Scaredy cats given extra protection against mobile thieves

THOSE OF US scared off by all those Daily Mail stories about the yoof of today waiting to pounce on us the second we walk out the front door, nick our mobile, and then use it to take photos of us facedown on the pavement are in luck today with the launch of a new device alarm that has a special coward level setting.

Mobile alarms generally consist of a fob that you keep in your pocket or bag, and a tag that can be fixed onto any portable device such as a laptop, phone or camera. An alarm sounds when the fob and tag are more than a set distance apart.

This raises the issue of what you're supposed to do if this happens during a theft. Street thieves, as we know from the Mail, very rarely work alone but instead roam around in pairs or bigger gangs of feral youths, with one distracting you while the others rifle your bag or pockets. So if the device alarm goes off, you could suddenly be facing a gang of angry crims panicked into violence.

The new product called Nio, launched today by Edinburgh-based TenBu, cannot eliminate this possibility but it does allow you to specify one of three different ranges at which the alarm will trigger.

If you are feeling brave you can set the alarm to trigger at close range. Cowards, or people who would rather lose a gadget than run even the remotest risk of losing their lives, can ensure the alarm will ring twenty metres away where there is less chance of physical contact.

Fraser Ritchie, Tenbu's marketing manager, says the alarm is most likely to be triggered by absentmindedness - for instance, when a user leaves a laptop or mobile phone in a cab or a cafe. "We are not in the business of trying to panic people into thinking they are a target of thieves every time they leave their front door," he said.

He says the Nio is unique in using a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone instead of the usual wireless fob, with the tag going on any other portable device you want to protect. The alarm sounds on both so the Nio protects two devices at once - even more if you purchase extra tags.

Ranges are estimated from the power Bluetooth requires to establish a link and the phone can be set up to sound a different alarm from different devices. Most major phones are supported.

Ritchie admitted that the alarm could precipitate a potentially dangerous situation. But he believed a thief would be more likely to drop an alarmed device and run rather than get involved in a confrontation.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said wireless tags can help protect property. "What you do if the alarm goes off is up to you. But we would warn you to think carefully before trying to become a have-a-go hero."

A Nio tag with mobile phone software is available online for £39.95.