I laughed when I read the SF Chronicle story about the thief who was apprehended when he stole an iPhone being used as part of a law enforcement GPS demo - and some posters were speculating that this was part of a publicity stunt by the company. Well, a very similar event just happened to me - only I have absolutely zero links to any tech company.
I just flew back from a family vacation into JFK airport in New York, this past Sunday night (July 18). I was using my iPad during the flight, and put it in the seat pocket when we were coming in for landing, when you have to "stow all electronic devices". With the delay in getting to the gate, and in the tumult of getting off the plane, I forgot all about the iPad... until we were heading home. (And yes, I know I'm an idiot and entirely to blame.) I called Jet Blue - the plane had already been serviced and was heading off to Buffalo, NY. The new flight crew checked the seat pocket - no iPad. I then remembered I had the "Find My iPhone" app on my iPhone 3GS (I'm still trying to get the 4!) It showed the iPad was still on the runway and it was probably en route to Buffalo. I sent numerous messages/sound alerts to the iPad with no reply.
The next morning, to my surprise, "Find My iPhone" showed it was at a street address in Brooklyn. I called the police, who couldn't believe I knew where it was. A detective took down the facts and I gave her the information about the street address, while she found out the names and home addresses of everyone who serviced the plane the previous night. I kept using "Find My iPhone" and the iPad stayed put. At noon on Tuesday the 20th, Detective Pelzer called and asked me to confirm the iPad was still at the street address and for the serial number. Thanks to Apple email receipts and the app, I was able to give her both pieces of information within minutes. She told me she was on stakeout outside the apartment, and that "Find My iPhone" had pinpointed the exact address! At 5 PM, I saw the iPad was back at JFK. I called Detective Pelzer, who informed me that it was sitting on her desk - they'd apprehended the thief outside her building, got a confession, and were given the iPad. An hour later, i was at the police station, and the iPad was back in my possession - in less than 48 hours!
Apple encourages people to think different. Over the past two days, everyone whose been a part of these events now "thinks different" about Apple. My colleagues at the hospital where I work were simply amazed that I could keep tabs on my missing iPad with an iPhone app in between patients. The police couldn't believe how Apple technology enabled me to tell them exactly where the iPad was, and how they were able to successfully close a case in record time. A would be thief and co-workers learned a very hard lesson and will hopefully think differently and do the right thing next time. And I, a longtime Apple user, learned that just when I thought I'd seen it all, Apple can still evoke the same awe and excitement in me as it first did 27 years ago. It's not hyperbole or a "reality distortion field" - Apple really makes products that enable people to do magical and revolutionary things - and these events have now personally convinced the people involved more effectively than media hype, ads, or Apple fanboys like myself ever could.
Apple wants to change the world; today, it happened to change my world, and I thank everyone at Apple.
P.S. I know there will still be doubting Thomases out there, so attached are two jpgs - a screen capture I sent to Det. Pelzer showing where my iPad was, and a copy of the arrest record/property invoice from the NYPD.
I just flew back from a family vacation into JFK airport in New York, this past Sunday night (July 18). I was using my iPad during the flight, and put it in the seat pocket when we were coming in for landing, when you have to "stow all electronic devices". With the delay in getting to the gate, and in the tumult of getting off the plane, I forgot all about the iPad... until we were heading home. (And yes, I know I'm an idiot and entirely to blame.) I called Jet Blue - the plane had already been serviced and was heading off to Buffalo, NY. The new flight crew checked the seat pocket - no iPad. I then remembered I had the "Find My iPhone" app on my iPhone 3GS (I'm still trying to get the 4!) It showed the iPad was still on the runway and it was probably en route to Buffalo. I sent numerous messages/sound alerts to the iPad with no reply.
The next morning, to my surprise, "Find My iPhone" showed it was at a street address in Brooklyn. I called the police, who couldn't believe I knew where it was. A detective took down the facts and I gave her the information about the street address, while she found out the names and home addresses of everyone who serviced the plane the previous night. I kept using "Find My iPhone" and the iPad stayed put. At noon on Tuesday the 20th, Detective Pelzer called and asked me to confirm the iPad was still at the street address and for the serial number. Thanks to Apple email receipts and the app, I was able to give her both pieces of information within minutes. She told me she was on stakeout outside the apartment, and that "Find My iPhone" had pinpointed the exact address! At 5 PM, I saw the iPad was back at JFK. I called Detective Pelzer, who informed me that it was sitting on her desk - they'd apprehended the thief outside her building, got a confession, and were given the iPad. An hour later, i was at the police station, and the iPad was back in my possession - in less than 48 hours!
Apple encourages people to think different. Over the past two days, everyone whose been a part of these events now "thinks different" about Apple. My colleagues at the hospital where I work were simply amazed that I could keep tabs on my missing iPad with an iPhone app in between patients. The police couldn't believe how Apple technology enabled me to tell them exactly where the iPad was, and how they were able to successfully close a case in record time. A would be thief and co-workers learned a very hard lesson and will hopefully think differently and do the right thing next time. And I, a longtime Apple user, learned that just when I thought I'd seen it all, Apple can still evoke the same awe and excitement in me as it first did 27 years ago. It's not hyperbole or a "reality distortion field" - Apple really makes products that enable people to do magical and revolutionary things - and these events have now personally convinced the people involved more effectively than media hype, ads, or Apple fanboys like myself ever could.
Apple wants to change the world; today, it happened to change my world, and I thank everyone at Apple.
P.S. I know there will still be doubting Thomases out there, so attached are two jpgs - a screen capture I sent to Det. Pelzer showing where my iPad was, and a copy of the arrest record/property invoice from the NYPD.
