[spring_wu]

Based on a study carried out by British Transport Police (BTP), mobile phone theft accounts for around 45% of the thefts on the London Underground, I guess that was one of the reasons BBC had carried out an article: What to do if you've had your mobile phone stolen? Based on a patent revealed by AppleInsider, Apple might be coming out with a theft-proof iPhone in the near future which should reduce some of the worries of owning an expensive mobile phone for all those traveling the London underground.

As per Apple in many cases the theft of a device brings certain movement cues that aren't present for accidental behavior, such as rapid sustained movement. Most unintentional bumps and drops are easy to recognize as sudden stops.

By analyzing the movement of the device over a set amount of time, a device could theoretically tell the difference between a burglar and legitimate users. This would let owners leave their systems alone without a cable lock or other physical security measures while still knowing that sensitive information stored inside would be safe.

According to the patent, installing an accelerometer and the right software would easily solve the problem due to which the iPhone with its accelerometer technology becomes the possible candidate. As per the patent, certain positions or vibration conditions could automatically send a signal to the computer hardware at the heart of the device, forcing it to trigger an audio or video alarm. The device could even be locked entirely and would require a password to return to normal.

As can be seen from the image below one element of the patent explains that software could tune the individual settings, selectively turning on the various warnings or softening the conditions if users trigger the alarm too frequently in everyday use.


We all know that its in Apple's DNA to do things differently or should I say do things the right way with the customer in mind, and yet again they could show the mobile phone industry on how to improve mobile phone security. However, there are no clear indications that this patent will be featured on the iPhone and currently just a speculation.

Lets hope we won't need to wait for the next version of the iPhone and that features like this will be available with a firmware upgrade.

[gilesjuk]

If IMEIs are hard to re-program and a phone can be sent data by looking up it's number based on IMEI (like doing ARP, MAC address to IP resolution) then you can simply sent it a de-activation packet and block it.

This is surely better than any form of sensors in the phone which would be prone to failure.

[Thyamine]

So if I decide to suddenly run across the street to avoid some traffic, my phone is going to set off an alarm due to 'unexpected acceleration'?

[Coney Island]

wouldnt it be a better idea as to have a way to track your cell phone with your computer and personal account? then you can find your phone on a map? like some sort of password required to unlock the tracking located on your personal tracking account??

if that is possible.

[kgeier82]

my old LG had a security feature like this. I simply had to program in a text string of any length. anytime the phone was stolen, all i had to do was send it a text message, and it would lock, so that only sprint could unlock it. i tested it once and it worked wonderfully. I simply called sprint and told them i had lost my phone temporarily, and just found it. they verified some info, and i was up and running in 5min

Id much rather have something like this than something like a sensor. what happens if i go jogging with the iphone, id have to turn the security off, no thanks.

oh and, who the heck is going to leave their 500$ iphone sitting on a table anyways?

[homer_j]

this is a bit dumb in my eyes.

I have never had a phone stolen in my life but I can guess that the 3 things that are going to get you are

1 - People running up a massive bill in your name
2 - You have lost all your contacts and someone has gained them
3 - You no longer have a phone.

So..

1 - You can call your phone company and get them to block your phone to avoid the running up of massive bills

2 - You can back up your contact lists to avoid losing all of them and then text them your new number when you get it

3 - Erm..... You buy another one.

What I am saying is that there is no anti-theft device for the iphone that will make it any better or worse than any other phone out there. The thing that is going to hurt you most IMHO is the fact you have shelled out a shed load of money to buy the thing and some scoundrel has just sold it for an ounce of crack!

Unless apple put something into it where it could read/scan the fingerprint and transmit back with the owners permission and have some form of homing beacon for police to go and get the phone back - I cannot say I would be impressed of any claims of it being theft proof. A remote electric shock sytem might be fun too!

[Glenners]

I was under the impression most new cell phones were built with a tracking device of some kind. They should give you some sort of software so it pin points the location of your phone on a map.

[beetyjoose]

Originally Posted by Glenners

I was under the impression most new cell phones were built with a tracking device of some kind. They should give you some sort of software so it pin points the location of your phone on a map.

most new phones and especially PDAs have built in GPS.

[AUZambo]

I'm sorry to break this to you, but Apple is WAY behind the times with a theft deterrent phone:

http://208.65.153.242/watch?v=KgoVrAR3YOo

[homer_j]

thats funny lol!! Would you do that with the iphone though lol