My Phone
My Phone was an online service with a companion mobile client application from Microsoft. The service, which launched on October 6, 2009, provided a free mobile phone back-up solution by wirelessly synchronizing contacts, calendar appointments, tasks, text messages, browser favorites, photos, music, video and documents with a password-protected online portal where users could access and manage their information. The service also enabled photo sharing and, in some markets, a set of features for dealing with a lost phone that were sold as a Premium Package requiring a one-time fee. My Phone supported Windows Mobile OS versions 6.0, 6.1 and 6.5 and was available globally in 25 languages. The service used Windows Live ID for authentication and the Windows Live server infrastructure for storing user information. On June 8, 2011, Microsoft announced that My Phone would be discontinued with sync from phones ending on August 7, 2011 and website access to data ending on October 6, 2011.[1] Data (contacts, calendar entries, text messages, and photos) was moved to SkyDrive (which has since been rebranded as OneDrive).
 | |
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Initial release | February 16, 2009 |
| Stable release | 01.05.2128.0401
/ October 6, 2009 |
| Operating system | Windows Mobile 6 or greater |
| Type | Internet service |
| Website | myphone |
My Phone Beta
Microsoft announced and launched the beta version of My Phone at Mobile World Congress[2] on February 16, 2009. Approximately 200,000 users in 200 countries beta tested the service scalability and features.
My Phone Free Features
The service offered the following free features:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Data Types | My Phone synchronizes contacts, calendar appointments, tasks, text messages and browser favorites. It also syncs photos, music, video, and documents stored in the My Documents folder or on a removable Storage Card. Users can select which data types they sync with the service. |
| Back-up/Restore | Data synchronized with My Phone can be restored or migrated to a 2nd device by installing the client and entering the same WLID credentials in setup. |
| Multiple Devices | My Phone supports up to 6 devices being paired to a single WLID account. Pairing multiple devices will result in the same information being synced to all connected devices. |
| Automatic Sync | Users can set My Phone to sync daily, weekly or manually. Daily sync will select a random time between 11PM and 5AM to automatically perform a wireless sync of detected changes or the user can designate a desired time. Weekly sync will automatically sync on a user designated day and time. Manual will only sync when the user opens the mobile client application and selects ‘Sync’. |
| Online Access | The My Phone portal allows users to view, add, edit, delete, sort, search, find duplicates and archive synchronized data. Contacts, calendar and tasks are added through the My Phone interface. Photos, videos and music can be uploaded from or downloaded to the PC. The archive feature allows a user to keep content on the Web portal but remove it from the phone to free up storage space. |
| Storage Limits | My Phone offers 200MB of free online storage. Individual files uploaded to the portal are limited to a maximum size of 15MB. |
| Photo Sharing | My Phone supports photo sharing and captioning from the portal and from the phone to Windows Live, Facebook, MySpace and Flickr. |
| Map Last Known Locationbeta | My Phone can provide a map of the last known location of a phone based on last sync or last photo share. The feature requires user opt-in and is not available in all markets. |
| Intelligent Sync | My Phone only syncs changes to data to minimize the bandwidth impact. The service can connect via WiFi, PC (tethered) or cellular connections. It will use whatever the device is using, generally prioritizing broadband connections over cellular. |
| Sync Conflicts | My Phone will not sync data types that are being synchronized via an Exchange Active Sync partnership. However, if a user is syncing calendar and tasks with Exchange, but not contacts, then contacts can be synced with My Phone. If My Phone detects conflicts between changes made on the phone and on the portal, the phone changes will always take precedence. |
My Phone Premium Feature Package
My Phone offers a set of premium features in the event of a lost phone. These features include:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Remote Ring | Rings the phone loudly for 60 seconds even if it is set to silent or vibrate mode. The Premium Package includes (3) rings. |
| Remote Lock | Allows users to lock a device and set a personal pin from the My Phone portal. Users can also enter an ‘if found’ message to be displayed on the locked screen. The Premium Package includes (1) lock. |
| Map Current Locationbeta | Presents the phone’s current location on a map. This feature is currently only available in the United States. Location accuracy may vary. The Premium Package includes (3) maps. |
| Remotely Erase | Erases the phone and resets it to factory default settings. The function will erase all personal data including My Phone data types, email, applications, and application data. Once executed, My Phone will no longer be able to connect to the phone, and other premium features will not work. The Premium Package includes (1) erase. |
The premium features are available to users of the free service on an as-needed basis. They are sold as a package requiring a one-time fee of $4.99 in the US. The package is meant to be activated from the My Phone portal after the phone has been lost or stolen as long as the device is turned on and has connectivity. The package includes 7-day access to (3) Ring, (3) Map, (1) Lock, and (1) Erase.
The Premium Package was initially free of charge, to trial; since December 2009 the package is supplied with one free activation to be used at any time.
The Premium Package is available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Netherlands, Greece, Poland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan.
See also
References
- "Microsoft My Phone Service Shutdown". Support. Microsoft. June 8, 2011. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011.
- "Microsoft Reveals New Windows Phones With Marketplace and My Phone Services". News Center. Microsoft. February 16, 2009.