TekTrak Pro Review

$4.99 seems to be the default tipping point for iPhone app purchases. If it's a really good app, most will spring for it, but others may still hold back hoping for a price drop or other adjustment.

Trust me on this: TekTrak Pro is worth every penny of its $4.99 price tag, and if you're not a MobileMe subscriber, you need to download it now.

TekTrak Pro has a single purpose: to track your iPhone wherever it may be - lost, stolen or otherwise. It features a simple interface and is easy to manipulate and adjust to your preferences. All you have to do is install the app, sign up for an account at www.tektrak.com (which you can do within the app itself), then decide how often you want to have your iPhone send its location to the TekTrak servers. You can choose to turn on livetrack which will constantly track your phone's position, but this is a way to quickly drain your battery. Instead, the folks at TekTrak suggest you turn on the check-in function, then set your phone to check in at anywhere from every ten minutes to every sixty minutes. Then all you have to do is keep the app running in the background and it will monitor your location and even allow you to remote ring your phone if you know it has to be somewhere nearby.

Once you discover your iPhone is lost, you simply have to login to the TekTrak website to locate your phone. From the web you can turn on the livetrack function so you can follow your phone in real time, instead of, for example, your pre-set check-ins every 30 minutes. Also, if you reboot your phone, it's a relief to know that TekTrak will load in the background automatically and immediately sync your phone's location with the TekTrak servers.

As to using TekTrak Pro to replace Apple's "Find My iPhone" app, there's a definite trade-off between functionality and price. TekTrak Pro is currently $4.99 for a lifetime use agreement - no subscription required - but it lacks several features available via Apple's service, the most notable of which is the ability to remotely wipe your iPhone of all data if it is stolen. And, of course, Apple's service comes bundled with the entire MobileMe suite of applications and features, so you are getting much more than iPhone tracking for $99.

But....if you want a quick, easy and very inexpensive way to keep tabs on your iPhone no matter where you are or where your phone may be, the TekTrak app and service is hard to beat.