someone steals your wallet, it won't immediately tell the thief that it can be tracked. It actually looks a lot like a key card.
The card has a hidden button that you can press to add it to Find My, and adding it to the app is just as easy , how to open it, press the “+” button and then hold the pairing button on the tracking panel. Map. From here it can be given a name and icon and can be tracked along with other Find My items, as well as Apple devices with the Find My function.
The Nomad tracking card connects to the iPhone via Bluetooth, but it can also use all the features of Find My network using nearby Apple devices if they are out of range of your iPhone. Find my provides the current location if it is with you, or the last known location of the tracking map if it was found using Find My network.
When nearby, the tracking card can play sound using the Find My feature, which helps you find your wallet if it gets lost at home or nearby. There is no precise search feature like on Apple devices, so Find My The app cannot take you directly to the tracking map. In most cases, the beep won't be loud enough to be heard from another room, especially if it's buried in the couch cushions or otherwise hidden, but it should be loud enough if you're in the same room as the card.
You can set up a tracking card to notify you if it's left behind. This means that it sends an alert when your iPhone goes out of reach. This is perhaps the most useful function of Find My network because it immediately tells you if you lose or drop something.
There are options to get directions to the tracking map in Find My app, plus you can share it with family members so they can track it, and a lost mode is available to add your contact information if your wallet gets lost. As with other Find My accessories, Nomad can deliver firmware updates if new software is required.
Perhaps the best feature of the tracking card is its battery. The battery inside can be recharged by placing the card in a Qi-based charger, and markings on the card show alignment. I tested the card with several Qi/MagSafe chargers and they were all able to provide power, with charging indicated by a small red LED on the card. The indicator turns green when fully charged and goes off when the charger is not connected. There's not a lot of metal inside, but enough to allow it to attach to both vertical and flat chargers. There is no magnet in the card, so it will not affect the magnetic stripe of credit and debit cards.
According to Nomad, one charge should last about five months, so you won't have to charge it often. Nomad says it comes with IPX7 waterproofing, so if the card gets wet, it will survive.
Many wallet-sized Bluetooth trackers on the market don't have a rechargeable or replaceable battery inside, so it's nice that Nomad has designed a tracking card that will last more than a couple of years. With the Chipolo Card Spot or Eufy SmartTrack, you have to throw away the entire device when the built-in battery dies.
The Nomad Tracking Card costs $40 and is about $10 more expensive than some competing products from name-brand manufacturers. famous companies like Chipolo, but it has built-in wireless charging and a slim design. There are several Find My Wallet tracker cards on Amazon with the same Qi technology cost about $10-$15 less, so charging for Qi for trackers isn't a completely new idea. Of course, these are not well-known manufacturers of Apple accessories, so quality and functionality are untested and reviews are mixed, but there are other options.
Please note that, like all Find My Bluetooth tracking accessories: Nomad's tracking card only works with Apple devices. It cannot be used on the Android platform.
The Nomad Tracking Card can be purchased from the Nomad website starting today.
Note: Nomad provided MacRumors with a tracking map for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.
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