Google announced the Android Device Manager several months back. Essentially, this is a security feature that will allow you to remotely locate your device on a map or by having it ring. This setup also allows users to remotely lock and also erase the device. Anyway, Google began rolling this out to devices shortly after the original announcement, and while a mobile app was promised, there wasn’t much said in terms of when that would be arriving.
Well, flash forward till the present day and it looks like we now have that answer. The Android Device Manager app has arrived in the Google Play Store as of today. The app is sitting as version 1.0.2 and will run on Android 2.3 and later. The app brings the same features as we saw on the desktop rollout, and will likely be welcomed by those carrying a smartphone and tablet.
As you’ll see in the above screenshot, the Device Manager app shows where the device is located on the map and offers options to Ring, Lock and Erase. You can tap the triangle icon towards the right of the device name to view any other devices you have on your account. And just in case you were lost or confused, you can locate the device you are carrying and will be told that it is “in your hand.”
In this case, you can ring the phone, but not lock or erase it. Of course, there are other more appropriate methods for either of those tasks. Anyway, that all having been said, the Android Device Manager app can be found in the Google Play Store. Otherwise, given the release of this app — now seems a good time to verify your settings. Basically, make sure this is turned on by heading to Settings -> Security -> Device administrators and checking the option for Android Device Manager.
Is there a “warmer, colder” feature for walking around with one device trying to find another?