My iPhone 4 was stolen a little over a month ago. It was one of the few devices that I actually kept for more than a few months. I was actually planning on selling it a few weeks later and finally move on to another device. Unfortunately, that did not happen. It was stolen at an indoor gym while I was playing basketball. I usually don’t bring my phone into the gym, in fear of the actual event that inevitably happened to me. I did, however, start bringing it for a few days because I was using it to listen to music during some of my workouts. I didn’t usually do this and this was maybe the 5th day total that I had done this. Long story short, the thief took my phone out of my armband case (which was face down, and any of who you have used armband cases know just how hard it is to slip it in and out of the case because it is so tight.. and mine had a clear case air jacket on as well which made it tighter), and left my keys, the armband case, and my gym ID there.

I put it in a spot that I could keep an eye on it, but clearly I failed myself. The culprit was never found. I had others call my phone and it went straight to voicemail which means he shut it off so I couldn’t trace it either. Luckily I kept a passcode on there so I was glad to at least have that wiped. It sucks though that I was out the $300 I spent on it and the fact that I was getting ready to sell it means it was a bigger blow. I’m sure he got rid of it the same day to a Craigslist guy who buys iPhones for maybe $50-80 less than what you would get if you sold it yourself. For a 32gb in mint condition… he made himself a pretty penny. There are plenty of phone thefts in this gym and many others that I have been to as well. I wasn’t the first that this happened to there and I definitely wasn’t the last. Within that week, 5 more were lifted from breaking lockers. It is usually the high school kids that are the ones stealing and selling, but no one can catch who is doing it, so it’s still speculation.

It is unfortunate that something like this continues to happen. We work hard to purchase our devices, whether it is necessary for a lifestyle or just a geeky hobby, and someone comes and lifts it so that they can walk away with a couple more hundred dollars. It’s not like thieves are anything new and this is something that will continue to be a problem. I can say that five years ago, this was definitely not as big of a problem. While phones were still pricey, there wasn’t a dedicated market that always fetched a certain dollar. The iPhone’s success contributes to its high resale value and the latest Android phones are in this arena as well. These thieves know the prices of the devices and know exactly what they are going for. I know this criminal saw that it was an iPhone 4 when he flipped over the armband case and immediately pulled it out only to be more excited when he saw that it was a 32gb and that he could easily make $400-500 on it, if not more.

I wasn’t completely attached to the iPhone. While it was the only iPhone iteration that I was actually comfortable with, I wasn’t so invested in it to the point where getting rid of it would be the end of me. I actually use more apps on my iPad in a day than I do on any mobile device I’ve ever owned. The fluidity and speed of iOS on the iPhone 4 was definitely handy, but I got over it fast. I’m comfortable using a Nokia N8… until the next phone that I get my hands on! At the end of the day, it’s just a gadget… a pricey gadget though.