A Guardian Angel everywhere
Loud personal alarm alerts friends too
Warm up, cool down. If you’re exercising, you need to take care of yourself. Running late in the evening brings another matter to consider, that of your own personal safety. Now an Irish company is using technology to alleviate this stress, particularly for women, with a wearable, smart personal alarm.
Opening the Run Angel box reveals a gadget that looks much like a digital watch, fitness tracker or small smart-watch. Packed in a small, sturdy hard-shell case that’s ideal for travelling, there is the device itself and a USB charging cable.
There’s an accompanying app available for iOS and Android. Once my device was paired via Bluetooth, I could then go ahead and create my guardian network. This is the list of three people who will receive a notification if I sound my personal alarm.
This is the very smart part of this wearable gadget. It’s possible to trigger the loud alarm, or, via the app on your phone a silent alarm. Your guardian network will receive an email and text that you need help. The email and text show the date and time, and by using the connection to your phone, will show a map link for your location.
Triggering the alarm on the Run Angel is simple. It requires just one press on the centre button of the device to trigger the alarm – and that alarm is ear-numbing. It generates a noise of 120 decibels.
De-activating the alarm is cleverly achieved by pressing a different button, a small one on the edge of the strap. It’s also possible to deactivate the alarm using the app. If you forget your phone, Run Angel can be used on its own but you get only the use of the audible alarm.
I found battery life good. Run Angel can be powered down when not in use.
Run Angel is only sweat-proof. I think Waterproofing is a feature Run Angel should consider in future as this could be an invaluable gizmo for children.
Run Angel, though, is as well-made as it is useful and, most importantly, it can give you something most gadgets cannot: peace of mind.