Wife lost her phone, sort of

[masraum]

My wife went to the grocery store, and apparently left her phone, one of the Android Google phones, in the shopping cart. She went to the store, and they said that they didn't have it. We asked a couple of kids who were working the lot and they said they hadn't seen it.

She has a GPS in the phone, and I have an app that I can enable via a text message, so I did. It shows that the phone is in a car, but it's not really exact enough to say which car. We're hoping that they don't turn it off when they drive off, then we'll track them to their house.

Here's a shot of the GPS location from my wifes phone


And here's a shot of when we went to the Kroger to try to find it.
I think it was in a little red ranger, or in a TransAm parked right next to where we parked.

[porsche4life]

Look at you being all super sleuth!

[Eric Coffey]

That would be priceless: knock, knock - who's there? - they guy who's phone you stole.

If you don't recover it, at least report it lost/stolen so it can't be used again.

[sc_rufctr]

Damn clever. I can see how such a feature would be useful.
However I'm not sure it will help you get your wife's phone back.

You would have to confront the thief/finder (whatever they are)... Maybe not the best idea.

[lendaddy]

So call it while you're standing next to the car and see if it rings.

[red-beard]

This is Texas. He can take a gun with him.

[masraum]

Well, good news and bad news. I decided to go back to the store with the photos printed out. There's a garbage can in the same area, I'd called and listened in the can the first time we went out, but I guess there was too much ambient noise. When I went back, I did in fact hear the phone. It was in the garbage. It had been run over. The screen is very broken, the GPS still works and the phone was ringing. The case is partially damaged. I can get a case for $18 on ebay and a screen for $40. If not, I may steal the keyboard out of her phone to put in mine. The keyboard on my phone is silver, when the backlight is on in certain lighting conditions at certain angles, I can't see the keys (but I mostly use the on screen keyboard anyway.

I want to get her another phone, but she refused to spend the $330 for another comparable phone, and refused to sign up for a 2 year contract which would knock the phone down to $160.

She always complains when I keep an old phone laying around. Now she's not complaining.

I guess I could check craigslist for a used phone and surprise her.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by masraum

Well, good news and bad news. I decided to go back to the store with the photos printed out. There's a garbage can in the same area, I'd called and listened in the can the first time we went out, but I guess there was too much ambient noise. When I went back, I did in fact hear the phone. It was in the garbage. It had been run over. The screen is very broken, the GPS still works and the phone was ringing. The case is partially damaged. I can get a case for $18 on ebay and a screen for $40. If not, I may steal the keyboard out of her phone to put in mine. The keyboard on my phone is silver, when the backlight is on in certain lighting conditions at certain angles, I can't see the keys (but I mostly use the on screen keyboard anyway.

I want to get her another phone, but she refused to spend the $330 for another comparable phone, and refused to sign up for a 2 year contract which would knock the phone down to $160.

She always complains when I keep an old phone laying around. Now she's not complaining.

I guess I could check craigslist for a used phone and surprise her.

What network. Have a really nice unlocked Nokia E62.

[legion]

Bet some employees had some fun after you left....

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

What network. Have a really nice unlocked Nokia E62.

T-Mobile, which I think uses the same stuff as AT&T if it's unlocked.

Right now I'm checking on a G1 on Craigslist for $100. Wife says that's the max she'll go for another, and it's on my side of town and was listed today. I'll try to grab it if it's still available.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by masraum

T-Mobile, which I think uses the same stuff as AT&T if it's unlocked.

Right now I'm checking on a G1 on Craigslist for $100. Wife says that's the max she'll go for another, and it's on my side of town and was listed today. I'll try to grab it if it's still available.

Not exactly true. The 3G network frequencies are different. An AT&T phone will work only at 2G speeds (GSM) on T-Mobile.

[Schumi]

I've carried a cell phone daily since the year 2000. I got a Motorola RAZR when they came out, had a RAZR model ever since, and it's still one of the smallest phones on the market. Yet I've never lost one. 10 years, never lost a phone.

I know people who lose their big-assed iPhones 3-4 times a year. I refuse to accept that as acceptable human behavior.

The GPS locator on your wife's phone sure is neat however.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Schumi

I've carried a cell phone daily since the year 2000. I got a Motorola RAZR when they came out, had a RAZR model ever since, and it's still one of the smallest phones on the market. Yet I've never lost one. 10 years, never lost a phone.

I know people who lose their big-assed iPhones 3-4 times a year. I refuse to accept that as acceptable human behavior.

The GPS locator on your wife's phone sure is neat however.

My wife has been super stressed lately, when she's super stressed, her focus narrows and goes inward. In this situation, superman could stop a train from barreling through the parking lot that she's standing in and she might not notice.

I've never lost a phone. I've come close a couple of times. I've dropped my phone in water a couple of times, but managed to bring them back. Except for this time, I think this is the first time that she's lost one (though she was close a couple of times). She did once spill tea in her phone and kill it during a 9hour trip back from my mothers.

[rnln]

well, the guy in the car who got the phone might not really stole the phone as someone above thought. He might think he keep the phone until someone call to look for the phone or a friend who know to whom the phone belong to. Or maybe he thought he picked the damage phone and see if he can fix it himself.
I picked up cell phones more than once and twice I could be able to return them to the real owner when they call. Once, I called the number on the phone to return it to the owner.

[GH85Carrera]

The guy I work with rescued a phone from the street last year. When he got back to the office we looked at the phone list and saw "dad" so we called dad. We told him the phone was here and available during regular business hours. He actually asked if we could bring it to him. Son and dad showed up here a few hours later. They said thank you several times and were off.

I have seen a few phones that were flattened in the middle of an intersection. At least she did not have a bad guy get your wife's phone and rack up calls to Afganastan.

[red-beard]

We found an iPhone on the side of the road while on a bike ride. We called "dad" and he contacted his son. The kid left the phone on top of his car at a gas station.

[GH85Carrera]

A proverbial friend of a friend found an iPhone in a parking lot. Before he could even look up a phone number on it, it rang and the owner started cussing him out about stealing the phone. The owner was cussing and threatening the FOF. He just turned it off. He had planned to drop it at the police station just a block away but the owner made him so mad he just turned it off. Now he plans to just use it for parts if his iPhone ever gets a cracked screen or needs a new battery. That is not what I would do but I don’t even know the guy that found the phone.

[Joeaksa]

Neat function on the phone!

[Talewinds]

So what is this phone-finder app called?

[Gogar]

I too
found a phone once and called "dad." nice guy. When "son" came to pick up the phone, I suggested his screen saver pic should probably not have been "sons" name spelled in blow on a big
glass coffee table. Idiot.