While there are literally a hundred different new features packed into the iPhone 3.0 OS that’s due to hit market in a few months’ time, the discovery of a new iPhone-tracking feature comes as a genuine surprise. iPhone developers have apparently been teasing apart the developer release of the iPhone OS 3.0 beta, and have uncovered the “Find My iPhone” feature lurking within. Perhaps, given that the iPhone can already track your location via cell-tower triangulation or GPS, it should come as a logical next step to offer location-tracking in the event of loss or theft.
The Find My iPhone security feature is reportedly linked to MobileMe subscription services. MobileMe users will find that iPhone 3.0 OS allows them to not only synchronize iPhone data like email, calendars and contacts, but it will also allow the user to get real-time information on their iPhone’s location using tower triangulation or GPS location data. The service offers both value, in that the Find My iPhone service can help you recover a lost iPhone, and security, since only the MobileMe subscriber linked to the iPhone can track the iPhone’s location.
MobileMe does not, as of yet, show any hint of supporting the Find My iPhone feature. But, the iPhone OS 3.0 is still in its development cycle, so we’re likely going to have to wait until the next-generation iPhone OS hits market with all that cut/paste, MMS and stereo Bluetooth goodness before putting the Find My iPhone service through its paces.
[Via: AppleInsider]