What Is FindMe?

FindMe is a new location sharing application from the folks at Electric Pocket. The idea behind FindMe is really simple: let friends stay connected with a smartphone and Facebook without using GPS data.

What Does FindMe Do?

So how does this differ from a standard location sharing program? For starters, the system does not depend on GPS coordinates. That means you don’t have to worry about Big Brother (or anybody else) knowing exactly where you are within +/- 2 meters and maybe waking up in a dried up well with a bottle of skin lotion. Mmm, skin lotion.

The FindMe system only shares as much location data as you feel comfortable revealing on Facebook. Here’s how it works: Pop in your favorite bar, coffee shop, or other hang-out into the FindMe system on your smartphone and then post the location on your Facebook account. FindMe uses the information gathered from nearby cell phone towers to figure out if you are in or near one of your tagged locations. If you are, the FindMe app on your Facebook account displays your current location.

If you haven’t defined a location on Facebook, your position will be displayed as “Unknown,” although you can re-name this: out to lunch, in shock therapy, etc. If you really, really don’t want people in your Facebook network to know where you are, the FindMe application has a “Go Dark” feature that disables location updates. When you go dark, only your last known location is displayed. Very handy for a day of dodging work at the local microbrewery.

What Does FindMe Work With?

Currently, FindMe is available for all BlackBerry Smartphones with trackballs, including 81xx series (Pearl), 83xx series (Curve) and the 88xx series, plus all GSM Windows Mobile phones.

Where Can I Get FindMe?

Check out the FindMe at Electric Pocket’s website.

Okay, I don’t know about other users of a mobile phone, but I have been waiting for a way to bookmark and optimize content on mobile devices for awhile. Think its impossible? PhoneFavs, a new mobile web portal from MobileInfocenter, is the first social bookmarking system to deliver mobile-friendly performance, and you can get it free.

PhoneFavs gives you a simple way to store and share your bookmarks, no matter if you’re on a desktop or texting away in a hotel lobby. Sure, there are a number of social bookmarking systems out there, but so far, none of them has been optimized from the ground up for use with mobile devices.

Using PhoneFavs is pretty straightforward. Find a cool site on your desktop and mark it using the PhoneFavs toolbar buttons. You can also add tags, titles and other social bookmarking markers if needed. Once you sync your mobile with your computer, you have the bookmark-tags and all-to go. And, yes, you can mark stuff on your mobile and sync it to your desktop, too.

Users of a mobile phone will also like the mobile optimization features of the bookmarks. On your mobile device, the PhoneFavs bookmark opens up a webpage that is automatically stripped-down for easy display. No plug-ins needed. The PhoneFavs site also has links to most of the major mobile web portals, including Google, Yahoo! and MSN.

Best of all, the PhoneFavs social bookmarking system is free for use on your mobile. Give it a try.

MySpace, Facebook, Pandora. Between these and the couple of professional social sites, blogspots, PayPal, and the half a dozen or so gaming and music sites that I have active accounts with, I have a good-sized chunk of username and password data scattered around my office, mostly scribbled on the backs of receipts. Not very convenient and definitely not very secure.

Made by the guys at SplashData, SplashID 4 is password management software that turns the PDA of your choice into a portable safe of confidential information. Beyond that, The SplashID 4 password manager also helps you choose passwords for better security, defeat phishing and in general, be safer on the Internet.

The security for the portable password manager is darn good. 256-bit Blowfish encryption keeps data safe and cozy without bogging down a handheld. I can protect just about any type of information with the password management software: usernames and passwords, bank account info, even prescription information. The password manager makes finding the right password pretty simple, too. Splash ID 4 has a Lookup feature that delivers the info as you type.

The SplashID 4 PDA password manager has a sharp set of high resolution icons, so finding what you need is very easy. One new feature for this version of the portable password manager is Web Auto Fill, which prevents keyword loggers from getting username and password information. Other new stuff for the PDA password manager include secure file sharing with other SplashID 4 users, synchronization options with other SplashID databases and a password strength meter to help you beef up your Internet security.

If you want to see what else the SplashID 4 password manager for Pocket PC can do, check out the 30-day free trial at SplashData.