Editor's Note: Product not yet tested. The following description is from the manufacturer.

Symantec today announced version 1.5 of Norton Mobile Security for Android. This beta adds several new features. According to Dave Cole, Senior Director Product Management, it's very close to final.

The product's anti-theft feature already included the ability to lock a lost or stolen phone by texting "lock" followed by your password. For an unrecoverable phone, texting "wipe" followed by the password wipes out all data. And the SIM card lock feature prevents repurposing of a stolen phone by requiring a password before allowing a SIM card change. New in version 1.5 is the remote locate feature. Text "locate" followed by your password and the phone will respond with its current coordinates as well as a link to those coordinates in Google maps.

While Android-based malware isn't nearly as common as malware aimed at PCs, the threat does exist. Norton Mobile Security continues to offer scheduled and on-demand scanning as well as automatic scanning of new and updated applications. New in this edition, it can automatically scan SD cards on insertion.

The product continues to offer blocking of calls or texts from specific numbers, with the ability to add to the block list directly from the call or SMS log. It now has the ability to recognize specific Android 2.0 WiFi tablets. It will display correctly at tablet resolutions and automatically switch to tablet mode.

According to Cole the beta versions thus far have been downloaded 160,000 times with no marketing from Symantec. Beta 1.5 is available as a free 30-day trial from the Android Marketplace. The final version, expected soon, will be available in the same way for a price yet to be determined.

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