Almost everyone today wants to own a smartphone so they can enjoy all the perks of the latest technology. However, since smartphones do not come cheap, it is not possible for every person to purchase one for themselves. As a result of that thefts of smartphones have increased all across the globe including New York City, where the annual crime index has surpassed its previous high thanks to the ever increasing thefts of iPads and iPhones according to the mayor of city, Michael Bloomberg. In fact, the latest report of NYPD has revealed that crimes in the New York City which involves Apple products have risen by 40 percent. Considering this increasing rate of smartphone thefts, State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has now called on Apple, Google and other tech companies for a face to face meeting in order to talk about the issue.
However, this was not the first time that Schneiderman has got in touch with the top tech corporations to talk about this issue, as before calling the companies for a face to face meeting the State Attorney General had wrote letters to the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, Google and other companies. Now Schneiderman along with the San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon will discuss the issue with the representatives of Google, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Motorola at the “smartphone summit” that will take place in New York on June 13th, according to NYDailyNews.
During this meeting Schneiderman will look to push the smartphone makers to develop a ‘kill switch’ that could leave the device inoperable in case of theft, as it will help discourage the thefts of mobile devices. However, this idea does not belong to Schneiderman, as it was first floated by District Attorney Gascón a few months ago.
“Letting customers shut down their phones would make them worthless on the black market and reduce so-called “Apple picking” — the fastest-growing street crime in New York City. Schneiderman cited statistics that show a 40% jump in the theft of mobile devices in New York City in 2012.”
It will be interesting to see how the tech companies will respond to this idea, as it may not be too easy for them to produce such a ‘kill switch’ that Schneiderman and Gascón are hoping for. However, one cannot completely discard this idea, as the aforementioned companies have introduced some smart and unique technologies in the past.
Source: 9to5Google
Photo: MercoPress
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