Find my iPhone leads to capture of iPhone thieves

We aren’t surprised by this at all and expect to see more and more of it as GPS devices become more ubiquitous.  Pittsburgh police last night nabbed a trio of iPhone robbers who were caught using the iPhone’s "Find My iPhone" service. 

The victim, who was not identified by police, said two men approached him at about 1 a.m. near the intersection of Amberson Avenue and Amberson Place. He told police the men demanded his wallet and asked for his PIN number for his credit cards; one of the men also showed what appeared to be a handgun. The man told police he turned over his wallet, his PIN number and his iPhone before running away toward Ellsworth Avenue. Officers arrived while he was contacting his bank to cancel his cards. The man later used his computer to track the location of his iPhone to a Wal-Mart in North Versailles, where police said the suspects purchased items with his stolen credit card before moving on to an Eat’n Park restaurant on Route 30.

Suddenly, that $99/year MobileMe fee doesn’t seem that steep.  Will criminals stop stealing iPhones if they know this feature exists?  Maybe, or perhaps they’ll just turn them off while hitting up the Eat’n Park.

(Photo is one of the perps)