Why Google does not integrate into the Android phone features rediscover lost?

Google is known to so many of the company's cloud services. The phone and Android tablet to be connected with a lot of services, from email, listen to music, to movies for application notes. In other words, Android users get a great synchronization experience in ecosystem built by Google. However, so far there is a feature / service cloud appeared on many other platforms that Android has not: find the missing equipment. In essence, this solution can apply Google Apps users (ie the account by enterprises, agencies, organizations and levels), and with the individual user, we have to make a third-party app developers . With a company has too much on cloud services and the ability to locate equipment, why Google has not provided this fairly basic features for users?

Users now have to "exercise self-care" when you want to use the search feature phone lost

For Google Apps users when their device is lost, they can contact the administrator to find, lock, delete, send a message or notification sound on the device. This is a set of four core features that any service provider "lost phone" always integrated its clients, and it's supposed to be present on all modern smartphones. iOS had Find My iPhone / iPad, Windows Phone also has Find My Phone, BlackBerry, the BlackBerry Protect is. What about Android? By default we have nothing.

For those who like their personal use, and you, we had to manually search for the Play Store for apps "lost phone" match. On the Android app store has a lot of software that provides this feature, from stalwarts like Lookout Security, Kaspersky, McAfee for complete strangers to the app. And to use this app, you will pay the most money. Representatives from Lookout said it had 35 million users, a huge figure not only with the business of the company, but it also shows the need for the user's Android phone with great features lost to the public.


Lookout also said that they are working with multiple carriers to find the phone to its customers. Abheek Gupta, managing the array of Android Lookout, revealed that only 30% of normal Android users find a lost machine after. But when used with solutions lookout, this figure was pushed up to 70%. In 2011, 9 million devices have been recovered.

One other security companies also provide solutions on Google Play Lost phone with software that is LSDroid Cerberus. Although not as big and famous lookout, but now the company has sold 150,000 copies to date right now, sufficiently attractive to business investment and continued operation.

Why it is not integrated into Android?

This time we were walking around the market a solution for the Android phone and lost, and now back to the main question: Why Google does not integrate it directly into the operating system? Answer first and most obvious is that "Android" is an open ecosystem and very wide. The core (kernel) of Android is Linux, and in theory, Google just added the application layer and add up. All Google services you see on Android as YouTube, Gmail, Google Play, Maps, GTalk, Google+, Calendar, People, ... are things to be added, is not the core of the operating system.

We can ask the question that there are some certain difficulties should not put new Google search feature to take on Android phone. However, firms can now locate very good Android devices and Google Maps with Latitude. One such software that Cerberus only took about three months to write the first version and now only two engineers also managed it alone (even one other person in charge of contacts with customers). Google is a huge company and tremendous resources, it would definitely be the way to overcome the technical barriers that.


You will wonder why Google is also providing the phone features rather lost, but for Google Apps users and they have to pay for Google. Maybe Google wants exclusive rights to the business that have spent money. But really, the idea of ​​earning revenue from lost phone feature does not really mean much. It is only a small part of the features of Android alone, and the company will increase the added value for our customers and it definitely lost phone feature is not a major source of revenue.

The second reason, as well as current problems with Android, which is heavily fragmented. Up to the present time, the creation of a software that can intervene in the "backbone" of the OS on different machines need a lot of time, effort and money. Abheek Gupta, head of Lookout Android Security, said that "with Android Froyo and Gingerbread, you will really have to tweak (find phone features missing) for each manufacturer, for each network interface and Government on Android ". And with Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean, "we (Lookout) can do some things that remain intact throughout the OEMs and their interface", and the important features still need to pour a lot of resources into force.

The third reason is because Google may want to leave some of the features and services that partners can provide it to the user. That will let people see that Android is actually an open ecosystem where software developers will find a happy hunting ground and to get profit. If Google itself integrated this feature into Android, then companies like Lookout, McAfee, LSDroid, Kaspersky will not be able to feature "lost phone" in the security of their stuff, which is reducing the attractiveness of with the user. Besides, when ceded to third party software developers themselves, Google will also benefit from a share of the revenue that the company's policy to extract Google Play Store.

However, despite whatever they say "lost phone" has become an indispensable part of today's smartphone world. Apple is providing this feature, BlackBerry, Microsoft, Palm even born in 2009 has the ability to delete data remotely. Whatever the reason may be what Google is to the features related to the search / delete data on lost for the third party is not a good solution in the long term. Consumers are forced to examine their own best solution, which is worth all the money and the services of most reliable one. Too tired! The shortage of lost phone "master key", plus having to spend too much effort to learn the user will forget that they need to "lost phone".

Solution for Google?

Extremely clear and simple: Google just added the ability to search the lost phone and remotely delete data on Android, like what it has to do with a series of other services such as Gmail, Maps, Latitude, ... Google has provided an extremely simple process to set up, synchronize data before starting to use an Android machine, and now the company should also have a process so easy to help users "removed up "his life out smartphone, tablet Android. It's simple, but very important.

The time of "gold" to launch Google phone features lost long gone, but its still an opportunity to publish it in the event Google I / O this took place in May. Although the probability of engine Google announced the lost phone is small but we can also expect somewhat.