Also known as "Snitching" applications, that simply log and report the whereabouts of an object (like smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc.).
Why kernel-level?
Because a lot of these devices have a "Return to factory default" option, which simply removes the Snitch.
Why this thread?
My HP iPaq 914c got stolen almost a year ago.
It was a bloody violent mess, but I guess I shouldn't have been wandering around the Dutch semi-ghetto "the Bijlmer" at night.
Anyway, I was running a location logger on that phone, but somehow the dude who robbed me managed to turn it off. Later on, I discovered that he simply reset the phone and thus removed the application.
What exactly is your question?
Now it's quite hard to develop kernel patches for windows mobile phones, but is this the case for android too? And will it stay if it gets hard-reset? Are these hardware resources available without an application-level?
What's your plan?
The idea is to run a "Snitch-app" at kernel-level. It checks wether it has to report anything by contacting a server, and if so, reports it's gps+location and silently takes a photograph of whoever holds the phone. If there's no data-contract available it simply messages this data to a GPRS-modem.