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Samsung Galaxy S5's anti theft features praised

Samsung Galaxy S5's anti-theft features praised

By Reuters | Updated: 5 April 2014 12:30 IST

A move by Samsung to include free anti-theft features on its Galaxy S5 smartphones sold by Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular won praise on Friday by two U.S. members of an international coalition aimed at combating robberies involving smartphones.

The new features allow Samsung Galaxy S5 users to track devices and require the owner's account information to reset the phone. The features, Find My Mobile, and Reactivation Lock, will come installed in the phones but must be activated by users.

"The decision ... to provide Samsung's Find My Mobile and Reactivation Lock features on Galaxy S5 smartphones and to allow those features to be activated for free is a step forward in our effort to ensure the industry makes effective theft deterrents available on every smartphone sold in America," New York's attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, and San Francisco's district attorney, George Gascon, said in a statement.

(Also see: Samsung Galaxy S5: 10 big new features)

Schneiderman and Gascon, along with London Mayor Boris Johnson, are co-chairs of the coalition Secure Our Smartphone Initiative.

They said, however, that they remain "concerned that consumers will need to opt in to the system, thereby limiting the ubiquity and effectiveness of the solution."

Both Schneiderman and Gascon have criticized the cellphone industry for what they say is a perceived unwillingness to solve an escalating theft problem.

Schneiderman has publicly supported bills currently in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate that would require a kill switch to be installed in every smartphone manufactured in the United States. The switch would prevent the phone from being re-activated in the black market.

In 2012, 1.6 million Americans were victimized for their smartphones, according to Schneiderman's office.

© Thomson Reuters 2014

Samsung Galaxy S5

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Fantastic camera
Great battery life and performance
Innovative software features
Compatibility with Samsung Gear accessories

Bad
Heart rate monitor feature is unreliable
Cluttered interface
Expensive

Read detailed Samsung Galaxy S5 review

Display 5.10-inch

Processor Samsung Exynos 5420

Front Camera 2-megapixel

Rear Camera 16-megapixel

RAM 2GB

Storage 16GB

Battery Capacity 2800mAh

OS Android 4.4.2

Resolution 1080x1920 pixels

More Samsung mobiles Samsung mobiles price in India

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