Often the most inconvenient thing about losing a mobile phone isn’t the temporary inability to make or take calls but the loss of valuable contacts and numbers that have been built up over months and years. A new service takes this potential headache away.
The Dublin-based company SIMchronise, which specialises in synchronisation technology, has launched a facility called Phonebackup.ie for letting mobile phone users back up data on the handset to a secure server. If they lose their phone they can then download this information back to another device easily.
All of the person’s contact information is stored in a private secure online area. The user can then retrieve some or all of the saved contacts at any time and from virtually anywhere in the world. SIMchronise claims the service is completely wireless and requires no additional devices or software programs, no cables, Bluetooth or infrared.
Developed using SyncML synchronisation technology, Phonebackup.ie dovetails the numbers on a customer’s phone with those stored in their secure online account, ensuring that they are never lost. The data can only be accessed by entering a password and the information is kept in encrypted form.
According to SIMchronise, more than 2,000 mobile phones go missing or are stolen in Ireland each week. The service is free until the end of August and will be available on an annual subscription of €17.99 after that. More details are available at www.phonebackup.ie.
By Gordon Smith