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T-Mobile Sidekick Tops Phone Thefts

by Kaiser Hwang on March 2, 2009 at 08:56 AM

sidekick tops thefts
Phones are small, earn a good amount of money on the black market, and are easily transferred from user to user. This makes them an alluring proposition for thieves. Surprisingly, though, it's not the iPhone or a BlackBerry that's seeing the most thefts -- it's T-Mobile's Sidekick. According to Boston police, last year more than 300 Sidekicks were stolen -- that's 14-percent of all robberies in the city in 2008. Similarly, New York's subway robbery rate skyrocketed 59-percent, with the majority being cell phone thefts, especially, yes, the Sidekick.

Has your cell phone ever been stolen?
Yes960 (24.1%)
No2946 (74.1%)
I'm not sure72 (1.8%)


So why is the Sidekick getting all the attention, especially considering that the phone has never been a top-five-selling phone in at least the last three years? One reason is because it uses a SIM card, making it easy to sell to someone who already has phone service. But lots of phones use SIM cards, so there must be something else, right? Apparently, thieves are drawn to it because of their "urban hipness quotient" and endorsements by stars such as rapper Snoop Dogg and NBA star Dwyane Wade. T-Mobile even sells a limited-edition Tony Hawk version of the phone, making it very clear at whom the phone is targeted.

Combine all of this with a perfect user base, and it all starts to click together. "They have the maximum ability to turn them into cash," Adrian Portlock, head of cell phone-tracking site Checkmend.com, said. "It's that young market, Internet savvy, trend-driven market where they'll buy a used cellphone, no questions asked."[From: USA Today]

Related LInks:


Tags: crime, sidekick, stolen gadgets, StolenGadgets, t-mobile, t-mobile sidekick, T-mobileSidekick, theft, top

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