With the advent of the iPhone 4G, Apple has introduced a novel new application, or App, named, ‘Find my iPhone’. While the idea of lost cell phone location is not a new idea, the ease and security that Apple brings to the user is almost unprecedented.
With the ‘Find my iPhone’ App, and a subscription to iCloud, Apple’s cloud management utility, a subscriber can locate, track, erase, or even lock their iPhone from any compatible computer, iPad, or even another iPhone. While not foreseen to completely eliminate the market for stolen devices, it is definitely a deterrent against theft, making the ‘Find my Phone’ App one of the most practical utilities available.
Features
The Find my iPhone features include the ability track the iPhone, making it recoverable from almost anywhere. Using GPS, the ‘Find my iPhone’ App provides the user with a precise pinpoint location on Google Maps, allowing the phone to be tracked to within feet of its approximate location, anywhere.
The only caveats is if the iPhone is out of battery power, this renders the service inoperable until a power source for the phone is located. Another issue is that the precision of the GPS is only down to a few feet, meaning the service may tell in what building the iPhone was left, but not specifically in what room, or where in the building.
Another nifty feature of the Find my iPhone App is the ability to unleash a tone loud enough to locate the phone when within distance. Utilizing the ability of the GPS to track the phone to a few dozen feet, and the ability of the phone to emit a loud pitched tone provides an ample tandem to locate the phone from almost anywhere.
The owner can also leave a preset message on the iPhone to anyone who finds it. A message with a phone number or email address can considerably shorten the time and hassle of searching.
Putting it to Use
In order to utilize the iPhone ‘Find my iPhone’ App, some steps must be taken first. The App must be installed on the iPhone and set-up. Also, an iCloud subscription is required, though fortunately, the introductory packages are free. Having another phone where the user can receive calls if ever the iPhone is lost is critical. When tracking the iPhone from a home location, users may note that the location of the Iphone may change while searching. Having an iPad or another iPhone handy can eliminate many of these concerns, by allowing the user to track the phone while searching.
The new ‘Find my iPhone’ app, provides a reasonable and powerful buffer against loss, or theft. By bringing the tools to the users hands, the burden of locating the phone shifts from law enforcement to the user themselves. While not completely soundproof, the ‘Find my Phone’ App is another functionally sound, powerful service from the Apple Corporation, and with Apple’s ability to set market trends, one can expect to see a similar service on competitors phones within the next year.
This post was contributed by Walter White. Walter is an avid writer of tech news, jailbreak iphone software, awesome mobile apps and other great tech tips and tricks.