Bak2U's PhoneBAK+ GPS (Symbian)

[waypoint]

Some of you here may remember that a while ago I had my then Samsung Omnia nicked at the airport. But by sheer luck, the thief had chose to ignore my calls and when he subsequently swapped out my SIM for his just before a scheduled SMS(by 3rd party applet running in the background) was to be sent out. The recipient of the scheduled SMS who happened to be a relative had then called my spouse who was with me when my own number was no longer in service. I had then called the thief using the number which was reflected in the scheduled SMS that was sent to my relative and was able to arrange an amnestied return of my SGH-900 within the hour by a shaken and bewildered low-life.

Sound complicated? Not to mention the feeling of one's privacy and sanctity being intruded upon. And that was when I had decided to conduct a little research to find a specific application which would simplify and eliminate the need for chance and divine intervention for either my PDA to be returned or in the worst case scenario, at least allow me to remotely destroy all sensitive data on the device. The solutions were many but most of them were either too slip-shod in their implementation or too complicated to set-up. Others, either just too expensive or did not have the features I required. By then, I had had enough of the Omnia's short battery life and gave it up for the NOKIA E-71. And while looking for applications for the Symbian S60v3 OS one day, I chanced upon PhoneBAK by Bak2U; created by a local upstart here in Singapore. The many independent reviews seemed positive(low-cost, simple to set-up and very responsive technical support) and when they finally added the GPS-locating feature in both alert and silent modes(tracked party is unawares), I was hooked.

Trying as I might not to sound like a shill, the software, available for almost all mobile platforms; for both communications and gaming, does what it's supposed to do and does it very well. So well that you'd better not let your better-half know about it; unfortunately for me, after demonstrating it to her to showcase the wonders of A-GPS technology, mobile data and of an unlimited data package.

Pardon the wall of words!

So good, in fact, that I even wrote to them suggesting that they should offer a forum discount for members of MSM and MFM. So, after reading this review of sorts, if you are interested, send an email to them at sales@bak2u.com with either MSM or MFM in the title and the name of the product you're interested in for the forum discount). Rest assured I have no interest with the owner(s) of the company and neither do I receive a share of the sales derived from MSM/MFM.

PhoneBAK! - Click Me! & http://www.bak2u.com/phonebakgpssymbian.php

Moderator, if you feel this post not suitable or OT, please feel free to (re)move it.

Thanks!

BR,
w a y

[firestorm]

[waypoint]

200,000 years of evolution; 2-million years if one is really Darwinian about it(of the genus Homo) and with over half a litre in volume in the human cranial cavity and that's what you can come up with?

BR,
w a y

[keong8260]

Bro Waypoint... this looks quite interesting. Thanks for sharing!

Can we use to track our "outstation" employee, our wife, our kids and etc etc etc.

Or my wife use it to track me ...

[vash_h]

newer nokia phones has tht features.
once sim is changed, phone will automatically send a message to ur pre-defined number, with the thief's sms..
u jst reply tht sms with a code, predefined, and POOM.. ur phone is locked. cannot even format the phone without the pre-defined unlock code.

[waypoint]

jeng... Jeng... JENG! You can track either party anyway you want to... It's that good and all depends on how you set it up(Alert - Tracked party permission required for ping to be returned or Silent - Tracked party has no friggin' idea whatsoever) and if the owner of the phone being tracked was aware such a software was installed into it.

Still, there are some improvements to be made, though. And I've written to the developers about it.

Namely, the return SMS from the tracked phone contains an web-link which leads to a Google-powered raster image of a map. I've asked if an option for a satellite image can be set-up by the user. In certain rural locations, where there's just no map data at all, a satellite/aerial image from Google Earth would do much better in such instances.

Another would be that if the tracked phone was unable to acquire a satellite lock, there would be a location track failure. I was thinking the s/w could be set-up to return with a GSM Coverage Cell ID if a GPS lock was unavailable. My argument being a needle would be much easier to find in a bale of hay than a hay-stack, right?

And the last one for now is that if a series of pings can be set-up for a fixed period of time be initiated to track for possible movement.

And if you're really curious, they also offer a 3-day trial of a fully functional version of the s/w. A simple email would be all it takes.

BR,
w a y

[waypoint]

But wouldn't it be more interesting and menacing if your SMS to the low-life could read something like...

"Dear Low-Life. You have my phone. Give it back. Otherwise, I will be waiting for you at Blk 254A at Serangoon Central(thief's location tracked by s/w) with the Neighbourhood Police to assist in my retrieval of my stolen property. You have 3- mins to respond."

Of course, there are other means. But they are rather covert and may not be legal. I once had a friend with such means. He had his phone stolen at work. A day later, through his own means, he found out that his stolen phone was now being used by a female subscriber; there were no ladies where he worked. So an sms to the number saying he knew it was a lady on the other end to urge his brother, boyfriend or husband to return the phone or risk public humiliation and jail was all it took. He got his phone back within 36-hours and a plea from the low-life to keep his girlfriend out of it.

newer nokia phones has tht features.
once sim is changed, phone will automatically send a message to ur pre-defined number, with the thief's sms..
u jst reply tht sms with a code, predefined, and POOM.. ur phone is locked. cannot even format the phone without the pre-defined unlock code.

Yes, the newer NOKIA phones have this feature but I'm not too sure if the features include a SIM switchover triggered SMS. But what are the chances of you being able to get your phone back if you cannot reach out and 'touch' the low-life?

[cruiser]

Yes, the newer NOKIA phones have this feature but I'm not too sure if the features include a SIM switchover triggered SMS. But what are the chances of you being able to get your phone back if you cannot reach out and 'touch' the low-life?

Great contribution there from a coincidental encounter you experienced for yr part. Appreciated very much when reading your disclosed path with the recommendations expressed despite the other person's daft & negative post.

I have grasped & applaud the significance gained from the technology applied to track after a missing/stolen mobile phone.

and for sharing something this worthy for one, being a useful asset to owners heavily dependent on valued data stored in them and two, for those who are easily prone in losing their units...

[fauzee]

[fadriz]

Went through the website PhoneBAK (PDA phone) to see the solution for my HTC.

It's a good investment, I might try it later just in case...