The growth of the mobile market - speaking both economically and scientifically - has been breathtaking, arguably one of the most remarkable feats in human history; however, even in the face of greatness, humans are anything but infallible.
October 30, 2012 - The widespread adoption of mobile devices is rapidly revolutionizing the tech industry and the phone services that consumers demand. Almost half of all Americans own a smartphone - an incredible fact considering they were introduced a scant 5 years ago. And, as the mobile market charges into the developing world, it is no wonder companies are scrambling to develop methods to increase their market share and maximize profit.
Currently, Apple owns the majority of the mobile phone market and saw a 24% increase in quarterly profit and still has the holidays, during which the company believes it will generate more than $52 billion in revenue. Samsung, maker of Windows phones, sold 56.3 million phones and amassed $7.4 billion in profit in the same quarter. Nexus, the manufacturer of Google phones, had a disappointing Q3; however, the company still brought in 80% of the previous year’s profits.
These sky-high profit margins and the promise of continued growth are fueling a fierce competition in mobile phone industry where every company is looking to move very quickly and with little room for error as even the slightest hiccup could put them at a disadvantage and cause them to lose ground.
Except one mistake, seemingly pandemic among software giants: Leaving prototypes in bars.
• April 2010: A Hard Realization for a Software Engineer
The first top mobile phone mishap happened in 2010 when the popular tech site Gizmodo published a groundbreaking story after purchasing a misplaced Apple 4 prototype for $5000. The purchase eventually resulted in a police investigation of the bar and criminal charges for those involved as the entire tech world sat with rapt attention, jealous they had not been there to find the phone.
• July 2011: History Repeats Itself
For the second time, an Apple prototype was discovered at a Silicon Valley tequila bar, rumored to be the recently released iPhone 5, and later sold on Craigslist for an estimated $200. Police tracked the phone to a house in the area, accompanied by an Apple representative. The homeowner admitted to being at the bar the evening the device went missing, though it was not found in the house. The man denied any knowledge of its whereabouts and even refused payment in exchange for information.
• September 2012: Seriously?
This time Google’s Nexus 4 prototype was left in a San Francisco Mission District where it sat unclaimed during the entirety of the next business day. Employees of the bar were aware that the device was more than just an ordinary phone as it had no activating SIM card, and displayed a conspicuous ‘not for sale’ sticker next to a Google logo on the back. In the interview with Wired magazine, the bar employees likened Google’s eagerness to retrieve the device to harassment.
The Nexus 4 is rumored to employ Google’s new Android 4.2 software and is particularly important to Google because Apple has long, speaking in terms of the tech world, been unquestionably dominant in the smartphone market.
Drunk and Forgetful or Looking for Hype?
While it is true that some poor product developer likely lost their job over this incident, some have suggested that this may have been a mere publicity stunt to attract attention to the device just before its release. A scandal, and the subsequent media frenzy, is the best free advertising Google can buy, especially while profits are down. Besides, really good developers, like one who would have had that phone before the launch date, are hard to come by.
In any case, losing a phone is an all-too-familiar tragedy, especially after a night of carousing at the bar. App developers have sympathized with this plight and have created some ingenious methods of retrieving your lost or stolen phone. Apps on the Android market such as Plan B and Lookout allow you to track your lost phone via GPS, as well as signal an alarm to aid in locating the item. Plan B stands out for the ability to download and use the app after your phone has been lost. Another Android app, Cerberus, also allows you to remotely take pictures of the thief if they incorrectly guess your password. Apple’s Find My iPhone has similar features to the Android apps and includes the ability to display a remote message to encourage its return.
One caveat to all of these is that the phone must be turned on and connected to the Internet for the apps to work, a fact which most thieves are aware of. If the odds of getting your phone back seem slim, all of these apps allow you to remotely wipe the device and protect your personal information.
For those hapless product developers, these apps would do little to undo the damage of a misplaced prototype. At the very least, the average user can be grateful that the loss of a phone does not also mean the loss of a job.
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