Apple Supplying Henrico Middle Schools with iBooks

MacRumors · Feb 12, 2006, 05:46 AM

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Henrico County (Richmond, Virginia) has decided to renew their contract with Apple in supplying iBooks to their middle school students.

Henrico had previously dropped Apple from their High School program in favor of Dell. The high school Apple iBooks were sold off for $50 a piece and drew a lot of interest as well as a stampede.

The new contract is worth $16 million and supplies Henrico with 12,675 iBook laptops for $1,246 each. Interestingly, Dell's bid for the middle school contract was $1,111 per laptop.

Whotheheck · Feb 12, 2006, 05:50 AM

I guess they found out Dells SUCK

rdowns · Feb 12, 2006, 05:53 AM

You have to wonder why they took a bid for $171,000 more. I guess the Dell purchase at the high school level has proved less than successful.

Nuc · Feb 12, 2006, 05:55 AM

Apple may have said that iBook updates were imminent. Apple may possibly have let them in on what the future holds. Also the county would probably have to purchase mass amounts MS licenses. Apple may offer iWork for cheap... who knows.

Nuc

Abstract · Feb 12, 2006, 06:11 AM

$1246 is expensive for 12" iBooks, no?

And they better be getting the new Intel based ones. Maybe Herlico could purchase the G4 ones for less money.

Johnny Malkavia · Feb 12, 2006, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nuc

Apple may have said that iBook updates were imminent. Apple may possibly have let them in on what the future holds. Also the county would probably have to purchase mass amounts MS licenses. Apple may offer iWork for cheap... who knows.

Nuc

That is possibly true. Lower total cost of ownership has always been lower for Macs. Also very likely to have factored in the decision is Apple's student information system, PowerSchool.

Chundles · Feb 12, 2006, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abstract

$1246 is expensive for 12" iBooks, no?

And they better be getting the new Intel based ones. Maybe Herlico could purchase the G4 ones for less money.

They've probably got some updated specs (RAM, HDD) and some extra software on top of the stock model. Maybe Apple's given them some .Mac access too, who knows?

redeye be · Feb 12, 2006, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abstract

$1246 is expensive for 12" iBooks, no?

I think it's even expensive for a 14" when buying over 12000.
They know something we don't.

macffooky · Feb 12, 2006, 06:51 AM

D'ya reckon there'll be a stampede if they flog off the old Dells ?

Staffroomer · Feb 12, 2006, 06:55 AM

I like my iBook.. But I wish I could have been in on this deal..

mdriftmeyer · Feb 12, 2006, 07:04 AM

this after June 30th signals in the new Intel iBooks.

Mord · Feb 12, 2006, 07:05 AM

this put a smile on my face

, i highly doubt their will be a riot for 50 dollar dells.

Abstract · Feb 12, 2006, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redeye be

I think it's even expensive for a 14" when buying over 12000.
They know something we don't.

Well apparently they don't know about economies of scale.

So lets assume that the iBook is getting new specs, but a price hike. Or we can just assume that they got something else in the deal that made each computer worth $1260, maybe AppleCare or something.

Chundles · Feb 12, 2006, 07:21 AM

Yeah, US$1111 Dell's are expensive too. They must have added some serious software/AppleCare support to sweeten the deal. I don't think Dell can offer the kind of integration with software and .Mac-style hosting services that Apple can.

i think they saw cheaper Dell's a false economy. They pay less now but they'll have to pay more in upkeep etc. in the future.

Anybody know when these are due to be delivered? I keep forgetting the US isn't starting it's school year now. Uni starts back for the new year next week and the schools have already begun their new year's.

Mord · Feb 12, 2006, 07:52 AM

ibook + office + applecare

CaptainHaddock · 06:02 PM

Considering:

1. All the useful software iBooks ship with (iWeb, iPhoto, etc)
2. The extra productivity software Apple might be throwing in (iWork)
3. The lesser resources needed for maintenance and fixing software problems

The Apple deal must work out to be significantly cheaper for the school than the Dell deal. Imagine buying all those copies of Office, some good anti-malware software, and then having to fix Dell bricks with hosed registries or spyware infestations.

MacViolinist · Feb 12, 2006, 07:54 AM

At best, Dell was probably offering Celeron-based 600m's with integrated video, XP pro and office basic and they wouldn't be taking any hit on cost for that price. More than likely, they were offering the Inspiron 3000's that they could hardly give away over Christmas at absurdly increased prices and hoping that the school would take a 14" in screen with "proven intel technology" over anything that Apple could offer. I'm glad they were wrong.

This is pure speculation...from someone who worked for Dell up until recently. I am ashamed, but it was decent money where and when I needed it. I got a haircut and now I make twice as much waiting tables in a much more organized environment. Dell sucks in every way possible.

azdude · Feb 12, 2006, 08:30 AM

Good news, but...

I'm sure the $1246 is mostly due to the spread-out cost of support, repair parts, infrastructure overhead, etc., and *possibly* the aforementioned software add-ons and hardware upgrades.

dornoforpyros · Feb 12, 2006, 08:36 AM

man what are those clowns smokin in this county?

sushi · Feb 12, 2006, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abstract

$1246 is expensive for 12" iBooks, no?

Maybe that cost includes Apple Care and possibly some other goodies such as a site license for MS Office.

Buschmaster · Feb 12, 2006, 09:36 AM

Yeah, I wouldn't get too excited because of the price. It doesn't mean an Intel iBook, however, why would Jobs sell them iBooks in June? I think they might keep the iBook name rather than using "MacBook." Who knows, it just seems weird to me that Apple is selling them these computers for this much, especially if they're going to be replaced soon (likely - It IS Apple) at which point the new iBooks would probably be considerably cheaper than the price listed here...

sam10685 · Feb 12, 2006, 09:39 AM

dropping Apple for Dell... what a bunch of DUMB-ASS'.

lopresmb · Feb 12, 2006, 09:57 AM

two things to remember:

1) The june date has (ostensibly) nothing to do with new machines, it is simply the time when the current middle school contract runs out (that said, who knows if there were promises of new hardware or "whatever the latest release by June 1" or something like that)

2) This contract is still just for the middle schools, whereas the iBooks that caused the riots (which I attended) were for the High School contract. And they will still be using Dell machines at least until the new contract they signed expires.

--So really this has less to do with a victory for apple in the EDU market, but more of not losing another contract with Henrico schools.

Indo · Feb 12, 2006, 10:04 AM

wish my school in northern va was that smart, we get dell laptops for class

p0intblank · Feb 12, 2006, 10:09 AM

Lose the Dells and go with the Macs!

*psst* Do I sense another stampede?

Feb 12, 2006, 05:46 AM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Apple Supplying Henrico Middle Schools with iBooks http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif Henrico County (Richmond, Virginia) has decided to renew their contract with Apple in supplying iBooks to their middle school students. Henrico had previously dropped Apple from their High School program in favor of Dell. The high school Apple iBooks were sold off for $50 a piece and drew a lot of interest as well as a stampede. The new contract is worth $16 million and supplies Henrico with 12,675 iBook laptops for $1,246 each. Interestingly, Dell's bid for the middle school contract was $1,111 per laptop.

Feb 12, 2006, 05:55 AM	#4
Nuc macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: NC	iBook updates Apple may have said that iBook updates were imminent. Apple may possibly have let them in on what the future holds. Also the county would probably have to purchase mass amounts MS licenses. Apple may offer iWork for cheap... who knows. Nuc __________________ 17" MBP C2D iPod HP 4G 40GB Black iPod Nano 2GB & Nike+

Feb 12, 2006, 06:11 AM	#5
Abstract macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: It's classified.	$1246 is expensive for 12" iBooks, no? And they better be getting the new Intel based ones. Maybe Herlico could purchase the G4 ones for less money. __________________ "Oh, I've always wanted to touch Stanley," signs teacher Fran Zakoor, embracing the kids… ESPN Article, 04/09/2008

Feb 12, 2006, 06:55 AM	#10
Staffroomer macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2005	I like my iBook.. But I wish I could have been in on this deal.. __________________ Come and check out The Staffroom. Get lots of FREE SOFTWARE for teachers. We're a non-profit site for TEACHERS

Feb 12, 2006, 07:05 AM	#12
Mord macrumors 601 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: People's Republic of Yorkshire	this put a smile on my face , i highly doubt their will be a riot for 50 dollar dells. __________________ Consider the lily.

Feb 12, 2006, 05:50 AM	#2
Whotheheck macrumors member Join Date: Mar 2004	I guess they found out Dells SUCK

Feb 12, 2006, 05:53 AM	#3
rdowns macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Jul 2003	You have to wonder why they took a bid for $171,000 more. I guess the Dell purchase at the high school level has proved less than successful.

Feb 12, 2006, 06:51 AM	#9
macffooky macrumors regular Join Date: May 2004 Location: The 51st State	D'ya reckon there'll be a stampede if they flog off the old Dells ?

Feb 12, 2006, 07:04 AM	#11
mdriftmeyer macrumors 6502a Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Pacific Northwest	this after June 30th signals in the new Intel iBooks.

Feb 12, 2006, 07:21 AM	#14
Chundles macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: The Gong, Australia	Yeah, US$1111 Dell's are expensive too. They must have added some serious software/AppleCare support to sweeten the deal. I don't think Dell can offer the kind of integration with software and .Mac-style hosting services that Apple can. i think they saw cheaper Dell's a false economy. They pay less now but they'll have to pay more in upkeep etc. in the future. Anybody know when these are due to be delivered? I keep forgetting the US isn't starting it's school year now. Uni starts back for the new year next week and the schools have already begun their new year's. __________________ This is going straight to the Pool Room

Feb 12, 2006, 07:52 AM	#15
Mord macrumors 601 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: People's Republic of Yorkshire	ibook + office + applecare __________________ Consider the lily.

Feb 12, 2006, 07:53 AM	#16
CaptainHaddock macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Nagoya, Japan	Considering: 1. All the useful software iBooks ship with (iWeb, iPhoto, etc) 2. The extra productivity software Apple might be throwing in (iWork) 3. The lesser resources needed for maintenance and fixing software problems The Apple deal must work out to be significantly cheaper for the school than the Dell deal. Imagine buying all those copies of Office, some good anti-malware software, and then having to fix Dell bricks with hosed registries or spyware infestations. Last edited by Rower_CPU : Feb 12, 2006 at 06:02 PM. Reason: put personal links in your signature, not your posts

Feb 12, 2006, 07:54 AM	#17
MacViolinist macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Texas	At best, Dell was probably offering Celeron-based 600m's with integrated video, XP pro and office basic and they wouldn't be taking any hit on cost for that price. More than likely, they were offering the Inspiron 3000's that they could hardly give away over Christmas at absurdly increased prices and hoping that the school would take a 14" in screen with "proven intel technology" over anything that Apple could offer. I'm glad they were wrong. This is pure speculation...from someone who worked for Dell up until recently. I am ashamed, but it was decent money where and when I needed it. I got a haircut and now I make twice as much waiting tables in a much more organized environment. Dell sucks in every way possible.

Feb 12, 2006, 08:30 AM	#18
azdude macrumors 6502 Join Date: Sep 2003	Good news, but... I'm sure the $1246 is mostly due to the spread-out cost of support, repair parts, infrastructure overhead, etc., and possibly the aforementioned software add-ons and hardware upgrades. __________________ 30" ACD on Mac Pro 8x3.2 GHz / 32GB / 2x300GB VelociRaptor in RAID0 + 2x1.5 TB 15" Unibody MacBook Pro - 2.53GHz / 4GB / 320GB

Feb 12, 2006, 08:36 AM	#19
dornoforpyros macrumors 68040 Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Calgary, AB	man what are those clowns smokin in this county? __________________ www.JasonDorn.com \| this looked better on paper

Feb 12, 2006, 09:36 AM	#21
Buschmaster macrumors 65816 Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Minnesota	Yeah, I wouldn't get too excited because of the price. It doesn't mean an Intel iBook, however, why would Jobs sell them iBooks in June? I think they might keep the iBook name rather than using "MacBook." Who knows, it just seems weird to me that Apple is selling them these computers for this much, especially if they're going to be replaced soon (likely - It IS Apple) at which point the new iBooks would probably be considerably cheaper than the price listed here...

Feb 12, 2006, 09:39 AM	#22
sam10685 macrumors 68000 Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Portland, OR	dropping Apple for Dell... what a bunch of DUMB-ASS'.

Feb 12, 2006, 09:57 AM	#23
lopresmb macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Gone to Carolina in my mind...	two things to remember: 1) The june date has (ostensibly) nothing to do with new machines, it is simply the time when the current middle school contract runs out (that said, who knows if there were promises of new hardware or "whatever the latest release by June 1" or something like that) 2) This contract is still just for the middle schools, whereas the iBooks that caused the riots (which I attended) were for the High School contract. And they will still be using Dell machines at least until the new contract they signed expires. --So really this has less to do with a victory for apple in the EDU market, but more of not losing another contract with Henrico schools. __________________ Sawtooth - PowerLogix G4 1.4 L3 cache, 1GB RAM, Radeon 9200 128MB, 16X Superdrive, Tiger Camera: Cannon S1IS iPod: 20GB, 4th Gen color. Want: New Mac badly

Feb 12, 2006, 10:04 AM	#24
Indo macrumors member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Northern, VA	wish my school in northern va was that smart, we get dell laptops for class __________________ Rev. A Dual 1.8GHz G5, 2.5GB RAM, 160GB HD, Radeon 9600, 17" Apple LCD display Mac mini 1.42GHz, 80GB HD, 256MB RAM, Radeon 9200, 17" Samsung LCD display 4G 20GB iPod

Feb 12, 2006, 10:09 AM	#25
p0intblank macrumors 68020 Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: New Jersey, USA	Lose the Dells and go with the Macs! psst Do I sense another stampede?

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