iPhone = muggable?

This brings us to Apple's latest product the iPhone, described by Steve Jobs as a revolutionary product. And he's right. The Apple iPhone will trigger a revolution in street-crime convenience. It's a three-for-one deal: not only is it a mobile phone, it's also a cutting-edge video iPod and a Wi-Fi enabled Internet browser.

The Met says that people are stealing mobile phones even if they are locked, so that they can access the other features, such as the camera and games. The highly functional iPhone couldn't fit more perfectly into a mugger's dream.

While the idea has some merit in concept I don't agree with it in practice. Sure, iPhone is a sexy, shiny gadget gadget that's sure to get the attention of common street thugs, I don't think that it's any more likely to get pinched than an iPod (have you seen the price of them lately?)

In fact, I'll go out on a limb to say that an iPhone is less likely to get swiped than an iPod.

For starters, it's a phone, which means that you can always call police if a perp gets too close (get on those speed dial buttons Apple!). Second, it's a camera, which is a huge deterrent to would be criminals. (Apple: add a flash). Last, because it's a phone (that's tied to a network) a stolen version has very little value on the black market. You won't really be able to activate a stolen iPhone and I'm sure that Apple will have some way of shutting it down remotely. Either that or it's a great opportunity for third party developers, er, Apple.