Google's Android Device Manager helps find your lost phone

(Credit: Google)

Google has probably, without your knowledge, sideloaded the Android Device Manager onto your Android phone by now. This applies to almost anyone who owns an Android phone -- any handset running at least Android 2.2 and has Google Play installed will get it. The announcement was made on Android official blog here.

To activate it, go to Settings > Security > Device Administrators and tick Android Device Manager, allowing it to do anything it wants. You can then, from any Web browser, locate your phone via the Web interface. Other features include being able to ring your phone at maximum volume when you've misplaced it, but know it's near, or erase your phone if you've lost all hope of recovering it.

This sure helps if you've lost your phone, or worse, if it was stolen. You could potentially get close to the phone using the locate feature, sound the alarm and get ready to chase down the thief. If he runs too fast for you, just erase the device completely to keep your data safe.

With Android Device Manager, Google gave basic functionality -- a lot like Apple's Find My iPhone available for iOS devices. If you need more, you can always check out Android Lost, the incumbent king of remote phone location and destruction, allowing various levels of device access and control.

With his grandpa building a tapioca processing plant from scratch, and his dad a spook Engineer, even Michael Tan's formal title as General Legal counsel for his company (tech product distributor Convergent) can't overcome his genetic predeposition for tech. Through the years, his mere presence would make tech work--Apple II copy programs would just manage to make the one and only workable copy, QEMM386.SYS would yield that final 3KB needed for Wing Commander and that sticky Fujifilm X100 shutter would affect everyone but him. Leading a technically charmed life, it's no wonder he goes through life with rose tinted glasses when tech is concerned. It just works for him. He is a member of CNET Asia's regional blogger network and is not an employee of CNET Asia.

With his grandpa building a tapioca processing plant from scratch, and his dad a spook Engineer, even Michael Tan's formal title as General Legal counsel for his company (tech product distributor Convergent) can't overcome his genetic predeposition for tech. Through the years, his mere presence would make tech work--Apple II copy programs would just manage to make the one and only workable copy, QEMM386.SYS would yield that final 3KB needed for Wing Commander and that sticky Fujifilm X100 shutter would affect everyone but him. Leading a technically charmed life, it's no wonder he goes through life with rose tinted glasses when tech is concerned. It just works for him. He is a member of CNET Asia's regional blogger network and is not an employee of CNET Asia.