[clug] Finding your smartphone... [Where did I put it down?]

[steve jenkin]

In the Early Days of Dick Smith shops (before Woolworths and when you
could buy *parts*), they'd get cheap gadgets from Hong Kong (The Chinese
we used to exploit before PRC.)

One of the favourite gadgets they had (but I only saw it demo'd, didn't
buy), was a "key finder":

 - attach finder to your keys/keyring
 - responds to a whistle by beeping.
 - some geeks thought this was cool, along with Digital Watches and
pocket protectors :-)

During the week I visited a friend and they did the "would you ring my
phone, I can't remember what I did with it" trick. Took a few tries to
find it.

So, to the assembled CLUG neurons idling in Holiday Mode, what do people
use, or have seen, to help folks "Find My Smartphone"
(or: "where did I put my Smartphone" vs "locate my stolen/lost device")

Searching for the phrase, I realised that it a many part question:
 - lost or stolen phones: tracking or disabling.
 - Where did I put it?
   - a holder that you always put it in... Hmmm.
   - An app that something else can query &
   - it has a microphone/speaker, it could listen for your whistle...
   - it has WiFi and bluetooth, it could connect to a network.
     - but then what??
     - use a radio direction finder??
     - have a number of bluetooth locators it can pair with.
       These could beep, flash, send email/IM/tweet/SMS or update a URL
   - If you sent it an SMS, it could sound a siren or ultrasonic noise.
     - or if it knows "I'm at home" and is rung and you don't answer, it
either sends a message with a hint or starts to beep loudly for 5 mins.


Question:
 - Do any of you have a solution you've used or seen used?
 - Not being the owner of a smartphone, I can't guess what might work...
Any suggestions?

cheers
steve


-- 
Steve Jenkin, Info Tech, Systems and Design Specialist.
0412 786 915 (+61 412 786 915)
PO Box 48, Kippax ACT 2615, AUSTRALIA

sjenkin at canb.auug.org.au http://members.tip.net.au/~sjenkin