New Zealand police officers are about to receive some big in-the-field help from Apple and the team at Vodafone. Six thousand frontline officers will receive Apple iPhone’s, and 3900 additional officers will receive Apple iPad devices.
The deal will provide Vodafone with a $159 million contract that spans ten years and includes cellular charges.
NZ Police chief information officer Stephen Crombie tells NBR.co.nz that the devices were chosen after an extensive 11-month trial period in which the iPad and iPhone were tested in the field.
According to Crombie:
“Based on frontline officer feedback from the trial (over 100 staff in four districts trialled smartphones, laptops and tablets over an 11-month period) the preferred devices are the iPhone as smartphone and iPad for the tablet.”
The chief information officer adds:
“The approach used to develop the applications means Police can move to other devices with relative ease as technology changes.”
Apple has been making inroads lately with both private and public organizations. The New Zealand police officers program was announced only a short time after Home Depot executives ditches BlackBerry in favor of the Apple iPhone.
Apple Insider also reports that Apple also scored a big win from LinkedIn, providing its 3,500 workers with 32GB iPad mini tablets courtesy of LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner.
With battery life that can last for days, light weight designs, and a cost structure that is less expensive than new computers, the move towards Apple iPhone and Apple iPad based devices will likely only become stronger.
Do you believe that the New Zealand police and other agencies should switch from traditional computers to Apple iOS , Google Android, and other tablet OS devices?
