AntiTheft Sentinel is a simple idea, implemented simply - if someone tries to pick up your phone while the utility is 'activated', they'll trigger the accelerometers and set off the alarm. Is it foolproof? No, but then it's still a deterrent to casual in-office fidders - which is, perhaps, what you're most worried about?

Here's AntiTheft Sentinel in action:

An opening splash screen and then (right) into the default 'Disarmed' pane.

The Settings icon actually just brings up this help/info page, somewhat disappointingly, I'd have expected sensitivity settings, at the very least... (right) tapping 'Activate' initiates a 5 second countdown and then your phone is 'Armed'.

If anyone moves or jogs your Symbian smartphone, the alarm goes off, with flashing red and white and with a siren sound sample playing (on repeat); (right) of course, it's quite easy to knock the utility on the head if your colleague/thief happens to know a little bit about tech!

Of course, there are caveats galore here:

1. the speaker on your phone may not be incredibly loud
2. even if it is loud, a simple finger or palm over the speaker slot and it's more or less silenced
3. even with the alarm sounding, the thief can still press the home key and navigate into apps to look at your data (while the alarm keeps playing in the background)
4. if the miscreant knows anything about smartphones and/or Symbian, they'll try long pressing the 'home' key, whereupon they have a one tap action to close AntiTheft Sentinel
5. if the thief is very careful, it's possible to lift the phone and move it, level, out and away without triggering the accelerometers (I tried)

But I'm being a little picky. The utility is totally free and, while it won't stop someone at a coffee shop running off with your Nokia 808, it may still offer some casual protection around the office, where noise levels are lower and where they're going to be seen. Plus, they can't get far!

You can download AntiTheft Sentinel for free here in the Nokia Store.