Look out, fanbois: One in two nicked mobes is an iPhone - cops Half of the phones stolen in London over the summer were iPhones, the capital's cops reported this week. According to new statistics, phone-related crime, particularly snatching, was up year on year. Between April and September, 28,800 mobes out of 56,680 nicked handsets in London were Apple pocket strokers. That's an average …
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Ever heard of... OMG... a handsfree kit? Or... *gasp* earphones?
The majority of phones are stolen because they are left on a table, or in plain view where an opportunist thief can walk by and swipe it. Leave the phone in your jacket pocket, or in a purse (if you're female), or a bag. When the damn thing rings, you take it out. Problem solved. I have *never* had a phone stolen, probably because I'm sensible about where I put my phone. My phone stays out of sight until I need to use it.
Those who constantly have their iThingies stolen should learn to... put it away. We *know* you have one. We don't *care*. Get over it.
Indeed - whilst victim blaming is wrong, it's not unreasonable to take precautions, like not advertising expensive goods (as many advertisements tell us).
I can't help noticing that it's almost always Apple users who walk around carrying their phones in front of them - why this is, I don't know. On top of that, the fewer models makes them more recognisable as an expensive phone, and you've got the obvious huge logo on the front, whilst most phones are much more subtle.
Plus, I have to wonder why this is news anyway - smells like another "It's news, because it's got Apple in the title". Would the police be reporting this if it was any other manufacturer coming up to? Reminds me of the spate of "ipads getting stolen" media stories, that just act as more Appleverts...
Is it not simple, thieves are stealing to sell and iPhones are (rightly or wrongly) more desirable amongst the general population. IMEI blocking only works to block the phone in the country of origin, so until this goes global, mobile phones will continue to be targeted by crooks.
Unless people are looking to buy an elaborate iPod touch.......Lets face it, not far from the truth if you buy it from the Apple store.
iPhones don't exactly have to rely on just imei blocking. You have to activate the things via apple, reporting it as stolen should get the imei and the serial number blocked from their networks too, leaving only jailbreaks to get around it.
In theory they should be more difficult to deal with stolen due to the walled garden of apple/iTunes. Admittedly you could use it standalone, but it relies entirely on third party tools and functionality.
You have to activate the things via apple, reporting it as stolen should get the imei and the serial number blocked from their networks too, leaving only jailbreaks to get around it.
The problem with that is that you have to enable tracking for the iPhone (it's tied to that service), which allows location tracking data to be shipped to a Unsafe Harbor nation. You are thus faced with a choice: give an untrusted 3rd party full knowledge of where you are at all times of be sure the phone won't come back when it gets nicked. Depends on your privacy needs, of course.
Thieves don't go for what's more desirable (Android is the biggest platform, Samsung sells more Android phones alone, and the S3 is the biggest single selling model), they go for what's most expensive. With the added bonus here of being far more easily recognisable.
It's tricky to know what the demographics of iPhone and Android are, Rich young people buy iPhones but lots of normal young people buy cheaper Android handsets. As a % of the youth I can't imagine the iPhone being the most popular just through it's cost and they don't sell enough to cover the majority of the demographic.
"It's tricky to know what the demographics of iPhone and Android are, Rich young people buy iPhones but lots of normal young people buy cheaper Android handsets. As a % of the youth I can't imagine the iPhone being the most popular just through it's cost and they don't sell enough to cover the majority of the demographic."
Same tragic old story repeated and bleated by the sam old folk.
iPhones are NOT expensive! They do NOT imbue the owner with a greater status or image or wealth.
If anything they imbue PIKEY through and through.
So, ladies, stop the iPhone is expensive crap, eh?
You have changed your tune (or should that be iTune?).
Apple marketeers made the iPhone desirable to the spivs. The spivs hail Apple and because it's expensive, makes them feel special. The spivs now believe the hype spouted by the Apple marketeers.
http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/3/2011/08/19/apple_samsung/#c_1151622
...the main reason for this is that iPhone owners (amazingly, still) sit on the tube and walk about with their phone on display. Even when they're not using them I've seen so many iPhone owners simply brandishing them. I've got news, guys, the only people that do care are the ones who've made this stat a reality.
So you saw multiple iphones, and only one other phone - given that iphones are a minority of the market, this kind of proves his point.
(And I agree with him, and not just in London, and the point isn't simply when they're using it - I see people who always carry it in their hands, even when walking and not using it, and it seems to be almost always iphones. When they're listening on headphones, reminds me of an Ood.)
It is a proven fact* all apple fanbois are hipsters
It is also a proven fact* that hipsters spend their days in coffee shops with their iGadgetz out.
It is also a proven fact* that they'll leave the table at some point, for another coffee, or a loo break, and leave their phone on the table.
Okay so none of those facts are proven, but the last one is fairly accurate. I used to go to a coffee shop to meet up with a few friends, the number of people who got up and walked off while leaving their phone on the table was astounding, and yet 9/10 it was an iPhone.
* These facts are fictional
"No point stealing Android - pretty worthless second hand - or new for that matter ;)"
Well, that said, if the thieves and muggers used Apple maps to try and locate their potential mark/destination you can pretty much guarantee they'll probably end up in the middle of the North Sea. Ergo stealing iPhones could help drive crime against the person down :)
Except if you knew squat you would realise the iMaps issue is greatly exaggerated by non-iPhone users and regardless we now have both iMaps and Google Maps and the new Google Maps client is better than the previous Google Maps in iOS 5.
So before anyone claims Google Maps is perfect I am reminded of this:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/technology/news/article/-/15610781/police-warn-of-safety-concerns-from-google-maps/
Awhh, bless. I know what you mean though, iMaps is quality beyond compare.
In fact it was such a quality product around launch Apple rewarded Richard Williamson with a cardboard box and a ride home, ne'er to return.
As a thief - nick an iPhone and you know it's of decent value - nick a non-iPhone and it could be anything and mostly are worthless - iPhones have good resale value (check eBay if you don't believe me - I've seen 2 year old phones going for more than half original price).
If Android owners want to get their devices stolen perhaps they should get some small Apple logo stickers and attach them to the back of their phones - I actually bet some people do (bit like de-badging their basic model car or sticking a M3 badge on a BMW 316i).
The iphone is easy to snatch because of its cumbersome shape and short battery life. you could walk through an office and steal 20 or 40 because they have to be on charge all day. and on the street you just look like a twat carrying one so i would nick it from you jsut to teach you a lesson quite frankly and i know many who would do the same.
"Apple would like you to sit on a jury in a small legal case they have going against Samsung."
No they don't.
They say customers can't tell them apart so there should be tons of Samsung phones being stolen. Crook went out to steal a iPhone but got confused and took a Samsung. Apple has been deprived a replacement sale! Apple should be compensated for every Samsung stolen!
"That explains it. Android owners are more likely to be at home rooting their phone."
Or:
"That explains it. Android owners are more likely to be at their parents home (still) rooting their phone and watching re-runs of Magnum or Baywatch and drooling (or worse) over Pammy and dreaming of getting a girlfriend one day."
At the end of the day if you have any smartphone you are at risk of being mugged. Apple, Android, Blackberry (well, maybe not them so much) are targets especially if you are walking down the street at night - these things light up like a huge beacon just begging opportunistic louts to go over and take it. Then you have the 'fanbois' who walk around like a giant apple advert.
I have an iphone. So far (touch wood) nobody has tried to 'relieve' me of it - I suspect that's partly because I don't whip it out at every opportunitiy to show off crappy instagrammed photos of my lunch, and I also ditched those crappy white headphones early on (Sennheiser ftw?).
This is not a new problem by any means - and happens all over (http://gizmodo.com/5953494/hold-on-tight-smartphone-mugging-is-more-popular-than-ever) - Maybe if people stopped advertising they have expensive tech products they might make themselves less noticeable to the criminal element. But I imagine most fanbois are very proud of their iDevices and love showing it off to anyone who will listen.
I make use of iCloud for backups, which in turn allows me to use the 'find my iphone' tool. Mind you, if I do lose my phone, it's maybe a few days inconvenience till I can either retrieve my handset (after remote bricking) or get a new one and restore from my backup. I'm less phased about the hardware, I am more concerned about the data that's stored on it.
I have read a few stories of people having their iDevices lost/nicked and then located through this service - which is pretty great, but as to how responsive the authorities are with this info is a bit unclear to me - have yet to see any articles that talk of people being caught and prosecuted thanks to this service.
That's not to say it doesn't happen - but surely more people need to know about such things and that essentially stealing mobile phones is a losing game that could land you in jail unless you can kill off a GPS signal without destroying the phone in the process.. Just make them less appealing.
I have read a few stories of people having their iDevices lost/nicked and then located through this service - which is pretty great, but as to how responsive the authorities are with this info is a bit unclear to me - have yet to see any articles that talk of people being caught and prosecuted thanks to this service.
Heard an item on R5 about one of their reporters who was mugged, had iPhone stolem and police made arrest and retrieved iPhone using one of these services. Have a read of
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18739151
Don't play with your phone while walking alone the road, don't get in the habit of leave your phone on the table in cafes, bars, clubs etc., don't leave your phone in your handbag or coat without securing the handbag / coat, don't leave your phone in the car, or within grabbing distance when stopped at lights, don't signpost your phone by having earphone wires emanating from some vulnerable pocket. And so on.
Most crime is opportunistic. Minimize the opportunity and you minimize the possibility of getting your phone stolen.
in 10 years iphones will look as dated as the TV show Big Brother does now. only the most unrepentant KFC munching chavs will still have one. and KFC will put unknown particles in your food from the GM and petrochemical industries. just like Apple would do if Steve Satan was still alive and running the show like the rampant cock munching tyrant he is.
REALLY? In 10 years EVERYTHING you now have will look dated - that is how things like "10 years" and other dates work.
You *really* think that the iPhone15 will look just like the iPhone1 - because the 5 is *so* similar to the iphone1 ... oh, wait.
On the upside, I expect my 3GS will *still* be working perfectly, look like new and be worth a good chunk of what I paid for it.
Simple - it's the market that dictates. They are worth more secondhand than anything else. They cost more to begin with and they have far higher residual value especially when unmarked - as they tend to be because they are high quality kit that is generally well looked after.
Another Anna Leach (love the pseudonym by the way, Leach is a pseudonym right?) article of made up statistic, massive leaps in logic that is choc full of click-bait hater material that those tech haters just cant get enough of.
Meanwhile in the real world the truth is out there but you wont find it on snide, hate mongering shitfest "The Register".
Cynical sideways looking? No, you're just a bunch of leaches (do you see what I did...)
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