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Williamsburg springs for 40 new iPads [The Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg :: ](Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) April 19--WILLIAMSBURG -- The new iPad Air is billed as "an extremely simple tool but also extremely powerful." It's most certainly extremely expensive. Williamsburg's proposed fiscal 2015 budget includes $30,000 to replace all 40 iPads in the city with new models, at $750 each. City employees and council members first got iPads in 2010. For council members, the buy was a cost-saving measure: The city was paying $2,000 annually to print council agenda packets. By all accounts, the program was a success. Where the city expected the iPads to pay for themselves in 18 months, it was more like 10, said Mark Barham, information technology director. The city also enjoyed widespread publicity because of the switch, even being featured in USA Today. Those iPads will be replaced with 32-gigabyte models equipped for Wi-Fi but not for cell data networks, Barham said. The tablets cost $599 through apple.com, but Barham said the city will save $20-40 per tablet by purchasing through the state's contract. The other $150 is for cases and peripherals to support each iPad, Barham said. Although the iPad Air isn't hailed as a particularly unique model, it will increase capability for city employees. Barham said the older models won't allow current operating system updates, so employees and council members are limited in the software they can use. "We're missing out on apps that would help us in our daily business," Barham said. The city is also changing its policy. Those first 40 employees and council members who were equipped with iPads had an opportunity to buy them at half of the city's cost, or $300. After a year, the iPads became theirs. "When we initially did it, it was somewhat of a way to offset the costs," Barham said. Between 15-20 people took the city up on the offer, he said. They will keep their first-generation iPads when the new ones are issued. The rest will be sold as surplus. The city won't offer be offering a purchase agreement with the new iPads, Barham said. Instead, they will remain city-issued property. Langley can be reached by phone at 757-345-2346. ___ (c)2014 The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Va.) Visit The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Va.) at www.vagazette.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |