Photo courtesy of BKaguya
Just as Lay’s potato chips will bet you that you “can’t eat just one,” I’m willing to bet that you’ve misplaced your mobile phone at least once in your life; I know I surely have. The good news is that you don’t need to worry that your $700 smart phone will be lost in the grip of some vagrant, who is wasting your minutes and making purchases for you on Ebay – there’s yet another app you absolutely HAVE to get.
Seeing as I’m not Daddy Warbucks, I only have one smart phone, so I’ll be covering a handy app for Android only. I’ve asked Tony Zayas to test out a similar app for his iPhone, and his commentary is further down this post – so stick with me iPhone users, we’ll talk about your device in a few.
So fellow Android users, you should all have ‘Where’s My Droid’ installed on your phone. This handy, FREE app will locate your mobile phone in case you misplace or lose it.
The app lets you setup keywords, which when sent via text to your device, will trigger a few different features. For example, I can setup ‘Ring Tom’ as a keyword, which when texted to my phone number, will make my phone ring for two minutes, regardless if the ringer is on or not (please note, if you happen to have my phone number, that these are examples, and you cannot have command of my device with these keywords.)
Alternately, you can text “GPS Tom” and be sent more information than you wanted regarding the location of my device. It sends (in multiple text messages) my Latitude and Longitude (sailors rejoice!..) the address my phone is located at, and a link to Google maps. I had Tony try to locate my Droid here at the Proforma Worldwide Support Center, and here’s the messages he received:
Like most free apps, there is a full version you can unlock, for a one-time fee of $3.99. This adds the ability to remote lock your Droid, remote wipe your sim card, and enable a passcode to use the app – in case some tech savvy hijacker burglars your phone and wants to change your alert codes. You also won’t need a buddy with a cell phone to locate yours. You can go to http://wheresmydroid.com/ and login to track your phone online.
If you have an iPhone, here’s the bit you’ve been waiting for. Here is Tony’s take on a comparable iOS app, “Find My iPhone”:
Very similar to “Where’s My Droid,” the iPhone app “Find My iPhone” allows users to track their lost or stolen iPhone. This free app also gives users the ability to remotely play a sound, so you can find your phone if it was just left in another room, as well as remotely lock and even wipe all of the data from the device (if stolen.) The GPS tracking will show if the phone is online, and if so, the actual location of the device on a map.
Users can access the control panel to remotely control their phone via this app from another iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac or PC.
It’s a free app that’s easy to use and could come in very handy if you iPhone goes missing.
 Email alert lets you know that the app has been used. |
 Where’s My iPhone app in action. |
I don’t know anyone with a Windows phone, so if you have one of those, my advice is: Don’t lose it! All jokes aside, if you know of a similar feature for Windows phones, leave a comment and let me know.
So that’s all for today, folks. Be sure to try out this handy app, it could save you a lot of time and headache in the future.
Now if I can only get a GPS tracking app for my car keys…
Until next time,
Tom Zobel
With thanks! Valuable information!