Hello,

Does anybody know this app: Bike anti-theft

What do you think?

Reported for potential spam. I'm not clicking on a link in a newbie's first post!

It's cute, but it needs not only an "old" android phone, but also one that's still activated. The phone has to be charged, it has to be left in a place where there's cell signal and the thief has to not notice it.

spammer ... please die in a grease fire!

It's a neat idea, but wouldn't you have to keep a data plan on that phone? And you would still have to charge the phone pretty often if the gps is always running

Yes, I have an old htc wildfire with the broken glass and I have a couple of ideas on where to hide it.
What do you mean by "one that's still activated."?

I don't think the gps is always running and it doesn't say anything about dataconnection.
The fact is i've lost already 2 bikes this year. I'd like to keep my new bike for a while... :-(

You don't have to click. A simple "I don't know it" is enough.
Thanks for the welcome!

It requires you to have a phone dedicated to the bike? That would be pretty expensive, wouldn't it

Actually I have already an htc wildfire with the broken glass. I had to buy a new one because repairing it was too expensive.

FWIW, anywhere outside of the US/Canada, the phone wouldn't need to "be activated" and a "monthly data plan" wouldn't be needed.

One could just drop in a prepaid SIM and incur a tiny data fee (less than 1€/month most likely.)

Indeed I can use a prepaid SIM and as far as I understand I don't even need a data plan. I just need 10 cents in case I'll need to send the GPS position with an sms.

last time I checked, last week, in fact, no prepaid SIM options existed in the US, which is pretty ridiculous, if you ask me.

Luckily I live in Europe :-)

I think T-Mobile and AT&T both have prepaid plans. T-Mobile used to have pay $100 and get 1000 minutes that last 1 year. I haven't looked at what either does recently for data.

no ****, i just wanted a US SIM card that I could use when I returned home every now and then, with a US number, so people wouldn't struggle any longer with the +49 or +46 prefix.

That's not a prepaid SIM that you can drop into and/or move between devices (surfstick/iPad/iPhone/4G laptop).

Now I understand why you said "activate a phone". Do you guys pay for using a mobile in US?

This is. And they've had it for quite a while.

Have to pay for incoming SMS and minutes expire after a year. Those are deal-breakers. Also, not sure it if would work on non-phone devices. A stopgap at best.

If your Android fires RPGs,. your government will order thousands, for Robotic revolt suppression,
and invasions.

Ok, back to the main topic.
So nobody has tired Bike anti-theft.

Have you tried any other app? What was your experience?

I just downloaded it. I'll try it out and let you know.

1) You always have to pay for incoming SMS in the US. That's just how it is, you won't find any cell service that offers it for free. If you don't want spam SMS, you can call them to have them disable it completely.

2) Once you have put in $100 worth of phone cards, you become a gold member. Once a gold member, any phone cards you put in, even the $10 one will roll over your account for another year remaining minutes and all. $10/year to keep a phone number is not bad.

3) What is a non-phone device that would send texts and talk?

Yes. Just about every 'smart phone' on the market, regardless of the brand or operating system, requires a data plan on top of basic voice service. That's why I use my laptop for VoiP and texting as much as possible and save the airtime on my Tracfone.