Sprint recently announced a new Total Equipment Protection application that is very useful for smartphones if you pay for the TEP insurance plan. If you lose your phone you can locate, lock, clear and restore it all with this application. To give you peace of mind you can restore your information once you recover your handset so don’t think everything is gone forever. This is something Verizon and AT&T have already been successful with so maybe Sprint will be as well.

We haven’t found it in the market yet but you can click here and download it and then place it on your phone. Sprint says it should be showing up starting today for those who pay for TEP.

The application is free and does work with Android and Blackberry devices, again only if you pay for the $7.00 a month TEP protection.

Take a look at the Press Release below:

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The cost to replace a lost mobile device is usually the least of a wireless customer’s worries, especially if he or she is protected by Sprint’s Total Equipment Protection, which provides coverage against loss, theft and damage. The bigger nightmare is the thought that a customer’s personal contacts, photos and other private information could fall into the wrong hands. To help alleviate those fears, Sprint (NYSE: S) customers needing to track down a lost device and protect their personal information can do so now with the launch of a new application called Total Equipment Protection App.*

Sprint customers with Total Equipment Protection will be able to access the new application, beginning today, at www.sprint.com/protection, where they will benefit from the following features:

* Locate lost device by sounding an alarm on the smartphone even if in silent mode, doing a real time locate via GPS technology, or viewing the smartphone’s location history on a map via a Web Interface
* Remotely lock their smartphone
* Erase contacts in the address book on a lost smartphone
* Backup, manage and restore contacts

“Anyone who has lost a phone knows that their personal information is possibly just as vulnerable as if their computer was hacked,” said John Carney, senior vice president of consumer marketing for Sprint. “Now, Sprint customers have peace of mind knowing that their personal and private information is safe. TEP and this accompanying application is a safeguard for customers who want protection from not only loss, but misuse and unauthorized access.”

The Protection App is included at no additional charge as a benefit of Total Equipment Protection plan, which is $7 per month, per line of service. It is available to customers with phones using BlackBerry and Android mobile platforms. TEP customers download and install the user-friendly application at www.sprint.com/protection. Privacy protection is included with the Protection App. Each time the smartphone’s location is requested by the Web interface, an SMS text message is sent to the smartphone notifying it has been located.

Do you currently pay for TEP and own a smartphone? Go on and download the application and let us know what you think. Of course, we know you may not make a claim today but you can at least tell us how much you like the looks, features, etc. Are you with Verizon or AT&T and use their similar apps? Let us know! Leave your comments in the box below.

Source: Engadget via Sprint

The Leather Skins are definitely worthy of Zagg’s name (in case you didn’t know, Zagg stands for “Zealous about Great Gadgets”) and add a little extra flair to that device you carry around with you everywhere you go.  They come in this nice little envelope:

The EVO skin comes in two colors: Black and Tan as well as two different styles: Embossed and Plain. Mine is the black embossed one. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Don’t be fooled by your instincts; that CAN BE and IS real leather there. Also, it’s hand crafted. That’s pretty neat. More pictures!

The case feels really nice in your hand. It is leather, after all. It also stays attached surprisingly well for a dry application adhesive (if you’ve ever applied an Invisible Shield, you know all about wet application adhesives and how well they hold) and when you put it on there, that thing is ON THERE. The leather conforms to the curves and looks sex-tastic like it came from the factory that way.

The embossing is also a very nice and unique touch. It works really well with the overall look of the skin.

You’ll notice in the above picture that I look at LEAST 30% cooler when answering my phone at the restaurant in the middle of our date. That’s quite a significant improvement! You can pick up your very own Zagg Leather Skin from Zagg’s website. You can also get the combo Leather Skin/Screen Shield for a bit of a discount if you, for some reason, aren’t already using one of the two. If I were you, I’d get one. But I’m not you. I’m me, and I already have one.