This is about a guy who lost his iPhone and then used the new find my iPhone feature in MobileMe to track it down.

I sent a second message to the phone, slightly more to the point: "This phone is missing. Please call 512-796-xxxx to return it. $50 reward." Almost immediately I received a second confirmation email that it had been displayed on the phone. And yet, the minutes ticked by and no call was coming. I kept refreshing the location, and though the circle varied in size, it kept floating around that same block, five miles west of the bar.

How much is a MobileMe subscription?

$99/yr. Not sure if it's AUD or USD .. other than the find feature there's not much else that MobileMe offers.

Great story.

You can generally pick up cheap MobileMe subscriptions on ebay.

I think its cheaper to just insure the phone and remote brick the one that is lost.

Its usually cheaper not to lose it though :D

Pretty ballsy of the dude to go tracking that guy down. The comments in the Slashdot about this thread were interesting - some people saying it was pretty risky given the neighborhood etc.

If someone steals your iPhone, how can they get away with it? Surely they could just plug it into iTunes and wipe it or whatever, but I assume there are still serial numbers etched on it or something?

Maybe MobileMe taps into the serial number, rather than the iTunes profile or simcard?

Afaik, MobileMe gets the GPS data through the me.com email account you have set up. If this account is removed (because the phone is wiped), find my phone stops working.

It's no different to removing enterprise activation on a BlackBerry (by wiping the handset or just removing the account).

i.e. If Sanchez had typed in the wrong unlock code 10 times and wiped the handset, the rightful owner would have had buckleys chance of finding him.

last edited by Lits at 12:17:04 24/Jun/09

Yeh, that sounds more likely. So it's as "safe" as putting a "lock" on your iPhone: after you steal the iPhone, just sync with your computer and the "lock" disappears. Geez.

I was under the impression to get PUSH working you where required to have a mobileme account. Is this wrong? If so, awesome!

Edit:

USB dongle giving him Internet access over 3G on his MacBook Pro

I'm guessing they're Mac fanboys and I applaud him for not deciding on writing MACBOOK PRO GUISES OMGOMGOMG every time he wrote the word laptop from that point forward. Still, it's weird he felt he needed to write Macbook Pro and not just laptop in the first place. I know if I was writing a blog I wouldn't say I HAS A USB DONGLE FOR MY DELL SJX12312. heh

last edited by Syco at 13:03:07 24/Jun/09

trog; my understanding is that all GSM phones have a unique identifier (the IMEI) burnt into their hardware which the carrier can use to block stolen phones.

According to http://www.amta.org.au/default.asp?id=210&Format=print_3 , we have a program in Australia whereby all our carriers will block a stolen phone.

hah, awesome story with epic win ending.

He changed the part at the end where the guy at the bus stop beat the s*** out of them and took their laptop too