Prime minister visits Apple HQ as Turkey ponders 10.6M-tablet buy for education

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Ahead of a planned purchase of more than 10 million tablets, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Apple's campus to hear the company's pitch for the iPad's use in education.

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In the course of a visit to the U.S., Erdoğan visited Apple, Microsoft, and Google according to Turkish blog ElmaDergisi. Erdoğan's tour is meant to boost Turkey's FATIH project, launched by the prime minister to integrate modern computing technology into Turkey's public education system.

"We wanted to see the latest developments in the information technology sector before we launched the FATIH bid," Erdoğan said. "Our first aim is to produce 10,600,000 tablets as part of the FATIH project."

Following the initial phase of the FATIH ? which is a Turkish acronym for Movement of Enhancing Opportunities and Improving Technology ? the Turkish government may purchase another two to two-and-a-half million tablets. The project will span about four years, with a cost of between $3 and $4 billion dollars.

Turkey's Education Ministry intends for those 10.6 million tablets to replace traditional blackboards and textbooks in schools. Turkey will render a decision on the tablet purchase contract some time this month.

Apple has long positioned its computers as ideal for education, and since the introduction of the iPad, the company has redoubled those efforts. The popular tablet has seen considerable interest from educators in the United States, and analyses from last year showed the iPad definitively cutting into PC sales in the education sector.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member
    Over 10M tablets? Now there's a sale.
  • Reply 2 of 26
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I love Turkey! It's the only country where the sidewalks are built into the rooftops.
  • Reply 3 of 26
    ankleskaterankleskater Posts: 1,287member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    I love Turkey! It's the only country where the sidewalks are built into the rooftops.




    Did someone watch Skyfall recently? :)

  • Reply 4 of 26
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member

    Did someone watch Skyfall recently? :)

    Don't forget Taken 2. You can't have an action movie that takes place in Turkey that doesn't have people running the rooftops. It's so common that I'm pretty sure it's Turkish law¡
  • Reply 5 of 26
    jusephejusephe Posts: 108member


    "Thats more than every nexus tablet ever sold" - me

  • Reply 6 of 26
    Apple will have to cut a deal if they expect to sell their iPads to Turkey. I'll be the iPad minis, if any, I expect. Android/Samsung will undercut on price -- guaranteed.

    Then, the software. Who's going to develop the software?
  • Reply 7 of 26
    I think the beauty of the iPad is that for education much can be achieved via the free OSX iBooks Author application which does not require programming skills. Thus there is no reason to create custom apps to generating content that is suitable as an authoring tool is available.

    I'm more concerned with the lack of upgradability of a device like the iPad, although the latest models as less likely to be obsolete soon than the version 1 device.
  • Reply 8 of 26
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member


    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Ahead of a planned purchase of more than 10 million tablets ...


     


    Ballmer would kill to sell 10 million Surfaces.  To anyone.  Over any period of time.

  • Reply 9 of 26
    ankleskaterankleskater Posts: 1,287member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SockRolid View Post


     


    Ballmer would kill to sell 10 million Surfaces.  To anyone.  Over any period of time.





    Wonder if he might throw in Office licenses to sweeten the deal. That might wipe out his margin altogether. Apple can throw in iWork without breaking a sweat.

  • Reply 10 of 26
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by waldobushman View Post



    Apple will have to cut a deal if they expect to sell their iPads to Turkey. I'll be the iPad minis, if any, I expect. Android/Samsung will undercut on price -- guaranteed.



    Then, the software. Who's going to develop the software?




    Of course everyone if going to try cutting a deal to get in the door.  However, I truly believe that anyone contemplating a tablet purchase of this magnitude, is going to be asking the questions of how to make everything work.  This is where Apple is the clear winner.  While Scamsung may try lowballing on price, when it comes to actually using the tablets, and the software development infrastructure already in place, they'd be stupid to not pick Apple.


     


    But yeah, where governments are concerned most of them will just say "Uh yeah, Android is cheaper.  Let's go with them.  After all, aren't all tablets the same?"

  • Reply 11 of 26
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post




    Of course everyone if going to try cutting a deal to get in the door.  However, I truly believe that anyone contemplating a tablet purchase of this magnitude, is going to be asking the questions of how to make everything work.  This is where Apple is the clear winner.  While Scamsung may try lowballing on price, when it comes to actually using the tablets, and the software development infrastructure already in place, they'd be stupid to not pick Apple.


     


    But yeah, where governments are concerned most of them will just say "Uh yeah, Android is cheaper.  Let's go with them.  After all, aren't all tablets the same?"



    The fact that they are contemplating jumping this deep into a an all digital educational future might mean that they are looking beyond initial purchase price. I imagine iTunesU is a strong argument in favour of the IOS platform in addition to iBooks. I also imagine that Apple will go a little further than the usual 3%, or whatever it is for educational purchases. If not in price then in after care services. Apple Care might be a place where the deal can be sweetened. It must count for a lot to have a direct link to the creator of the physical device and OS in one. 

  • Reply 12 of 26
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    If this deal requires Apple to bend over backwards and build factories in Turkey, then I'm going to say that Apple should pass on this deal.

  • Reply 13 of 26
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    I think the beauty of the iPad is that for education much can be achieved via the free OSX iBooks Author application which does not require programming skills. Thus there is no reason to create custom apps to generating content that is suitable as an authoring tool is available.

    I'm more concerned with the lack of upgradability of a device like the iPad, although the latest models as less likely to be obsolete soon than the version 1 device.

    Lack of upgradability? iPads are guaranteed to be supported on the next version of iOS and most likely the version after next.

    If the Turkish authorities want to track the students, perhaps Google is the way to go.
  • Reply 14 of 26
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    paxman wrote: »
    The fact that they are contemplating jumping this deep into a an all digital educational future might mean that they are looking beyond initial purchase price. I imagine iTunesU is a strong argument in favour of the IOS platform in addition to iBooks. I also imagine that Apple will go a little further than the usual 3%, or whatever it is for educational purchases. If not in price then in after care services. Apple Care might be a place where the deal can be sweetened. It must count for a lot to have a direct link to the creator of the physical device and OS in one. 

    I totally agree, it should be about far more than just the tablet price. Hopefully so will the prime minister. If this goes to Apple it will be Turkish Delight indeed. :)
  • Reply 15 of 26
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member


    Just make sure you get paid up front, Apple.

  • Reply 16 of 26
    ptramptram Posts: 58member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ankleskater View Post


    Wonder if he might throw in Office licenses to sweeten the deal.



     


    For the education market? I would guess iBooks Author is a much better fit.

  • Reply 17 of 26
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    I'm more concerned with the lack of upgradability of a device like the iPad, although the latest models as less likely to be obsolete soon than the version 1 device.

    ROTFLMAO

    iOS devices are generally upgradeable for several software versions. Android devices, OTOH, are often stuck with the OS they came with - which is why half of Android users are running a 3 year old OS.
  • Reply 18 of 26
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Just make sure you get paid up front, Apple.

    Anatolia has been civilized for longer than most anywhere on earth. World's oldest sacred site, Göbekli Tepi,10,000 BCE. World's oldest towns, including Çatal Hüyük, settled even before agriculture.

    Like Solipsism X says, the access was over the roofs. No downstaris entrances. You had to pass through everbody's rooftop barbecue party to get home. Maybe it took a long tome to get home.

    To this day, no one like to hang out and be friendly and hospitable to each other more than Turks, the current ethnic overseers of ancient Anatolia.

    I suggest everyone who can go there. Wonderful places and people.
  • Reply 19 of 26
    aliy155aliy155 Posts: 4member
    flaneur wrote: »
    Anatolia has been civilized for longer than most anywhere on earth. World's oldest sacred site, Göbekli Tepi,10,000 BCE. World's oldest towns, including Çatal Hüyük, settled even before agriculture.

    Like Solipsism X says, the access was over the roofs. No downstaris entrances. You had to pass through everbody's rooftop barbecue party to get home. Maybe it took a long tome to get home.

    To this day, no one like to hang out and be friendly and hospitable to each other more than Turks, the current ethnic overseers of ancient Anatolia.

    I suggest everyone who can go there. Wonderful places and people.

    Thank you for saying this about us :)
  • Reply 20 of 26
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    flaneur wrote: »
    Like Solipsism X says, the access was over the roofs. No downstaris entrances.

    Seriously? I was just making a joke based on an observation. I assumed that it was just a style of construction that made it feasible for action movies.
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