GPS Tracker (Track Lost or Stolen Devices)

cormie

Hi,
I thought it would be cool if there was an app that would allow you to track the whereabouts of your phone if it's lost or stolen and there just so happens to be a free one The website is: http://www.instamapper.com/android and there is a thread on it here: http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f3/here-some-help-for-gps-tracker-app-5201/index3.html

Has anyone in Ireland used this? Does it work? Does it work with the SMS activation?

Would be good to have and I was also thinking it could be good for fleet management, say if you had drivers on the road and wanted to see where they were and who was closest to a location for another job or why are they parked outside the pub for the last 2 hours :P

If anyone has used it within Ireland, please share your experience!

Any feedback appreciated

Abelloid

I used instamapper a couple of times on my old Java phone when out cycling, I'd come home and see the route, distance and speeds etc. logged on the map.

cormie

Sounds good alright. Can I ask why you haven't put it on your Android phone? Just not bothered or was there something wrong with it? How did it work with the SMS being in Ireland and all that?

Abelloid

I didn't use the SMS function.. not sure if it even had one TBH. It worked great, but the GPS signal wasn't the best on the phone I had so I haven't used it since.

28064212

cormie wrote: »

Would be good to have and I was also thinking it could be good for fleet management, say if you had drivers on the road and wanted to see where they were and who was closest to a location for another job or why are they parked outside the pub for the last 2 hours :P

Doesn't seem like it would be very efficient for this, since you can only track one phone at a time, you'd have to have multiple accounts and multiple windows open, and couldn't track them on the same map. Google Latitude seems much more suitable for this.

I haven't tried instamapper, I use WaveSecure instead: http://www.wavesecure.com/wavesecure/android.aspx. Unfortunately it's no longer free, I got in when it was still a beta and they were giving out free lifetime subscriptions

cormie

What does Google Latitude actually do itself? I've seen it there but I'm not too sure? Can you tell what the advantages of wavesecure are over instamapper please?

28064212

cormie wrote: »

What does Google Latitude actually do itself? I've seen it there but I'm not too sure?

Website. Basically allows you to share your location with others. So all the drivers could share their phone locations with the central office, and they could see them all on one map

cormie wrote: »

Can you tell what the advantages of wavesecure are over instamapper please?

Well for a start, if either the GPS or the data on your phone is turned off, there's no way to track it with instamapper, whereas WaveSecure can still get at least a rough position. WaveSecure can also remotely lock your phone with a customised message, and back up and wipe your data.

cormie

Thanks for that. That's cool about Google latitude anyway I assume you can select who you want to share the info with and not everyone in the world can see?

Wavesecure sounds good alright, $19.99 a year is a good bit steeper than free, lucky you

jimmycrackcorm

what's to stop anyone who gets hold of your phone from uninstalling wavesecure or is it suited only for junkie thefts?

I mean if you got a dodgy phone, wouldn't you do a hard reset on it?

28064212

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

what's to stop anyone who gets hold of your phone from uninstalling wavesecure or is it suited only for junkie thefts?

I mean if you got a dodgy phone, wouldn't you do a hard reset on it?

There is a 'sister-app' for WaveSecure which prevents uninstallation, WaveSecure UPA. The UPA stops WaveSecure from being uninstalled, and WaveSecure stops the UPA from being uninstalled.

I'm not sure if there's any way to prevent a thief who instantly does a hard reset, but you can prevent it if you lock it in time. Also, the phone locks itself if a new sim-card is inserted

cormie

Is the sister app also on a subscription price? That's a good point about the hard reset. So you'd be pretty much screwed if they did it immediately before you got to an internet connection to disable it?