So even though iOS has the most robust find my phone/locking/wiping functionality (that isn't even built in to Android) it's Apple who "isn't doing enough" to prevent phone thefts. The funny thing is these people don't have the imagination to suggest a single thing Apple COULD do more than they're doing, except bitch and whine. Should the phone magically guess it's been stolen/lost, and fly back to it's owner?
People can show what they want, it's not their fault. Those f*cking animals that rube people are the ones with 100% fault. All of them should be murdered. End.
You're right. People can do whatever they want. They also should accept the responsibility of what their actions (or lack of actions) bring to their situations. Yes, the robbers are 100% at fault, yet giving them an easy opportunity because one was zoned-out, listening to/talking on their phone with zero regard to their environment is asking for trouble.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
Car companies are doing a lot. Educate yourself. (Also, read the NYT article). Moreover, taking out an iPhone to make a call or watch a video or listen to a song or surf the web is not "flashing a pricey product in public." Do you use yours only in private?
Apple has dropped the ball on this. That is simply a fact. Don't get so defensive.
Hey, I do educate myself. I read the article before I posted. Lighten up. The Honda analogy was playful banter meant to make a point.
The woman in the article, Rose Cha had her iPhone stolen THREE TIMES. At what point does this woman stop to think for a moment that she needs to change something about her behavior that makes her a magnet for getting mugged?
When I'm taking the subway, or out in public I take steps to avoid being put in a situation that someone feels they can rob me. Granted, I'm a big, athletic guy that most folks would rather not mess with so I don't think I'm necessarily in that group of concern. I've never had my iPhone stolen. I rarely use it in public to watch a movie, and if I have to use it in public I normally stop somewhere semi-private and use it while watching what goes on around me. I've had questionable people look at me those few times that made me wonder, to which I end my call or give them a look and place it back inside my zippered pocket of my armored motorcycle jacket. One thing I don't do is walk around using it and being zoned-out. That sets me up as a victim.
Contrary to what you say, taking out an iPhone in public IS flashing a pricey product. That is simply a fact. You don't want to do that then buy an Android phone.
I hope the telco's and manufacturers do more to discourage phone thefts. Everyone benefits. People like Rose Cha simply shows that it doesn't matter how much security a product has, there will always be ignorant people like her that will make her an easy target.
I have one simple thing which might reduce thefts. While I understand the marketing strategy of using the white earbuds with apple devices, it is a sign to criminals that you have an expensive phone. They could still include the white earbuds with iphones but they should offer apple matte black earbuds for sale, or give you an option when you buy. I know there are 3rd party earbuds in black, but apple should offer that option. Of course they should use other technological deterrents but the earbud color would be a small start.
People used to carry cash in their pockets, and that is what the thieves stole from you. I dont' think anyone ever blamed the monetary system for being responsible.
NYT: Oh, sorry, I couldn't hear you. I was busy flipping through these stacks of money we recently received.
Exactly my thinking. Rupert called his mole over there and said "show us so more Apple hate boy" -- a former WSJ writer. This is the lamest article yet. Here is L.A. it's been common knowledge iPhone is the device to steal. Armed robberies galore. LAPD has successfully arrested AND recovered stolen iPhones left and right. Using Apples OWN technology. How much "more" can u do? Plus find my phone now tracks my Mac Mini for god sake.. Btw had an iPhone stolen at a trader joes one time.. Never got it back. Um it's AT&T and Verizon that would reactivity stolen phones in seconds to third parties -- how bout some bashing on those policies Wtf!
They could still include the white earbuds with iphones but they should offer apple matte black earbuds for sale, or give you an option when you buy. I know there are 3rd party earbuds in black, but apple should offer that option.
Wouldn't that increase thefts, as since they couldn't tell what was what they'd go after more of them to find out?
My brand new iPhone 5 was stolen and the guy drove away in a big black SUV. I followed the guy with Find My IPhone. When he parked and powered off my iPhone I called the Sheriff. Sheriff spoke to him and he denied having it even though I saw him take it and tracked him with my wife's iPhone. The Sheriff did not search him or the car. The Sheriff wrote a report and then promptly dropped my case a week later because I had no videotape evidence of him a a actually stealing the phone. I was very upset and the Sheriff said "You're treating this like a murder case. It's just a phone. We deal with much bigger problems." And that was that. Without videotape evidence of a phone theft the Sheriff will do nothing. They completely dismiss phone tracking.
I really wish: 1) iOS would not allow people to power off a locked phone without entering a password. This would have allowed me to use Find My iPhone to make my iphone play a sound while the sheriff was there. 2) Apple would build a remote kill switch. AT&T blocking is not enough because the same phone will work in Europe thus can be sold on eBay.
What rubbish. It's called personal responsibility. I suppose that ALL manufacturers need to step up and prevent thefts... watches, jewellery, TVs, cars.. /s Carriers and telcos could prevent activation of stolen phones by registering all IMEI numbers and blocking ones reported stolen or hacked numbers. But they don't - you figure out why.
As far as Apple dropping the ball, stop trolling and go back to your Samsung shift.
My brand new iPhone 5 was stolen and the guy drove away in a big black SUV. I followed the guy with Find My IPhone. When he parked and powered off my iPhone I called the Sheriff. Sheriff spoke to him and he denied having it even though I saw him take it and tracked him with my wife's iPhone. The Sheriff did not search him or the car. The Sheriff wrote a report and then promptly dropped my case a week later because I had no videotape evidence of him a a actually stealing the phone. I was very upset and the Sheriff said "You're treating this like a murder case. It's just a phone. We deal with much bigger problems." And that was that. Without videotape evidence of a phone theft the Sheriff will do nothing. They completely dismiss phone tracking.
So he responded to the call, actually went with you to the guy's place, and STILL refused to search?
Put in a complaint to the city. Get him fired.
"This is my laptop. Look. Here's my phone. Here. In his house. He stole it. Go after it, you idiot."
I agree with the article. One of the things that disappointed me when I got my iPhone was that it doesn't have a ROM-encoded serial number (I mean non-writable non-erasable ROM, unlike NVRAM which can be rewritten). A solution like that would turn iPhones very hard to steal... criminals would need to disassemble the unit, and replace the ROM chip. Hard to do. This would certainly stop teenagers-friends thefts.
If it had that ROM serial number, you simply call Apple "hey, my iPhone was stolen", then Apple blacklists your serial number, and no phone operator would allow such unit anymore. Case closed. Just make the ROM chip very hard to replace (so that you easily break the iPhone if you want to remove it), and nobody will care to steal iPhones anymore.
That can't be true, is it? My iPhone knows it's own serial number. If I did some sort of low-level reset, it wouldn't?
1) iOS would not allow people to power off a locked phone without entering a password. This would have allowed me to use Find My iPhone to make my iphone play a sound while the sheriff was there.
2) Apple would build a remote kill switch. AT&T blocking is not enough because the same phone will work in Europe thus can be sold on eBay.
I'm sure Apple has considered the latter. And realized that the downside risk (to Apple) is much, much greater than the benefit. One glitch in the system; one super hacker that figures out how to activate the kill switch and tens of millions of phone are bricked. Youch. THAT would be a story the media would LOVE.
For example, is GPS tracking an option (assuming that the loss is reported to the police).
Curious... has anyone reported a stolen iPhone (or any phone for that matter?) to the Police and later the Police recovered the phone? I guess it's possible that could happen, but I'm guessing that Police recover something close to 0% of stolen phones. Sure, maybe they get lucky from time-to-time and recover a single phone or more likely bunch of phones by accident, but rarely recover a one-off stolen phone. Heck, my car was stolen here in San Francisco a few months ago. Not only were the Police clearly uninterested in this theft outside of writing up a report, my stolen car was subsequently issued multiple parking tickets (that's right, the Police issued tickets to a car that's on a hot sheet!) before I recovered the vehicle - yes, I recovered my own vehicle! Reporting stolen phones to the Police and apparently even stolen vehicles - at least here in San Francisco, I'm sorry to say is largely just a wasted exercise in wishful thinking.
What rubbish. It's called personal responsibility. I suppose that ALL manufacturers need to step up and prevent thefts... watches, jewellery, TVs, cars.. /s Carriers and telcos could prevent activation of stolen phones by registering all IMEI numbers and blocking ones reported stolen or hacked numbers. But they don't - you figure out why.
As far as Apple dropping the ball, stop trolling and go back to your Samsung shift.
Personal responsibility?! You must be one of those right wing lunatics. Being responsible is a thing of the past. What we want now is to be told what we should be doing and thinking at all times. Apple obviously doesn't care about it's customers because they only give them an option to lock their phone screen, track the phone, erase it remotely and whatever else. Everyone needs to be responsible for our protection and safety except for us..
"Without Apple product thefts, crime would have been down overall for 2012." - Mayor Bloomberg
What kind of idiotic, baseless comment is this for him to make? So, because police spent X hours responding to iPhone theft complaints, we can therefore conclude that, with no iPhones to steal these would-be criminals would all spend their time dutifully looking for jobs??
I'm sure Apple has considered the latter. And realized that the downside risk (to Apple) is much, much greater than the benefit. One glitch in the system; one super hacker that figures out how to activate the kill switch and tens of millions of phone are bricked. Youch. THAT would be a story the media would LOVE.
Yes, I'm sure that is exactly why they don't do it.
The NYT has made Apple their target for destruction. They have lost their credibility, not just because of Apple articles, but just in general. I cancelled my subscription 2 years ago when the NYT brain drain began, but still find their tabloid style remake on the internet - they really should change their name to the New York Enquirer (unless there is such a publication already). This was very sad for me as they were once one of my absolute go-to sources for balanced content.
I agree with the article. One of the things that disappointed me when I got my iPhone was that it doesn't have a ROM-encoded serial number (I mean non-writable non-erasable ROM, unlike NVRAM which can be rewritten). A solution like that would turn iPhones very hard to steal... criminals would need to disassemble the unit, and replace the ROM chip. Hard to do. This would certainly stop teenagers-friends thefts.
If it had that ROM serial number, you simply call Apple "hey, my iPhone was stolen", then Apple blacklists your serial number, and no phone operator would allow such unit anymore. Case closed. Just make the ROM chip very hard to replace (so that you easily break the iPhone if you want to remove it), and nobody will care to steal iPhones anymore.
Your concept is good, but it should be directed at carriers and they already have an IMEI which is built into the phone. Carriers should be able to blacklist stolen phones and prevent them from being activated by any other carrier. They could also track stolen phones when they are communicating with towers.
I don't think Apple should be required to provide a full stolen device tracking and recovery service. But I do think they should open up the SDK more to allow 3rd party developers to provide that service. This is still an area where Android allows for more functionality. Lift the restrictions and let the developers add these features.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by pedromartins
What the hell are you talking about?
People can show what they want, it's not their fault. Those f*cking animals that rube people are the ones with 100% fault. All of them should be murdered. End.
You're right. People can do whatever they want. They also should accept the responsibility of what their actions (or lack of actions) bring to their situations. Yes, the robbers are 100% at fault, yet giving them an easy opportunity because one was zoned-out, listening to/talking on their phone with zero regard to their environment is asking for trouble.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
Car companies are doing a lot. Educate yourself. (Also, read the NYT article). Moreover, taking out an iPhone to make a call or watch a video or listen to a song or surf the web is not "flashing a pricey product in public." Do you use yours only in private?
Apple has dropped the ball on this. That is simply a fact. Don't get so defensive.
Hey, I do educate myself. I read the article before I posted. Lighten up. The Honda analogy was playful banter meant to make a point.
The woman in the article, Rose Cha had her iPhone stolen THREE TIMES. At what point does this woman stop to think for a moment that she needs to change something about her behavior that makes her a magnet for getting mugged?
When I'm taking the subway, or out in public I take steps to avoid being put in a situation that someone feels they can rob me. Granted, I'm a big, athletic guy that most folks would rather not mess with so I don't think I'm necessarily in that group of concern. I've never had my iPhone stolen. I rarely use it in public to watch a movie, and if I have to use it in public I normally stop somewhere semi-private and use it while watching what goes on around me. I've had questionable people look at me those few times that made me wonder, to which I end my call or give them a look and place it back inside my zippered pocket of my armored motorcycle jacket. One thing I don't do is walk around using it and being zoned-out. That sets me up as a victim.
Contrary to what you say, taking out an iPhone in public IS flashing a pricey product. That is simply a fact. You don't want to do that then buy an Android phone.
I hope the telco's and manufacturers do more to discourage phone thefts. Everyone benefits. People like Rose Cha simply shows that it doesn't matter how much security a product has, there will always be ignorant people like her that will make her an easy target.
I have one simple thing which might reduce thefts. While I understand the marketing strategy of using the white earbuds with apple devices, it is a sign to criminals that you have an expensive phone. They could still include the white earbuds with iphones but they should offer apple matte black earbuds for sale, or give you an option when you buy. I know there are 3rd party earbuds in black, but apple should offer that option. Of course they should use other technological deterrents but the earbud color would be a small start.
I dont' think anyone ever blamed the monetary system for being responsible.
Crooks are crooks.
You have valuable stuff in your pocket?
Be vigilant!
Exactly my thinking. Rupert called his mole over there and said "show us so more Apple hate boy" -- a former WSJ writer. This is the lamest article yet. Here is L.A. it's been common knowledge iPhone is the device to steal. Armed robberies galore. LAPD has successfully arrested AND recovered stolen iPhones left and right. Using Apples OWN technology. How much "more" can u do? Plus find my phone now tracks my Mac Mini for god sake.. Btw had an iPhone stolen at a trader joes one time.. Never got it back. Um it's AT&T and Verizon that would reactivity stolen phones in seconds to third parties -- how bout some bashing on those policies Wtf!
Originally Posted by serge75
They could still include the white earbuds with iphones but they should offer apple matte black earbuds for sale, or give you an option when you buy. I know there are 3rd party earbuds in black, but apple should offer that option.
Wouldn't that increase thefts, as since they couldn't tell what was what they'd go after more of them to find out?
And why is it Apple's responsibility?
I really wish:
1) iOS would not allow people to power off a locked phone without entering a password. This would have allowed me to use Find My iPhone to make my iphone play a sound while the sheriff was there.
2) Apple would build a remote kill switch. AT&T blocking is not enough because the same phone will work in Europe thus can be sold on eBay.
Originally Posted by jd_in_sb
My brand new iPhone 5 was stolen and the guy drove away in a big black SUV. I followed the guy with Find My IPhone. When he parked and powered off my iPhone I called the Sheriff. Sheriff spoke to him and he denied having it even though I saw him take it and tracked him with my wife's iPhone. The Sheriff did not search him or the car. The Sheriff wrote a report and then promptly dropped my case a week later because I had no videotape evidence of him a a actually stealing the phone. I was very upset and the Sheriff said "You're treating this like a murder case. It's just a phone. We deal with much bigger problems." And that was that. Without videotape evidence of a phone theft the Sheriff will do nothing. They completely dismiss phone tracking.
So he responded to the call, actually went with you to the guy's place, and STILL refused to search?
Put in a complaint to the city. Get him fired.
"This is my laptop. Look. Here's my phone. Here. In his house. He stole it. Go after it, you idiot."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
NYT: Oh, sorry, I couldn't hear you. I was busy flipping through these stacks of money we recently received.
Oh good grief.
It's the cities and their police departments that are bringing up this topic, not some conspiracy from the press or competitors.
Q. Can you guess why the cities want this publicized?
A. To lay the blame for increased crime statistics somewhere else.
As NYC pointed out, their crime rates would've actually decreased without all the Apple thefts.
This is all about CYA politics. Who knows, perhaps there's federal funding they're losing out on as well, because of the rate increase.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ecs
I agree with the article. One of the things that disappointed me when I got my iPhone was that it doesn't have a ROM-encoded serial number (I mean non-writable non-erasable ROM, unlike NVRAM which can be rewritten). A solution like that would turn iPhones very hard to steal... criminals would need to disassemble the unit, and replace the ROM chip. Hard to do. This would certainly stop teenagers-friends thefts.
If it had that ROM serial number, you simply call Apple "hey, my iPhone was stolen", then Apple blacklists your serial number, and no phone operator would allow such unit anymore. Case closed. Just make the ROM chip very hard to replace (so that you easily break the iPhone if you want to remove it), and nobody will care to steal iPhones anymore.
That can't be true, is it? My iPhone knows it's own serial number. If I did some sort of low-level reset, it wouldn't?
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkrupp
A stolen iPhone goes for $500? How much for a stolen Galaxy S3?
just keep it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jd_in_sb
I really wish:
1) iOS would not allow people to power off a locked phone without entering a password. This would have allowed me to use Find My iPhone to make my iphone play a sound while the sheriff was there.
2) Apple would build a remote kill switch. AT&T blocking is not enough because the same phone will work in Europe thus can be sold on eBay.
I'm sure Apple has considered the latter. And realized that the downside risk (to Apple) is much, much greater than the benefit. One glitch in the system; one super hacker that figures out how to activate the kill switch and tens of millions of phone are bricked. Youch. THAT would be a story the media would LOVE.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
For example, is GPS tracking an option (assuming that the loss is reported to the police).
Curious... has anyone reported a stolen iPhone (or any phone for that matter?) to the Police and later the Police recovered the phone? I guess it's possible that could happen, but I'm guessing that Police recover something close to 0% of stolen phones. Sure, maybe they get lucky from time-to-time and recover a single phone or more likely bunch of phones by accident, but rarely recover a one-off stolen phone. Heck, my car was stolen here in San Francisco a few months ago. Not only were the Police clearly uninterested in this theft outside of writing up a report, my stolen car was subsequently issued multiple parking tickets (that's right, the Police issued tickets to a car that's on a hot sheet!) before I recovered the vehicle - yes, I recovered my own vehicle! Reporting stolen phones to the Police and apparently even stolen vehicles - at least here in San Francisco, I'm sorry to say is largely just a wasted exercise in wishful thinking.
Personal responsibility?! You must be one of those right wing lunatics. Being responsible is a thing of the past. What we want now is to be told what we should be doing and thinking at all times. Apple obviously doesn't care about it's customers because they only give them an option to lock their phone screen, track the phone, erase it remotely and whatever else. Everyone needs to be responsible for our protection and safety except for us..
- Mayor Bloomberg
What kind of idiotic, baseless comment is this for him to make? So, because police spent X hours responding to iPhone theft complaints, we can therefore conclude that, with no iPhones to steal these would-be criminals would all spend their time dutifully looking for jobs??
Yes, I'm sure that is exactly why they don't do it.
The NYT has made Apple their target for destruction. They have lost their credibility, not just because of Apple articles, but just in general. I cancelled my subscription 2 years ago when the NYT brain drain began, but still find their tabloid style remake on the internet - they really should change their name to the New York Enquirer (unless there is such a publication already). This was very sad for me as they were once one of my absolute go-to sources for balanced content.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ecs
I agree with the article. One of the things that disappointed me when I got my iPhone was that it doesn't have a ROM-encoded serial number (I mean non-writable non-erasable ROM, unlike NVRAM which can be rewritten). A solution like that would turn iPhones very hard to steal... criminals would need to disassemble the unit, and replace the ROM chip. Hard to do. This would certainly stop teenagers-friends thefts.
If it had that ROM serial number, you simply call Apple "hey, my iPhone was stolen", then Apple blacklists your serial number, and no phone operator would allow such unit anymore. Case closed. Just make the ROM chip very hard to replace (so that you easily break the iPhone if you want to remove it), and nobody will care to steal iPhones anymore.
Your concept is good, but it should be directed at carriers and they already have an IMEI which is built into the phone. Carriers should be able to blacklist stolen phones and prevent them from being activated by any other carrier. They could also track stolen phones when they are communicating with towers.
I don't think Apple should be required to provide a full stolen device tracking and recovery service. But I do think they should open up the SDK more to allow 3rd party developers to provide that service. This is still an area where Android allows for more functionality. Lift the restrictions and let the developers add these features.