SeekDroid - I read today that one of my new followers on Google+ had his Tab 10.1" stolen twice in two months! As shocking as that is what may be more disturbing is that he may not have had any tracking software on the devices. I have never had a device stolen nor have I ever lost one. But it only needs to happen once to ruin your day. Why not protect yourself the best you can? SeekDroid by GT Media allows you to track and/or wipe your device remotely. There is a free version of the app and a $4.99 paid version as well. I eventually got the paid version from Amazon as a free app of the day and installed it. Since that time they have changed their model and still sell a $4.99 version and a free version, but also have paid monthly subscriptions that gives you more features and more devices that can be tracked. Why then pay $4.99, good question. I am still confused to why I should pay now for the app when I am essentially getting the free version features. I am not alone in the confusion it seems but let's just say go get the free version and if you need more devices go pay for that.
Pricing aside, I think this is a great tracking app. Say you lose your phone and you want to find it. You login to their website (www.seekdroid.com) and start a trace. I tracked mine down to just a few feet. It was impressive. Now I know it was in my possession and that worked fine for testing. But if it was really lost I could see who was called from the phone, set off an alarm, see how much battery was left, lock the screen or wipe the device completely.
The website is easy to navigate and finding your device is really what you are trying to accomplish. Using this app and site works to efficiently do just that. If you lose your device you are going to want something quick and easy. The ability to wipe the device is an important feature that corporate network admins look for but many normal users could care less about. But when you start to realize how much of your personal information is stored on a phone or tablet these days you quickly see why remote wipe is critical if a device is lost or stolen. You can replace the device and sync most of your data back up with little hassle but restoring your credit and protecting your identity is not a fast or easy process.
Being able to see who called your phone or who has been called from your phone may help in recovering your lost device. It will at least tell you if the phone is being used. Seeing the battery level remotely is nice so you know if the phone is going to die before you get chance to locate it. You will also be able to tell if someone has charged it back up to use it. My kids have lost phones and I called the phones to see if anyone picked up. They just rang and rang making me think they were lost and not stolen. With this app I would be able to see where the phone was and know if the battery level was dropping or if phone calls were happening. Knowing you could lock the device or hide the app will give you the ability to prevent someone from removing the app as easily.
I will review Where's My Droid tomorrow which is another free phone location app. (BTW- I hate the use of the term "Droid" referring to an Android device of any kind other than Motorola's product, but I will try and let that go!) Either way, why wait until after you have lost a phone or tablet to get one of these types of products? Do it now, do it!
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