A few years ago, the defacto device of choice for governments and businesses would be Blackberry. However with iOS and Android controlling the majority of the market share these days, the preferences of users have changed, although it is possible that Blackberry could regain their footing with Blackberry 10. However until that happens, it seems that as far as the New Zealand police are concerned, it looks like iOS will be their software and hardware of choice. According to New Zealand’s The National Business Review, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, and Police Minister Anne Tolley, have said that they will be distributing 6,000 iPhones to frontline police, and 3,900 of which will be given iPads as well.
The police will spend about $3.65 million rolling out this program over the next three months, and $134.7 million over the next ten years. If this seems like a lot, they have also estimated that by using these gadgets, productivity is expected to improve whose benefits are valued at $258.5 million in a ten-year span. The decision to go with iOS compared to Android or Blackberry was thanks to an 11-month trial period that involved 100 officers. Ten years seems pretty long, especially since technology is constantly shifting, upgrading and improving, so who knows, perhaps Blackberry 10 will prove to be a viable business alternative in the near future and we could see a change then as well.