NY Police helping advertise Apple's new iPhones

[Hum]

They?re taking a byte out of crime ? some of it, anyway.

To combat a surge in smartphone theft, the NYPD has launched a campaign to advise consumers about the security benefits of updating to Apple's latest -- but neglected to promote a similar feature Google launched on Android one month earlier.

?Attention Apple Users!!!!? reads a flyer cops began handing out Friday, the same day Apple started selling the new iPhone 5S and 5C. ?The new iOS7 software update available for your Apple product brings added security to your devices.?

?For additional information on iOS7 features visit www.apple.com,? the flyer helpfully suggests.

Apple?s smartphone competitors including Microsoft, Google and Motorola declined FoxNews.com requests to comment on the program. But a Google source did note Android's similar feature, which is available for all users running version 2.2 and above -- that?s 100 percent of Android-based devices now on sale.

?If your phone can?t be recovered, or has been stolen, you can quickly and securely erase all of the data on your device to keep your data from ending up in the wrong hands,? wrote Adrian Ludwig, an Android security engineer with Google, when he announced the feature in early August.

The Activation Lock feature in Apple?s iOS7 makes it impossible for a thief to deactivate the "Find My iPhone" or "Find my iPad" feature without the owner's Apple ID and password. Similarly, Google?s Android Device Manager can remotely locate a lost device and can lock and erase it.

The feature is easily set up from android.com/device manager. The police did not advertise its launch, however.

NYPD officials said that the Apple feature may help prevent theft.

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[webeagle12]

I wonder how much Apple paid for this stunt

[Denis W. Veteran]

Does Android allow you to fully lock the device, even barring attempts to overwrite the existing firmware and wipe the phone clean?

The remote lock described here has been offered by iOS for a while. The Activation Lock works as it's currently very difficult, if not impossible, to downgrade your device from iOS 7 on devices newer than A4. Plus you would need the SHSH if you're thinking of workarounds, and that's only if the phone's owner remembered to save it.

That's why the Activation Lock is that much of a deterrent.

[Growled Member]

 

To combat a surge in smartphone theft, the NYPD has launched a campaign to advise consumers about the security benefits of updating to Apple's latest -- but neglected to promote a similar feature Google launched on Android one month earlier.

 

Criminals do not usually target Android, but they do target iPhones.

[Hum]

^ Because iPhone is more expensive .... ?

[ILikeTobacco]

^ Because iPhone is more expensive .... ?

Pretty much. Not many Android phones are worth anything after 6 months in the form of resell value. Target the more profitable market.

[Growled Member]

Pretty much. Not many Android phones are worth anything after 6 months in the form of resell value. Target the more profitable market.

 

I can't fault them for that, I guess. It just makes no sense to me why Apple's products hold their resell value more so than the competition, though. Mind share, I suppose.

[ILikeTobacco]

I can't fault them for that, I guess. It just makes no sense to me why Apple's products hold their resell value more so than the competition, though. Mind share, I suppose.

Part of it comes from why Androids lose their value so fast. If you buy a 1 year old iPhone, you can expect to get another year, if not two of use out of it. Android, you'll be lucky if its still supported and updated in a year. Obviously not always the case, but it is next to impossible to predict which ones will be supported in a year or not.