Android Device Manager Locates Your Lost Smartphone Remotely [UPDATE]

Google's answer to competing smart mobile brands' device location services has arisen in the form of "Android Device Manager." This system will allow you to remotely locate you device – directly ping-able with Google Maps. It also lets you set the device's Ringer off so you can find the machine easily or wipe the device if it's in a place where you've no hope of getting it back.

You'll find this service to be exceedingly similar to Apple's Find my iPhone service, this allowing you to track all of your Apple products from tablets to notebooks to the iPhone and back again. Here with Google's solution, it's Android devices that are up for grabs.

This service allows you to see the last place your Android device pinged the world wide web and can send that location to Google Maps where you'll be able to easily trace a route to it.

Android Device Manager's ability to find your lost phone or tablet will be running on Android 2.2+ devices "later this month" per Google's first announcement on it. This service looks to be working on the Nexus 4 in the first released glimpse at it, but we're sure it'll eventually be released to all devices Android 2.2 Froyo or higher down the line.

UPDATE: We'd originally published that this service would be coming to devices with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and higher – it's actually all devices with Android 2.2 Froyo and higher – that's basically every Android device running in the world today. Good news!

VIA: Google