[APP][2.2+] PhoneLeash - Lose phone? Use phone! Then find phone (hopefully)!

Hello AF Community:

Here's a new app on the Android Market for the misplaced/lost phone: PhoneLeash (www.tinyurl.com/phoneleashfree)

Lets cut to the chase, what does it do: if you've misplaced your phone, you can use SMS commands to
- locate it using GPS/WiFi location, get a nice Google Maps link, and
- make it ring LOUD (even if its on vibrate).

But while your phone is not with you, you get via email or SMS:

- missed call notifications
- incoming SMS
- you can reply to SMS, and the reply goes out of your phone as if you typed it in yourself (if you are using this over email, your phone needs to have an email-to-SMS address, which PhoneLeash helpfully tries to autodetect for US and Canadian carriers)
- battery low message

Tested with Go SMS and Handcent.
Works with HeyWire SMS numbers
Would love to make it work with WhatsApp - if only there was an API
Works with some tablets (Tab 8.9?) that do SMS but are not phones

Very very simple to setup - 1 screen, 1 password, 1-2 email or phone numbers.

Here's a long story (I'm told!) on the beta tester's site : http://androidforums.com/alpha-beta-testing/468590-beta-phoneleash-app-misplaced-phone.html

Do try it out, and let us know how you like it!

SUPPORT/SUGGESTIONS/QUESTIONS/FEEDBACK >> support at gearandroid dot com

 

PhoneLeash version 1.5 is now on the Android Market.

This release has some big updates, features we are incredibly proud of:

- Intuitive SMS reply - When forwarding from PhoneLeash to another phone via SMS (or Google Voice, HeyWire etc), replying is super easy. Just prefix "tolastsender" before the message and the reply goes to whoever sent you the last SMS. If you think you'll be exchanging SMS' for a while, the "allrepliesto xxxxxxxxxx" command, will send treat all subsequent messages as replies and send them to the xxxxxxxxxx number. Here is a screencap showing a conversation between a HeyWire web client texting to a remote phone. The phone running PhoneLeash is the go-between, and the remote phone thinks the conversation is with this phone, not some web-based app.




You can also simply prefix a phone number like this "@2223334444 how are you this day?" and the message will go to 2223334444.

Additionally you get notifications on phone bootup and shutdown. There isn't a lot of time between the system sending the shutdown message and actually turning off, so occassionally the shutdown message may not make it out, but works most of the time.

First ever GASP implementation: GASP ("GPS At Shutdown Point") sends out your phone's GPS location just as the phone begins to shutdown! Perfect for lost phones about to lose battery charge completely.


We hope you like these features, your feedback is appreciated support AT gearandroid DOT SEE OH EM

 

They're global settings. When you use "allrepliesto <destination>" _everything_ goes to the destination, including any app commands (I tend to make this mistake a lot, and wonder why the command didn't work). The exceptions are when you explicitly specify a different destination by using an actual number, or by using the "tolastsender" (it'll send to last sender, which could be different from your allrepliesto destination).

"tolastsender" is global too but obviously affects only one message, and sends it to the ... last sender. I am intrigued about a combination command - "allrepliesto tolastsender" But thats poor grammar!

Here's how the notifications look, and yes they come up on boot, and when they're change by remote commands.







PVS

 

Just used PhoneLeash to send my my first tweet from my phone. Of course without even having to touch my phone! Just send "40404 I too am having coffee at Starbucks" from your Google Voice, or HeyWire or Pinger to your PhoneLeash-ed phone (can't do this from email just yet). Maybe time for @phoneleash

 

Thanks again Mr Lucky, spot on, as always! The next release will ensure that no single response to any command exceeds 1 SMS, including the currently dreaded help command! Then, we'll take your money

Also thinking of consolidating multiple incoming SMS from the same sender. If someone sends 3-4 short SMS in (say) < 3 minutes, it would consume less of your outgoing SMS quota if PhoneLeash combined them into fewer SMS before forwarding it on.

 

Like Mr Lucky said, PhoneLeash resides on the device you want to forward SMS _from_ (e.g. forwarding from your Infuse/T-Mobile to another email addr/SMS number).

And I show multiple Infuse 4Gs running PhoneLeash (via the developer console), so device compatibility should be fine.

Do you see the "you have no compatible devices" message on the market? My (somewhat vague) guess is that perhaps the Market thinks you want to download to your old AT&T phone, which doesn't ... exist ... anymore? Feel free to write me at support AT gearandroid DOT com , or post here.

PVS

 

The next version will give you the ability to change or remove the signature line. We are almost done with the next version (mega features coming people ), hang in there for another 2-3 more days.

PVS

 

Now there is ... see the new version here