iPhone for a day (almost)
Ahh the Verizon iPhone, once the realm of tech legend. I’ve waited many a year, comfortable in my family plan, not wanting to pay the full monthly bill for a smart phone. Finally the day came and I jumped on it. It arrived on Wednesday, one day before the official launch. And one day after the launch it was gone, well almost.
Stories of thieves stealing iPods and iPhones are so common that they are a cliche. My story is really not much different. Apple calls their screen a retina display because of its high resolution, but it might also be because that little thing can suck in all of your focus and attention. Even to the point where you don’t even realize what is going on around you.
We’ve all seen it the people hunched over peering intently into a pane of glowing glass. What are they looking at anyway? What’s so important?
Well for me it was NPR’s live coverage of Hosni Mubarak stepping down in Egypt. One moment I was turning on their live feed of reasoned thoughtful analysis, the next I was careening out of a Metro car without even thinking at all.
After he wrenched the phone from my hand it was all kind of a blur. I was leaping out of my seat. I had a piece of his sweatshirt. I heard someone gasp.
Then I hit the pole.
It hurt, but $700 of electronics had just dashed out the car door. If the train door closed I’d be speeding on the next station waving the phone goodbye, and we had only just met. That would hurt too.
I was up and I was out of the train in probably under a second.
What on Earth was I thinking? Would I really fight this guy over a phone? Did he have a weapon?
This is really stupid.
The thief wasn’t far off. I don’t think he expected me to follow him. Three steps across the platform and he was there staring into the screen. He didn’t even see me. Our roles had reversed.
Suddenly I was there in front of him, he looked up and we stared at each other for about a second.
What on Earth was I thinking? Would I really fight this guy over a phone? Did he have a weapon? This is really stupid.
I should have been thinking all those things, but honestly I wasn’t really thinking at all. If I had thought about it I would probably still be on the train.
What was he thinking? If I had to guess I would refer you back up two paragraphs.
I looked at him and he looked at me. I don’t know how I looked. He looked scared. I’m sure it wasn’t supposed to go this way.
I reached out my hand and asked for the phone back. He gave it to me.
Then he ran away.
I turned around, the train was still on the platform, the door was open. Wow he had timed his attack badly.
I ran back to the train, but the doors shut right before I could hop on.
I was stuck on the platform with the guy who had stolen my phone. The next train was in ten minutes.
I could see him about 100 yards away looking at me. I looked at him. He had stolen my phone, but I had gotten it back. This could have ended badly, but it didn’t.
He walked out of the station, I waited for the next train and didn’t call the police.
What exactly is the point of stealing a phone? Modern phones can be locked, GPS tracked, and remotely erased or even bricked. I don’t think he could have sold it before I would have gotten it deactivated. He could have sold it to some rube perhaps, but only for a few bucks. Or he could have kept it and suddenly found himself arrested when the police decide to follow him home via GPS. All he was doing was potentially costing me a lot of money.
And what exactly was I doing? Chasing a bad guy and winning makes for a great story, but it could have also put a few bullet holes in me. A thief like that relies on his victims being surprised and then fearful of what he might do next. My guess would be the vast majority are not armed and would react the same way he did.
But what if he had decided to put up a fight?
He probably would not have gotten far. The DC metro stations are generally full of cameras and police. But having a camera rolling while I get shot wouldn’t make me any less dead, no matter how fast they could arrest him afterward.
So would I do it again? I’m not sure. If I had time to think about it I would have probably not done it in the first place. Lets hope I don’t have to find out. Either way I got my phone back and got a pretty exciting story.
What did I learn? The iPhone is a great device, I can access all sorts of data from just about anywhere on it. Just don’t expect to see me doing it on a Metro train anytime soon.
1 Comment
Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.
I’m proud of you for reacting the way you did, although it could have been dangerous.
Enable Find My Phone is case there is a next time.