Where's My Droid - Yesterday I reviewed SeekDroid for finding your device. Before I tried SeekDroid I used Where's My Droid (WMD). This app will assist you in finding your lost phone similarly to SeekDroid and both have many of the same features. Like SeekDroid Where's My Droid has a paid version and a free version. And like SeekDroid, Where's My Droid recently updated the app and has changed the features that were once free. I have always run the free version of WMD but the new version has changed what I am able to do in the free version greatly. I used to be able to track the phone via GPS and remote lock/wipe with the free version. It seems now that this is no longer the case. It also seems to prompt me often to upgrade to the Pro version.
I have always found that WMD is a better tool for finding your phone if you lose it in the couch cushions versus losing it in a taxi. I have used it several times to find my kid's phones. I have used it to wake my son up when I knew he had his phone on vibrate and I was trying to reach him. We have also used it to startle each other by randomly texting the keyword to each other's phone. The app has a straight forward setup where you can specify a keyword to trigger the alarms. It is a good idea to change this if you don't want to easily let someone set this thing off as a joke. I would also suggest using a word that no one would normally text you. Once the word is set you have options such as if you want it to ring, vibrate or use a white noise siren to alert you.There is also a GPS setup to help you locate the phone. It has a separate keyword to activate that feature. You can also set the ring durations which I normally set to 5 minutes. That way you don't need to keep texting yourself if you can't immediately find your device. There is a whitelist/blacklist of who can text you the keyword. But I wouldn't suggest locking it down too tight. You never know when you might need that person to help you find the phone!
Once the app is setup and you find that you have lost your phone, have someone text you the keyword. It will trigger the alarms you have set. Then go looking and listening for it. The premium version allows you to use a landline (what's that??) to activate the app. Unlike SeekDroid the GPS tracking features in WMD is not nearly as strong. Remote lock and wipe are premium features and something that should be included in the free version in my opinion. This was at one time the best app out there but there are several more full featured apps on the market today. I still use this to find phones that are lost in the house or car. I would use SeekDroid to find a stolen or lost phone. Still, the free version is good for those occasions where you just need to find your phone and you are not sure where in the house you left it.
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