Jan 2008

iCops? Who Knew?

We've been doing a bit of traveling lately. One thing I have noticed out there in the police world is that there are apparently plenty of police officers who have caught on to the iPhone. I don't know if this surprises me or not - on the one hand, the thing is elegant beyond belief, but on the other, largely except for the younger guys, cops tend not to be the most techno-centric people in the world unless it really plays to what they need.

Maybe that's it. It's eminently useful. An iPhone fits perfectly in the usual police uniform shirt pocket, since it lies nice and flat against a ballistic vest and there's no antennas, corners or anything else to catch on things. The screen is completely easily readable in just about any light. You're not going to lose endless styluses down on the floor of the police car like we did with the Palms. The iPod part of it is great, and the click switch on the headphone wire makes it really easy to go from phone to music or podcast. Throw in the Web and Google mail and it's no wonder the thing is such a hit with everyone, much less the police.

That's all, just a casual observation... but again and again, I am seeing that virtually everyone is aware of it, the officers who don't have one want one, and are often just waiting out their current contract before getting one. Starting to make me wonder about new ways of delivering information in PolicePro in the future, perhaps!

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