AT&T Rolls Out FamilyMap iPhone Application

[Arran]

Yeah, well kids have tried that. The answer is basically, if you don't answer your phone in x minutes, you're grounded. And get a mobileme acct instead of this crap and double check they're where they say when they say it.

Mine would probably cook up an excuse like: "no coverage", "battery died" , "ringer was off for school and I forgot to turn it back on". Something like that. We'd argue back and forth and I'd probably lose. Kids have immense reserves of energy when it comes to that.

But anyway, I'm not sure I'd use this tracking service even if it was free. It destroys trust - and it's a poor substitute for real communication.

 

[libertyforall]

YAWN, how about TETHERING instead?!

 

[bks691]

NO KIDDING! Even if the other carrier sucks more, I can't wait to switch. But how 'could' it suck more?

For instance if the iPhone went to verizon (which it never will for these reasons for starters) there would be no WiFi, GPS, a gig a verizon bloatware, slooow network speeds, and you would be getting a hell of alot less for more money. I could keep going but I think you understand now.

 

[yukio]

i love how the accuracy in the example is "somewhere within 1.5 mile circle."

 

[macFanDave]

The Devil made me do it

Wow, I'll get my girlfriend to pay for this! We'll be able to track my wife's location and she'll know exactly when she has to get the hell out.

Now that this technology is available, I need to go find a girlfriend!

I'm glad I am signed up with the Scarlet A . . . AT&T, that is

 

[HitchHykr]

You can just use Loopt, for free. Way to go AT&T, charging for what I can get elsewhere for free.

Wouldn't you have to have Loopt running for your phone to get tracked? I would assume that this AT&Ts App could track your phone based on the cell towers, so it's not quite the same service.

 

[mrwr]

That relocate button looks fun though. Wonder if they have a big hand that comes down from the sky or they're using some hidden ultra strong magnets in the iPhone?

Maybe it won't work till OS 4.0 and it'll harness the power of the Steve Jobs reality distortion field?

 

[SFStateStudent]

Dumbest FREE app I've ever seen; rope-a-dope to pay to locate your FAMILY...

No problem deleting this piece of crap app from the thieves at AT&T...(tried to give NO STARS, but I had to give ONE STAR b/c it's a piece of crap)

 

[DaveGee]

Wow, I'll get my girlfriend to pay for this! We'll be able to track my wife's location and she'll know exactly when she has to get the hell out. Now that this technology is available, I need to go find a girlfriend! I'm glad I am signed up with the Scarlet A . . . AT&T, that is

You mean you're married and STILL want to get involved with yet another woman?!?! You must be a newlywed... Nothing else could possibly explain this outlandish mindset!

 

[DaveGee]

Dumbest FREE app I've ever seen; rope-a-dope to pay to locate your FAMILY... No problem deleting this piece of crap app from the thieves at AT&T...(tried to give NO STARS, but I had to give ONE STAR b/c it's a piece of crap)

I concur, AT&T has clearly learned nothing from the iTunes App store!

Micro payments are far more acceptable to the majority of the public at large. Had they priced this at $2.99 - $4.99 (max) a month droves of families would activate it without even thinking twice. $14.99 a month?!?! Really?!?! Do they even think about what the public at large would pay prior to developing a service.

@ 14.99 I can only imagine 90%+ family plan subscribers would pass on this service. Perhaps even 95%+.

..or.. I could even see the possibility of a $9.99 per month fee that would enable a SUITE of different services that were previously unavailable but $14.99 just for a one-trick-pony .. Nah... I don't see it...

 

[macFanDave]

You mean you're married and STILL want to get involved with yet another woman?!?! You must be a newlywed... Nothing else could possibly explain this outlandish mindset!

No, I'm an oldly-wed. I really like women except when it comes to contractual agreements. That's the mistake I'll fix next time!

 

[Edmar]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Can you do this with Google Latitude?

 

[SFStateStudent]

I concur, AT&T has clearly learned nothing from the iTunes App store!

Totally agree, I would have bought the app for that price...

 

[macswitcha2]

AT&T must be smoking crack if they want people to spend $10 a month for that!

 

[ThunderSkunk]

(1) there would be no WiFi, (2) GPS, (3) a gig a verizon bloatware, (4) slooow network speeds, and (5)you would be getting a hell of alot less for more money.

Ok.

1. There's no wifi when I'm out & about talking on a cellphone. Downloading an email while I'm talking on the cell network? No, AT&T is right, verizon can't do that, but guess what, in the few years I've had an iphone, AT&T hasn't been able to either.

2. That super handy GPS that traces your little blue dot out into mapless space as soon as you get out of town, and cell reception fades? Like, where you'd actually need GPS? What a loss.

3. Do you really think Apple would allow Verizon to pile a gig of its own bloatware on the iPhone?

4. Slower than the Edge network we're on 90% of the time anyway? Actually, by pulling over a considerable amount of potential customers from AT&T, AT&Ts network would improve... wait, make that, get worse slightly more slowly. & Apple would likely require V to meet capacity requirements with system upgrades to ensure a quality experience, having learned the hard way from AT&T, that cell companies here will do as little as technically possible in terms of actually providing the services people are paying for.

5. Getting a hell of lot less what? Frankly, I could use a plan that gave me less. A $15 a month data plan and $15 a month of minutes at their going rate would be more than plenty.

 

[jav6454]

Another price rip-off.

Instead of bitching off, how about actually looking for a service that does what you need it to when it comes to location services?

Att are ******* for charging for this. I am all for capitalism, but this is just crap. This simple feature adds another layer of safety for parents looking out for their children. The number of people who actually use it, the small revenue stream it generates,a nod the fact that we already pay for unlimited data and have gps units on our phones means that there is no reason, no justifiable reason for this extra charge to be had.

**** you ATT. I can't wait for other carriers to get the iPhone.

You want this service free? Apple sells MobileMe and that carries a similar approach. You don't bitch about that don't you? There are other methods, some of them free, no need to yap and yap negatively about something you ain't getting.

Too expensive. Would've been cool though.

Cool it is, expensive depends on the person. If dad and mom are already spending $$ so that Dan and Jane have their iPhones, $14.99 seems a bit cheap for them at this point.

You can just use Loopt, for free. Way to go AT&T, charging for what I can get elsewhere for free.

A good thought. People should learn to think like this. If it's expensive, let's look elsewhere.

should be a free service.

Sorry, but other companies charge? Why would you get it free? Also, see above.

I agree--talk about nickel and dime to death--that seems to be all we get from service providers.

All carriers including Verizon nickel and dime you; hell all corporations do.

YAWN, how about TETHERING instead?!

Ahhh, yes, I would have wished this were the case.

 

[Icestorm815]

I think it's great that they released the app. Its an free extension of a service that they already offer. It's similar in respect to apple's mobile me gallery and mobile me idisk application.
While I personally wouldn't be interested in the service, I can see its potential benefits. I don't have any children, but I can picture 10 dollars a month being a small price to pay if it gives you piece of mind. Nothing would be worse than knowing you child may have been abducted and you have no idea where he or she may be.

 

[coolbreeze]

Doesn't google latitude do this for free?

 

[mattwolfmatt]

You can't use that feature via an iPhone.

Oh, and it requires a Mobile me account as well.

You're right, the mobilme ripoff: $120 a year for a family pack (includes idisk, wireless syncing on all devices, etc). This is way cheaper: just $15 a month.

Someone else made a good point: if you can afford to give your kids iphones, wow. That's something.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Instead of bitching off, how about actually looking for a service that does what you need it to when it comes to location services?



You want this service free? Apple sells MobileMe and that carries a similar approach. You don't bitch about that don't you? There are other methods, some of them free, no need to yap and yap negatively about something you ain't getting.



Cool it is, expensive depends on the person. If dad and mom are already spending $$ so that Dan and Jane have their iPhones, $14.99 seems a bit cheap for them at this point.



A good thought. People should learn to think like this. If it's expensive, let's look elsewhere.



Sorry, but other companies charge? Why would you get it free? Also, see above.



All carriers including Verizon nickel and dime you; hell all corporations do.



Ahhh, yes, I would have wished this were the case.

You work for AT&T? You sure are defensive about this.

 

[Saladinos]

Why don't we just implant our kids with tracking devices? Why stop at the kids? Perhaps the state should implant all of us! It amazes me to see people embrace ideas like this with absolutely no concern for the long-term ramifications. I guess "privacy" and "individuality" are outdated concepts in the tech slave age. Today, FamilyMap. Tomorrow, well, I shudder to think.

Yea, and I suppose all those parents who've had their kids abducted are just whingers, right? These sorts of tools are useful if a kid manages to hide their phone. It's not just about cramping their style - it's about their safety. No matter how much they don't like it, they're a vulnerable section of society.

And, actually, it is about cramping their style a bit. Kids are stupid and easily influenced. Pretty much the whole western world has a problem with teenage pregnancies and binge drinking, for example (to varying degrees, obviously).

Long-term ramifications shouldn't be too bad. Ask anyone above 30 how hard their dad used to beat them, and how many kids in their school had kids while still in school.

 

[JMax1]

Couple thoughts-

-You could just "not tell" your kids you have bought this service, to avoid them from leaving their phone someplace or turning it off to avoid telling you where they are.

-You could just call them to find out where they are.

-If they lie, they shouldn't have a phone (or pay for it themselves).

-It is kind of a rip-off. But it's just another service, so of course they should charge for it. $15/month for up to 5 phones. That's about 10cents a day per phone. Seems like it MIGHT be worth it for that.

 

[3goldens]

waste of time and money, who cares where these people are...

do you have know ever fraking minute where your, wife, kid or husband's are.....

well on the other hand, if your Hillary Clinton, or Elizabeth Edwards you might!

 

[dfeigenbaum1]

Rip-off

Another ATT Rip-off

 

[felipestrong]

You're right, the mobilme ripoff: $120 a year for a family pack (includes idisk, wireless syncing on all devices, etc). This is way cheaper: just $15 a month.

Someone else made a good point: if you can afford to give your kids iphones, wow. That's something.

Ummm, you do realize that $120 a year translates into $10 a month, which is less than AT&T's $15 a month???

$15 a month = $180 a year.