GOOG, MSFT: Smartphone Kill Switch Going to Google, Microsoft Phones

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On Thursday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that upcoming smartphones that run on Google’s (GOOG) Android and Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows software will feature kill-switch technology to thwart thieves.

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Kill switch features allow customers to render a stolen smartphone inoperable after they are stolen. Law enforcement authorities have been pressuring smartphone makers to add such technology to their devices as mobile device thefts have surged in recent year, CNN notes.

While GOOG and MSFT will add kill switch technology to new smartphones and issue software updates for models of recent vintage, many older models are incompatible with the feature and will remain unprotected.

Apple (AAPL) added kill switch software called Activation Lock to its iOS software last year, along with other security enhancements. Police in three major cities say that thefts involving Apple mobile devices have decreased sharply since the feature was added.

Many new Samsung smartphones also include Reactivation Lock, a similar kill switch feature.

GOOG stock sank almost 1% in Friday morning trading, while MSFT shares rose modestly.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2014/06/goog-msft-smartphone-kill-switch-going-google-microsoft-phones/.

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