Just a week after taking the wraps off of Android 4.3 and the new Nexus 7, Google has some more exciting news for Android users. The company today announced that its new Android Device Manager will launch later this month to help owners of hardware running Android 2.2 or higher to locate their mobile devices and protect the precious data that's stored on them.
The Android Device Manager features the ability to ring a lost phone at its maximum volume, even if the device is on silent. If the user isn't close enough to hear the ringing, the phone or tablet can also be located on a map. If a device can't be found or has been stolen, users will also have the option of securely wiping all of the information that's stored on the missing hardware.
Once the Android Device Manager begins rolling out, users will need to be signed in to their Google account to utilize the tool. There's also a dedicated Android Device Manager app on the way that will allow users to find and manage their devices, but Google hasn't given an ETA for it.
We've seen tools similar to the Android Device Manager on other platforms and in other Android apps, but it's good to see Google finally coming forward with its own official service. More and more people are buying smartphones and storing their personal data on them, and because they're small devices that can also be pretty expensive, the hardware can easily be lost or become the target of a theft. Soon Android users will have a Google-powered tool to use in both situations, and the good news is that because it supports Android 2.2 and up, the vast majority of Android folk should be able to use it.