A Thief-Proof "Screaming" Cellphone

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

03 Oct 2006 09:08 AM

Save your voice. If your cellphone is snatched by a thief it will do the screaming for you. A new service launched yesterday is designed to deter cellphone theft by equipping mobile phones with an ear-piercing scream. Better yet, the screaming won't stop unless the battery is removed.

If you have ever had your cellphone snatched you know what an incredible invention this is. You can thank a British cellphone manufacturer called Sychronica for the new technology. According to their website, the company develops and markets synchronization and device management solutions for mobile operators, device manufacturers, and enterprises. Which of course includes the new screaming phone.

The new device works like this: when you discover your cellphone has been lost or stolen, you contact your cellphone provider (who has the Synchronica software). The cell phone provider then sends a message to the phone that blocks all of its functions (whether the data chip has been switched or not), it then cancels its memory and emits a shrieking alarm. The high-pitched alarm is designed to "encourage" the person who found the cellphone to "quietly put the phone down and walk away or turn it in to a police station." But the real benefit of the new Synchronica software is its ability to prevent hi-tech cellphone thieves who know how to retrieve personal data from doing so. According to the company, all customers' information is centrally stored, so contacts, ring tones, pictures, texts and other data can be retrieved when a new handset is purchased. The designers of the new service say their goal was to make cellphones useless to anyone but the rightful owner.

If you have never lost your cellphone consider yourself lucky. According to data provided by Mobile Life Report, in the city of London alone a reported 10,000 cellphones are lost each month. In addition, studies have shown that cellphone owners need less than a minute to detect that they misplaced or lost their cellphones as compared to the hour it takes to realize that a wallet has been lost or stolen.

A screaming cellphone? Sign me up... I can use all the help I can get. By the way, the new service costs about $18 a month.

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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Jaime Egan (2178) 03 Oct 2006 05:46 PM

That sounds really neat.

Michele Cheplic (37445) 04 Oct 2006 06:10 AM

Thanks Jaime! I just wouldn't want to be around when the alarm went off.