SEPTA Police use technology to recover iPhone stolen on subway

[BarryG]

Surveillance video shows the suspect grabbing the device, then taking off as the train stopped, and doors opened, with the victim in pursuit.

But moments later, a SEPTA officer arrives and with the help of the stolen phone’s GPS tracking device, he is able to monitor the suspect’s every move, eventually arresting him in the 2400 block of North Opal Street, several miles away, a short time later.

The victim had MobileMe installed on her phone. The officer popped into a MetroPCS store, borrowed the clerk's computer and used it to track down the device and have the thief arrested. Impressive dedication and fast response from the SEPTA police force.

Link: Exclusive: Phone Technology Helps Track Robbery Suspect « CBS Philly

[Dane]

I think it's $109 per year for MoblileME, well worth it for this girl!

[FrankStar]

Nice. Is there a comparable service for Android?

[Marc]

Nice. Is there a comparable service for Android?

find my droid and where's my droid come to mind, there are others

[radiocolin]

Find My iPhone is free for anyone with an iPhone 4. Set it up. MobileMe no longer exists, and iCloud, its replacement, will be free.

[hkp]

I think it's $109 per year for MoblileME, well worth it for this girl!

The Find My iPhone app (part of MobileMe) is actually free. Similar apps are also available for OSX. They'll actually run in the background and snap pictures on command when stolen (remotely). There are some sites out there that actually document when thieves are caught by these things. Good stuff.

[Mr Morley]

Find My iPhone is free for anyone with an iPhone 4. Set it up.

Yup. Set it up on my iPhone as soon as I got it. It was that or the passcode, and that kinda defeats the purpose of having a smart phone.

[Sean]

While I think this technology is great for getting your phone returned, I have some unease about the privacy implications. I know if you have a cell phone pretty much anyone with the right know how and access can find you, but this makes it even quicker and easier.

Basically I'm just realizing how much of a joke privacy is becoming.

[Marc]

While I think this technology is great for getting your phone returned, I have some unease about the privacy implications. I know if you have a cell phone pretty much anyone with the right know how and access can find you, but this makes it even quicker and easier.

Basically I'm just realizing how much of a joke privacy is becoming.

Yes and almost no...in theory, the enabling and tracking of a stolen phone is managed by the user. The nefarious applications are well, just that, but was that very much different with analog triangulation?

[nifer]

Nice. Is there a comparable service for Android?

Lookout, WaveSecure

[NonAbsolut]

Some service providers also offer free theft recovery software. I was recently on Sprint for a month and they offered a free software download for my Android.

[Brooke]

MobileMe sucked. It would periodically erase all the data on my phone...and several hours or days later, it would miraculously disappear in triplicate. Sometimes it wiped it off MobileMe. Costumer service always said it's something I must have done.

Now that it's no longer an Apple product, I was in the Apple store on Walnut and those employees bragging about iCloud I asked if it would be the same as MobileMe...several of them admitted to having the same thing happen with MobileMe.

I'd have been much more satisfied when this was happening to me if someone else had admitted it wasn't "just me", even if they couldn't have done something about it. Really made me feel like there was an Apple cover up on this.

Anyway, yes, find my phone is free. It's awesome that police officers bothered to track her phone. I would assume it was too "petty" of a theft for them to care about.

[BarryG]

MobileMe sucked. It would periodically erase all the data on my phone...and several hours or days later, it would miraculously disappear in triplicate. Sometimes it wiped it off MobileMe. Costumer service always said it's something I must have done.

Now that it's no longer an Apple product, I was in the Apple store on Walnut and those employees bragging about iCloud I asked if it would be the same as MobileMe...several of them admitted to having the same thing happen with MobileMe.

I'd have been much more satisfied when this was happening to me if someone else had admitted it wasn't "just me", even if they couldn't have done something about it. Really made me feel like there was an Apple cover up on this.

Anyway, yes, find my phone is free. It's awesome that police officers bothered to track her phone. I would assume it was too "petty" of a theft for them to care about.

Some possible belated consolation is that Steve Jobs felt the same way: Jobs to 2008 MobileMe Team: Why The %@&# Doesn’t It Do That? | News | The Mac Observer

[budtkaboy2000]

SmrtGuard is a good app available for iOS, Android and Blackberry. SmrtGuard Mobile Security - Smartphone Security, Identity, and Privacy Solutions