Birkett Enterprise Ltd

We intend to upgrade the phonelocator webapp, http://periodic.phonelocator.mobi, on 19 / 20 March. Please expect service disruption during that time.

In an attempt to increase the number of users that complete the Phonelocator Periodic sign in process, we have created this video that runs through the sign in process that needs to be completed after Phonelocator Periodic is installed on a phone.

This process is the same for both Phonelocator Periodic versions 0.9 (free) and 1.0 (paid)

See below:

The new version of the Phonelocator Periodic web app was rolled out today (20. February).  The new version adds a ‘My Account’ page that allows the user to edit their account details and delete their account. Deleting individual location updates is now also possible. Behind the scenes we’ve upgraded the web app from Rails 2 to Rails 3 and fixed some defects in the Java Daemon process that communicates with the clients. Gzip context encoding has been enabled in the web server to reduce the amount bandwidth used to view the web page. This is especially beneficial for users connecting wirelessly over slower 2G links and those who pay for bandwidth by the megabyte.

We intend to upgrade the phonelocator webapp, http://periodic.phonelocator.mobi, on 19 / 20 February. Please expect service disruption during that time.

A new version of the Phonelocator web application is available for testing here.

Most of the changes are not visible to the user, we’ve upgraded from Rails 2 to Rails 3 and moved from restful-authentication to authlogic. The app has been given a visual referesh and the following new features added:

My account page

It’s possible to view and edit your login and email address. Account deletion is now possible without emailing support too!

Delete updates

It’s now possible to delete individual updates.

Testing the app

The app is not yet production ready, but it is now possible to test it. You will need Phonelocator 1.0 mobile app from the Ovi store. After installing and starting the application, switch to the settings pane and set the host name to stage.phonelocator.mobi. Then switch back to the status pane and sign in as normal. You will need to create an account on stage.phonelocator.mobi even if you already on perioidc.phonelocator.mobi. If you already have Phonelocator 1.0 installed on your phone, you’ll need to remove it and re-install using the Ovi store.

I just noticed that there is an interesting review of Phonelocator Periodic 0.9 by Kevin Sharp on the Nokia Ovi blog

Bruce Hatton has successfully used Phonelocator Periodic 0.9 to recover his daughters stolen E71 in Nambia. “Setting the Buddy Number was crucial in regaining the phone”, said Lesotho born Bruce.

The phone was stolen at 7:00PM on Jan 6. Bruce was able to track it to a point in a Windhoek suburb called Khomasdal. Despite the limited GPS accuracy of version 0.9 Bruce was able to place the phone within 3 houses on each side of the street. (The GPS accuracy has been improved in version 1.0)

At about 8.30 PM the thief swapped SIM cards which is when Bruce received the SMS notification. (Bruce’s number was set as the buddy number on his daughters phone) The SIM card inserted was not GPRS enabled, which prevented further location updates from being sent. Despite this setback Bruce took the last know location of the phone and it’s new number to the Nambian police. They obtained the new numbers telephone logs from the mobile operator, MTC. The police then questioned some people who had called the new number who revealed the identity of the theif.

Bruce concluded, “The bottom line is that the Geo-locating function was useful up to a point, but it was the buddy number, phone IMEI and MTC logs which were the prime reasons in locating the phone.”

Phonelocator Periodic version 1.0.37 is now available on the Ovi store. This release fixes an issue that prevented the application starting on Brazilian Portuguese phones.

It has been reported that the Phonelocator Periodic app (version 1.0.34) won’t start on Brazilian Portuguese language phones.

If you’ve experienced this problem please email your phone’s IMEI number to contactus@phonelocator.mobi (dial *#06# to see the IMEI)

The problem was identified early 17/01/2011.  A fix was submitted to the Nokia Ovi store 18/01/2011 and will be available after completing the Ovi store’s QA process.

Thanks to Daniel Descalzo for reporting this issue and helping to test the fix.

Phonelocator 1.0 is now available on the Nokia Ovi store. The 1.0 release adds some great new features:

Lost phone alarm

The loud lost phone alarm is activated by sending an SMS message to the phone. Great for finding your phone even when it’s in silent mode!

Passcode protected uninstall

Prevent unuthorized persons from removing the app form the phone. Extremly useful to stop your kids removing the app or if your phone is stolen.

Hidden trigger messages

Trigger location updates without SMS messages appearing in the phone’s inbox. A fantastic feature if your phone is stolen.

Better GPS accuracy

The GPS session is held open longer before sending updates to improve GPS accuracy.

More positioning methods

Support for the phone’s built in Wi-Fi and Network positioning methods – handy for urban environments where GPS does not work.

Phonelocator Periodic is available here.

It costs $3 / €3 / £3 in most jurisdictions. Phonelocator Periodic 0.9 and access to the Phonelocator Periodic web site remain free.