We don’t know about you, but we lose our iPhones on the regular. They’re usually found in stupid places like between the couch cushions or in a jacket pocket. Activating the “Find my iPhone” feature to locate your smartphone is definitely helpful, but no fun. The $1 Marco Polo app lets you find a lost phone in a far more fun way: by shouting “Marco” and waiting for your phone to answer with “Polo!” Even if your phone is on silent or in sleep mode, the app will guide you to it just like the classic swimming pool game…except your phone won’t try to cheat by hiding on the other side of the deep end rope.
According to a review at TUAW, the app works up to a couple of rooms away, with varying success based on ambient noise and physical barriers. If you know your phone is in your house but aren’t sure where, you can walk around shouting “Marco” and listening for the phone to respond. Although the phone will always say “Polo” in response, you can customize your end of the communication by setting a different activation word. You can customize the voice, though, and you can also set the app to respond at full volume even if your iPhone’s volume setting is at the lowest level. Of course, if you really can’t find your phone and your game of “Appleseed Polo” isn’t helping, you can still turn to Find My iPhone to, well, find your iPhone.