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When I read the email about an umbrella company selling three-figure umbrellas, I teasingly asked if the umbrellas had GPS because my chances of keeping track of any umbrella were slim and I’d be sad to walk away from one costing hundreds.

I never seem to have an umbrella where I need it, when I need it, and the number of umbrellas I’ve sacrificed to the demons of forgetfulness are many.

I expected that the company would not respond to my smart-aleck comment.

Later, I was pleasantly bemused when they informed me that they did indeed have a smart umbrella. The Davek Alert umbrella syncs with your smartphone and sends you a loss alert if you venture too far away — approximately 30 feet.

The replaceable battery that powers the proximity alerts is said to last a little over a year depending on use. The app provides weather updates via the Weather Channel, so you’ll know if you’ll need an umbrella at all.

You can’t track down your umbrella with the app. It won’t give you a precise location, so you’ll have to remember where you left it and you’ll also have to remember to turn on the alert each time.

It works, but it’s a little erratic.

It did perform as intended sometimes, but often, it didn’t let me get more than five steps away from the umbrella without sending me an alert. Once, it was particularly finicky, and it wouldn’t let me actually move the phone more than a few inches from the umbrella without giving me an alert.

I was in the car, so there might have been some other electronic interference, so the technology isn’t foolproof.

The marketing “Never leave your umbrella behind again,” is hard to justify. But if you like gadgets and conversation starters, this could do the trick.

Besides, the umbrella has more going for it than the proximity alert. It’s a handsome-looking umbrella, which is saying a lot for an umbrella. The shaft is 100 percent solid steel, the core support is aircraft-grade aluminum and flexible fiberglass and the canopy is sturdy microfiber. This is definitely built to last ... as long as you can hold on to it.

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