Mobile Defense is a free Android application that displays real-time location information of a lost or stolen phone on an interactive map. We absolutely love the application and think it should be installed on every phone. The community approves of the service as well since it was voted as “Best Security App” during the last Android Network Awards.
Unfortunately, the service is only available for phones in the United States running on T-Mobile or AT&T. This is because of the way the application uses SMS notifications to operate.
Thankfully, Mobile Defense 1.2 (soon to be released) will be moving to a new push notification system which will work on both CDMA and GSM networks. When the new service is rolled out it will also be available to the international community as well. Version 1.2 also adds support for tracking up to 5 phones.
We recently had a chance to speak with the developers and they expect the latest version will begin alpha testing this week. Keep an eye on our site and we will let you know when the final version is available in the Android Market.
In the mean time, you can head over to their forums and check out some of the amazing testimonials like this:
I traveled out of state to visit some friends this weekend for Halloween. While partying it up, I managed to leave my phone at one of the numerous houses we had been visiting.
I ended up borrowing a friend’s laptop and hopped on the site. The phone appeared to be stationary but at a house I had never gone to that evening. We ended up knocking on the door and luckily, there were only 3 people there. At first, all 3 claimed to not have the phone and were about ready to shut the door. After explaining that I had evidence in hand by showing them the GPS lock on the laptop and explaining that I would be glad to have the police involved, they asked to talk in private for a moment.
30 seconds or so passed, the door opened and the phone was back in my hands. I really don’t know what I would have done if it weren’t for this. Even though they were on the 1st floor of a 3 story house, MobileDefense managed to lock on a decent enough signal that it was exactly where it said it would be.
