In a bid to discourage smartphone theft, Samsung has proposed a kill-switch idea that would be included in its high-end smartphones, but it seems that the major carriers in the US, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint, have refused to support Samsung’s efforts according to a report from the New York Times. This is particularly interesting given that lawmakers, such as San Francisco and New York district attornies, George Gascon and Eric Schneiderman have recently led campaigns asking for manufacturers to include kill-switches in their phones.Apparently the reason why the carriers were unwilling to preload the software onto their phones was because they were worried it might eat into their profits, profits that come from selling smartphone owners insurance to cover lost or stolen devices. According to Gascon, “This solution has the potential to safeguard Samsung customers, but these emails suggest the carriers rejected it so they can continue to make money hand over fist on insurance premiums.”
Samsung’s effort appears to be in response to Apple’s Activation Lock feature that was released with iOS 7. Activation Lock has since been put to the test where it was found to be a viable deterrent for smartphone theft. What do you guys think?
Filed in . Read more about Samsung.