Thomas Ricker reporting for Engadget:

At the heart is HTCSense.com, a series of dashboard-connected services for backup, security, and control of your HTC handset. A new locate feature triggers the handset to ring loudly (even when set to silent) while flagging its location on an online map. If the phone was lost or stolen, owners can remote lock and/or wipe the phone. Backups will automatically archive your contacts, text messages, call history, customizations and data.

So, HTC has announced a MobileMe competitor and I only have one question: Why did HTC — not Google — do this?