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Tracking a Move Via "Find My iPhone"

Posted by kdawson on from the unintended-consequences dept.

dmolnar writes "I recently helped my girlfriend move her stuff from Chicago, IL to Oakland, CA. The movers were scheduled to arrive at 8AM on the 5th of July, and we were stressing the day before about all the things that could go wrong with a move. We realized that if we knew where her stuff was, it'd make us feel better. This is a story about using the $99 iPhone to track the move ... and about a somewhat surprising potential use of Find My iPhone to track your friends' iPhones without them noticing."

11 of 216 comments (clear)

  1. Much cheaper... by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Personally I would have gone with something from deal extreme, a GPSSMS bridge. It costs the same as the iPhone, but without the contract. You could have bought simple card from Walmart.

    Not to mention it would have been designed for this and probably last a bit longer. Put in eBay after you're done and recoup some of the costs.

    What does a iPhone cost without the data plan? (Say the phone broke and you need a new one, not to mention you just signed up for 2 years)

    http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25332
    http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.21686
    http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11314

    1. Re:Much cheaper... by siloko · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Isn't the whole point of the article about current users utilising existing features in new and innovative ways. i.e. with a marginal cost of zero.

    2. Re:Much cheaper... by speedtux · · Score: 5, Informative

      Isn't the whole point of the article about current users utilising existing features in new and innovative ways. i.e. with a marginal cost of zero.

      That would be using one of the many location tracking features that have been out for years for other smartphones. The total cost isn't $99+2 year contract, but simply $200 for the phone and no contract.

      These days, the simplest of the bunch is probably Google Latitude.

      No expensive iPhone needed.

    3. Re:Much cheaper... by digitalchinky · · Score: 5, Informative

      So all your belongings are in boxes, including this GPS with SMS bridge business you speak of, all of which is buried under clothes or whatever, sitting deep inside a moving truck which just happens to be built out of sheet metal, strengthened by a steel or alloy frame of sorts (Last time I checked, all of them were built this way) A nice little Faraday cage yes?

      Your solution would not work, this guy lucked out in that the system was using cell towers to triangulate the phones location, if it was true GPS it would not have worked.

    4. Re:Much cheaper... by tholomyes · · Score: 5, Funny

      It doesn't have ringtones...

      My phone makes phone calls, and I love it to death.

      You should really upgrade to a newer model. They can receive calls now, too!

      --
      When did the future switch from being a promise to a threat? -C. Palahniuk
  2. Iphones are not $99 by diakka · · Score: 4, Informative

    Do people really buy in to the BS about an Iphone being $99? IT's only $99 if you sign your soul away for 2 years. The mobile carriers here are so fortunate to have an ignorant populace that is eager to go through the mental gymnastics required to truly believe that their iphone only costed $99.

    --
    -- Knowledge shared is power lost. -- Aleister Crowley
    1. Re:Iphones are not $99 by speedtux · · Score: 4, Informative

      So.... how do you use any phone with out service? The contract really means nothing the US since AT&T is the only major GSM carrier in the US that supports all of the features of the iPhone.

      You can get an unlocked Nokia N78 for about $230 with no contract. Then, buy AT&T prepaid. It's a lot cheaper than an iPhone with a 2 year contract and has the same functionality.

      What carrier would a person switch to without losing features?

      Works fine in Europe, where phones and service are a lot cheaper, all carriers are compatible, and people can switch freely (unless they sign a contract, which also exist if you want the phone discount). There's no reason it couldn't work here.

    2. Re:Iphones are not $99 by speedtux · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What they don't understand is that they have good alternatives. Get an unlocked Google, Nokia, or Windows Mobile phone and a prepaid plan and you pay much less for a smartphone that gets the job done (and actually is nicer for text messages and a lot of other uses).

    3. Re:Iphones are not $99 by QuantumG · · Score: 5, Interesting

      hehe, you think people haven't, for decades now, been buying shit with the intention of using it for n days and then returning it? You think there hasn't been a court case finding on it? It's well established law. If you buy something with the intention of returning it, you're not acting in good faith. It's simple fraud.

      --
      How we know is more important than what we know.
  3. Google Lattitude by iffer · · Score: 4, Informative

    Won't google lattitude achieve exactly the same thing? I have it installed on my BB and I can get the location of half a dozen of my friends that have added me to their "friends" list on their devices (both BB and iPhones). There is also a google maps gadget you can use to check the location from your PC. What advantages do you get from using MobileMe and Find My iPhone ?

  4. More accurate summary by kklein · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Guy wants to do something bizarre and paranoid. Looks for an honest way of doing it. Concludes that would be too expensive, and notices that if he pretends to want a new cellphone, and pretends to want a set of web-based services for it, he can get them for $99, claim he doesn't like the phone or service, and cancel them up to 30 days later.

    Plan works as intended and results in the exact same situation as if he didn't do the bizarre and paranoid thing (movers tell you they'll be at the destination at one time, but come at another).

    Guy expresses shock that setting a phone up to report its location to a web service results in --gasp!-- the phone reporting its location to a web service!!! Notes that if you don't keep your web password or your phone secured, your security could be compromised!

    Finishes by admitting he likes the phone, which is a relief because this isn't a story so much about hardware, but someone's lack of honesty and willingness to rip companies off in order to do a bizarre and paranoid thing.