Kill switches in cellphones appear to be having an effect on thieves. Thefts of iPhones declined 38pc in San Francisco and 24pc in London in the six months after Apple’s offer in September 2013 of software that allows users to lock down phones after thefts, and in New York City, robberies of Apple products fell 19pc in the first five months of 2014, according to The New York Times. Cellphone companies were slow to incorporate kill switches, which make it harder for thieves to resell stolen phones, but Samsung has added the technology to the newest version of its top-selling Galaxy S phones and is expected to add it to others soon.

(Source: The New York Times)

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, September 22nd, 2014