MobileMe's Find my iPhone: It Works

Two days ago an iPhone owner in Pittsburgh was stopped by two men who brandished what he thought was a gun and ordered him to turn over his iPhone, cash, credit cards and PINs. He complied then ran, and contacted his banks and the police. Later, thanks to his MobileMe membership and the new Find my iPhone feature, the police were able to arrest two men in a Walmart parking lot; they had his phone, credit cards, and cash and credit cards from others. The MobileMe feature (which must be turned on) uses GPS to track your phone and present its location on a map. It also allows you to remotely wipe you phone, play a sound (when it's somewhere nearby and you can't find it) or even display a message for those times when you realize exactly where you left it.

One of the new features Apple rolled out with iPhone OS 3.0 was "find my phone." It works with MobileMe (formerly known as .Mac) to help you locate you phone on a map. It allows you to play a sound, to help you locate a nearby lost phone, and it even allows you to display a text message (even if the phone is locked) if you realize you've left the phone somewhere where someone will pick it up. It even allows you to remotely wipe your phone if it's stolen. This works for an iPod Touch too, but only if it's connected to a WiFi network. Note too that the Find My iPhone feature depends on the iPhone being on, and the battery charged.

An iPhone owner named Kevin Miller made use of the Find my iPhone feature (and WiFi triangulation via laptop) when he forgot his iPhone at a bar, and it was stolen; it's an entertaining story.

You can find instructions for setting up your iPhone here.