Track your phone(s) with Phonelocator

[Rafe]

Phonelocator is a real-time GPS tracking application for S60 phones. It send location information to the Phonelocator website where you can view the phone's current position and a trail of where it has been. The software includes some intelligent algorithms designed to minimise data and power usage so you should be able to run it over relatively long periods.

Read on in the full article.

[Tzer2]

Presumably the straight line on the map is where it lost contact with the phone and extrapolated? Or were you travelling along a Roman road? :-)

[Rafe]

Actually thats not my track, but I assume thats correct. You can choose to make your tracks / position public.

I did record one (and attached a phone to the dog too), but it wasn't a particular good demo.

[AlexBirkett]

Originally Posted by Rafe

Actually thats not my track, but I assume thats correct. You can choose to make your tracks / position public.

I did record one (and attached a phone to the dog too), but it wasn't a particular good demo.

I made this track. It was raining that day in Oslo which makes it more difficult for the N95 to receive the GPS signals from the satellites. The phone was in my pocket which does not help either.

[malerocks]

There should be something like this available to track phones that have been stolen or lost...

[AlexBirkett]

Originally Posted by malerocks

There should be something like this available to track phones that have been stolen or lost...

I developed phonelocator and I agree, would you pay £1 / $1.50 / €1.50 per month for the service?

[entwisi]

I'm trying to sign up but teh site seems to be borked????

http://phonelocator.mobi/signup doesn't give me anything to fill in?

[AlexBirkett]

Originally Posted by entwisi

I'm trying to sign up but teh site seems to be borked????

http://phonelocator.mobi/signup doesn't give me anything to fill in?

You can't signup without first installing the client. Signup takes place on the phone's browser. To install the client:

(a) download it from here: http://www.phonelocator.mobi/home/download and install it with PC suite.

or

(b) point the browser on the phone to http://phonelocator.mobi and click the install link.

[onutz]

Good idea, simple and efficient. I am very curious about battery consumption. Any chances to have an alternative cell positioning if gps not available?
Keep up the good work!

[AlexBirkett]

Originally Posted by onutz

Good idea, simple and efficient. I am very curious about battery consumption. Any chances to have an alternative cell positioning if gps not available?
Keep up the good work!

Thanks!

The data connection consumes more power than the GPS, so the phones battery life will be better if you update less often. Using "Update every time I move" will run the battery down pretty quickly. I update every 30 mins.

Don't forget to turn on "Battery saver" in the settings!

I dont think i would pay a monthly fee but would pay a one-off fee for the application. I'm not that interested in tracking the route, though there would be occaisions, but if i could send an sms to a missing phone (or my sons phone) to activate the gps tracking that would be really useful. I use Phone Guardian and it would be great to have the features of that application and the ability to activate gps tracking if the phone was stolen/lost.

[malerocks]

Originally Posted by AlexBirkett

I developed phonelocator and I agree, would you pay £1 / $1.50 / €1.50 per month for the service?

Alex, what and how much I am willing to pay will depend on how useful an app is and how frequently I will be using it. While I agree that your app is really useful, I dont expect to use it much since I dont think I will be losing the phone frequently . In such a scenario, I would personally be more comfortable with a one time fee, instead of a recurring subscription.

@ Unregistered, sending SMS to activate would not help as the thief will definitely change the SIM. How will you know the number to send the SMS to? There has to be some other means to activate without the thief knowing he is been tracked via GPS or the application needs to be always on with updates every 1 hour or so...

[Tzer2]

AlexBirkett, maybe you should be approaching law enforcement agencies with the idea of phones "calling back" with their position.

Police would love to trace stolen devices quickly and easily, it could give them some very easy arrests and strong evidence.

I realise it would require prior installation of the app, but the police could install the app themselves, let criminals steal the phone, then secretly follow the path that stolen devices take as they move through the "underworld".

It would be a bit like the radioactive markers that doctors use to follow fluid flows in patients.

Companies and insurers may also be interested in such technology.

[AlexBirkett]

Originally Posted by malerocks

Alex, what and how much I am willing to pay will depend on how useful an app is and how frequently I will be using it. While I agree that your app is really useful, I dont expect to use it much since I dont think I will be losing the phone frequently . In such a scenario, I would personally be more comfortable with a one time fee, instead of a recurring subscription.

@ Unregistered, sending SMS to activate would not help as the thief will definitely change the SIM. How will you know the number to send the SMS to? There has to be some other means to activate without the thief knowing he is been tracked via GPS or the application needs to be always on with updates every 1 hour or so...

phonelocator could detect when the sim is changed and send a text to the website allowing the website to keep track of the phone number of a particular handset. (This functionality is not currently implement phonelocator does not send or receive any texts)

I've decided that the app should remain free at least for the foreseeable future!

[TomJ]

Originally Posted by malerocks

There should be something like this available to track phones that have been stolen or lost...

Something like Guardian you mean?