New Zealand police choose iOS over Android in tech push, to distribute 10,000 iPhones and iPads
The New Zealand police department will be rolling out 10,000 iOS devices to frontline officers within the next few months as part of a new technology overhaul, with the force opting to go with Apple's iPhones and iPads after testing a rage of platforms.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Peter Marshall (center) seen with two officers during the trial period. | Source: The National Business Review
In an announcement on Wednesday, Prime Minister John Key and Police Minister Anne Tolley said 6,000 frontline police will be receiving an iPhone as part of the initiative, 3,900 of whom will also get an iPad, reports New Zealand publication The National Business Review. The move to Apple's iOS comes as the department shifts communications providers from Telecom to Vodafone.
Police will spend NZ$4.3 million, or about US$3.65 million, to roll out the program over a three month period, while total funding will cost NZ$159 million, or about US$134.7 million, over the next ten years. The investment is said to bring in productivity benefits of NZ$305 million, roughly US$258.5 million, during the ten-year span.
According to New Zealand Police Chief Information Officer Stephen Crombie, the decision to go with iOS instead of Google's Android or BlackBerry was the result of an 11-month trial period involving 100 officers.
"The trial showed the most useful tools for officers were small personal devices for making phone calls or text messaging, accessing email, and accessing information and photo databases, and a larger such as a laptop or tablet for staff who need to do more data entry," Crombie said. "Based on frontline officer feedback from the trial the preferred devices are the iPhone as smartphone and iPad for the tablet. The approach used to develop the applications means Police can move to other devices with relative ease as technology changes."
Wednesday's news comes on the heels of a recent report that noted Australia's Treasury Department will be moving to iOS from BlackBerry. An increasing number of government bodies and enterprise customers are making the switch to Apple's platform, including U.S. agencies like NASA, NOAA, and the TSA.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Peter Marshall (center) seen with two officers during the trial period. | Source: The National Business Review
In an announcement on Wednesday, Prime Minister John Key and Police Minister Anne Tolley said 6,000 frontline police will be receiving an iPhone as part of the initiative, 3,900 of whom will also get an iPad, reports New Zealand publication The National Business Review. The move to Apple's iOS comes as the department shifts communications providers from Telecom to Vodafone.
Police will spend NZ$4.3 million, or about US$3.65 million, to roll out the program over a three month period, while total funding will cost NZ$159 million, or about US$134.7 million, over the next ten years. The investment is said to bring in productivity benefits of NZ$305 million, roughly US$258.5 million, during the ten-year span.
According to New Zealand Police Chief Information Officer Stephen Crombie, the decision to go with iOS instead of Google's Android or BlackBerry was the result of an 11-month trial period involving 100 officers.
"The trial showed the most useful tools for officers were small personal devices for making phone calls or text messaging, accessing email, and accessing information and photo databases, and a larger such as a laptop or tablet for staff who need to do more data entry," Crombie said. "Based on frontline officer feedback from the trial the preferred devices are the iPhone as smartphone and iPad for the tablet. The approach used to develop the applications means Police can move to other devices with relative ease as technology changes."
Wednesday's news comes on the heels of a recent report that noted Australia's Treasury Department will be moving to iOS from BlackBerry. An increasing number of government bodies and enterprise customers are making the switch to Apple's platform, including U.S. agencies like NASA, NOAA, and the TSA.
Comments
The stability, security, and ease-of-use of iOS, coupled by the quality of its hardware is a combo that no Android trash can match.
As a kiwi with a close relative who is a long time police officer - this comes as somewhat of a shock.
Really - entrenched in Windows they were.
An enlightened soul somewhere there.
Go Apple.
Good news. An Apple a day keep the Android away
A rage of platforms eh, well someone, somewhere will be in a rage I suppose.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sflocal
Simply music to my ears. Love anything that will get those whiny fandroids tight-whities in a wedgie.
The stability, security, and ease-of-use of iOS, coupled by the quality of its hardware is a combo that no Android trash can match.
It's also the plethora of third party hardware and software.
I think once Apple's snowball effect happens, I think we're going to hear more and more Apple deployments over the next couple of years from the Corporate, Educational, and Government sectors. Which is where Apple needs to attract a BIG account base.
I think Android is just for kids that like to hack their OS and not actually spend money on apps/content/third party hardware.
Great news!
It's too bad that we can't see the internal results from their test, if there were any details or score being kept at all. I bet that Android must have sucked so badly, and this wasn't even a close race. iOS is obviously the best mobile OS out there, and Apple also has the best hardware to go along with the best OS. It's a no brainer.
It's no coincidence that we're constantly reading about more and more big companies and organizations choosing Apple, and more and more of them are coming to the same conclusion, and that conclusion doesn't involve a dumb looking green robot.
Public safety is on the line! LIves are at stake! They don't have time to be messing around with any Android crap.
It would seem that the phrase "Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM" has now become "Nobody ever got fired for buying iOS"...
Well done Apple.
That's quite a funny comment to make considering how the NZ Police tried to create a little computer system with IBM, and I imagine a few of them got fired.
That's a pretty thorough test. Odd results though, don't they know most people want bigger phones like the Galaxy S3?
This is a big win for Apple however they might have little to do with it. (apart from making a great product) I suspect Vodafone are selling the hardware at a loss and making it up it in the service and support contract. Or just running the whole thing at a loss because this is a massive win for them to beat Telecom/Partners who normally win most govt contracts.
Again somebody broke their Windows dependancy and are moving forward with reliability, stability, and platform compatibility . Congratulation Apple !
Edited the to their
We all know the rationale for this choice - the lazy cops want to use the excuse of "Sorry we got here late, mate. But iOS maps steered us in the wrong direction and we ended up in the donut store instead."
Quote:
Originally Posted by thegreatbosan
Again somebody broke their Windows dependancy and are moving forward with reliability, stability, and platform compatibility . Congratulation Apple !
Edited the to their
While you are editing, how about removing the extra spaces as well as changing "are" to "is"?
Just sayin' ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by cde79
The only thing I worry about is the switch in telcos from Telecom to Vodafone. NZ Police will notice a massive reduction in coverage. I feel sorry for rural NZ.
This is a big win for Apple however they might have little to do with it. (apart from making a great product) I suspect Vodafone are selling the hardware at a loss and making it up it in the service and support contract. Or just running the whole thing at a loss because this is a massive win for them to beat Telecom/Partners who normally win most govt contracts.
I also suspect that you have no valid information to base this comment on. Are you an analyst in training?
Quote:
Originally Posted by EricTheHalfBee
Yet another company that actually spent time to do an in-depth comparison between iOS and Android and end up choosing iOS.
Let's just hope that none of these police iPhones get lost and fall into criminal hands, or that Apple plugs the iOS security hole before they get issued.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sflocal
Simply music to my ears. Love anything that will get those whiny fandroids tight-whities in a wedgie.
The stability, security, and ease-of-use of iOS, coupled by the quality of its hardware is a combo that no Android trash can match.
Now, now...
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