In Japan, the cell phone can be used to steal magazines


I wouldn't have thought of this, but apparently in Japan (where picture phones have been available for years), people are walking in to book stores and kiosks and sending photographs of pages or entire magazines to themselves or their friends, all from their cell phones.

This article from IOL (a South African portal) conveys that the problem is mainly with people taking a quick picture of a particular page in a book or magazine, for example a hair style or fashion ensemble. This kind of thing is pretty commonplace in the US at libraries (and it is legal), but the booksellers would prefer that you not do it in their location and are looking for ways to combat the problem.