i-migo Bluetooth security gadget promises to keep your phone safe

19 February 2010 13:58 GMT / By Stuart Miles

A new Bluetooth gadget that aims to protect your phone from being lost or stolen has been shown off at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.

The device, called the i-migo, can be paired to your mobile phone waiting to alert you if it goes wandering, however it falls short of doubling up as a Bluetooth headset for making calls.

Once your phone leaves a set perimeter and the Bluetooth connection is lost, an alarm will sound on the i-migo while your phone is automatically locked so nobody can access the data.

But rather than just being a crime deterrent, the system has been designed to help those who forget things in the back of a taxi. If you do leave your phone behind an alarm will sound alerting the driver to your incompetence.

The makers, pdd, says the locking technology isn't hackable even by taking the battery out and the only way a criminal could get the phone working again is to "flash" the operating system deleting your data in the process.

The company is hoping to launch the device later in the year with apps for Symbian, BlackBerry and Android handsets. An iPhone offering is unlikely to be on the cards as the phone can't multitask.