Track your phone(s) with Phonelocator
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.
Phonelocator lets you register multiple devices to one account. This means a family could choose to share a single account so that they are able to see the location of all family members.
Similar services, such as Nokia Sports Tracker or Find-on-a-Map, are available, but Phonelocator does have some unique features (e.g. multiple map types) and takes a more focused, minimalist approach. Moreover it is also in active development and the developer is very keen to receive feedback and feature suggestions.
The Phonelocator software and service is currently available for free and should work with all S60 3rd Edition phones.
The on phone software is relatively simple but has some very useful settings which help
reduce the impact of battery life and data usage.
This is the 'My Phones' page where you can see the last updated location for all the phones
that are associated with your account.
This maps shows the current location of one of the phones I am tracking.
Example of route recorded using Phonelocator. You can choose to display the route / location on a
number of different maps types including Google Map, Satellite, Aerial Photography and Terrain.
Published by Rafe Blandford at 16:44 UTC, August 21st
Categories: Software, Links of Interest
Platforms: S60 3rd Edition
News Discussion
Tzer2
Comment: 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
Comment: 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 did record one (and attached a phone to the dog too), but it wasn't a particular good demo.
AlexBirkett
Comment: [quote=Rafe;388721]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.[/quote]
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.
I did record one (and attached a phone to the dog too), but it wasn't a particular good demo.[/quote]
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
Comment: There should be something like this available to track phones that have been stolen or lost...
AlexBirkett
Comment: [quote=malerocks;388731]There should be something like this available to track phones that have been stolen or lost...[/quote]
I developed phonelocator and I agree, would you pay £1 / $1.50 / €1.50 per month for the service?
I developed phonelocator and I agree, would you pay £1 / $1.50 / €1.50 per month for the service?
entwisi
Comment: I'm trying to sign up but teh site seems to be borked????
[url]http://phonelocator.mobi/signup[/url] doesn't give me anything to fill in?
[url]http://phonelocator.mobi/signup[/url] doesn't give me anything to fill in?
AlexBirkett
Comment: [quote=entwisi;388737]I'm trying to sign up but teh site seems to be borked????
[url]http://phonelocator.mobi/signup[/url] doesn't give me anything to fill in?[/quote]
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: [url]http://www.phonelocator.mobi/home/download[/url] and install it with PC suite.
or
(b) point the browser on the phone to [url]http://phonelocator.mobi[/url] and click the install link.
[url]http://phonelocator.mobi/signup[/url] doesn't give me anything to fill in?[/quote]
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: [url]http://www.phonelocator.mobi/home/download[/url] and install it with PC suite.
or
(b) point the browser on the phone to [url]http://phonelocator.mobi[/url] and click the install link.
onutz
Comment: 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!
Keep up the good work!
AlexBirkett
Comment: [quote=onutz;388745]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![/quote]
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!
Keep up the good work![/quote]
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!
Unregistered
Comment: 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
Comment: [quote=AlexBirkett;388734]I developed phonelocator and I agree, would you pay £1 / $1.50 / €1.50 per month for the service?[/quote]
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...
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
Comment: 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.
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
Comment: [quote=malerocks;388777]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...[/quote]
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!
@ 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...[/quote]
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
Comment: [quote=malerocks;388731]There should be something like this available to track phones that have been stolen or lost...[/quote]
Something like [url=http://www.guardian-mobile.com]Guardian[/url] you mean?
Something like [url=http://www.guardian-mobile.com]Guardian[/url] you mean?
Unregistered
Comment: I'm currently writing a similar free program, with a little difference: it does not require any subscription and it does not send any data to any "foreign" site: YOU decide which site to send data to! (maybe... your own site). This grants privacy and saves money.
The program already works, but currently it sends position by SMS (one single on-request SMS, or continous sending for tracking purpose): I have some trouble allowing program to automatically connect to GPRS network without user intervention, which should be solved soon.
This is the source:
[url]http://lc-cartrack.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/lc-cartrack/LcCarTrack.py[/url]
And this is the site:
[url]http://code.google.com/p/lc-cartrack/[/url]
A variant has been written which allows using the program with free site YouPosition.it:
[url]http://vernoleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/youposition-con-un-click.html[/url]
But this raises again the issue of sending data to "unknown" sites...
Note:
currently my program does not support internal GPS.
Note 2:
I'm planning to write an additional program which allows displaying phone position on another phone, without requiring a PC and without downloading maps using GPRS (they're uploaded to phone from PC).
The program already works, but currently it sends position by SMS (one single on-request SMS, or continous sending for tracking purpose): I have some trouble allowing program to automatically connect to GPRS network without user intervention, which should be solved soon.
This is the source:
[url]http://lc-cartrack.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/lc-cartrack/LcCarTrack.py[/url]
And this is the site:
[url]http://code.google.com/p/lc-cartrack/[/url]
A variant has been written which allows using the program with free site YouPosition.it:
[url]http://vernoleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/youposition-con-un-click.html[/url]
But this raises again the issue of sending data to "unknown" sites...
Note:
currently my program does not support internal GPS.
Note 2:
I'm planning to write an additional program which allows displaying phone position on another phone, without requiring a PC and without downloading maps using GPRS (they're uploaded to phone from PC).
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