NYPD Rolls Out iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Handsets to Manhattan Officers, Replacing Windows Phones

[MacRumors]

The New York Police Department is making good on a promise made last year to dole out iPhone handsets to its officers, replacing around 36,000 Windows Phones as part of a new hardware upgrade strategy, reports the New York Daily News.

The NYPD has been rolling out hundreds of the phones since Christmas to Manhattan cops, who can choose between iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models. The platform switch comes at no cost to the police department because the handsets are filed as upgrades under the agency's contract with AT&T.

Image via New York Daily News​

"We've been giving out about 600 phones a day," said NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Information and Technology Jessica Tisch. "We're seeing a lot of excitement."

Police in the Bronx and Staten Island have already received their new phones, with officers in the Queens and Brooklyn boroughs next in line to make the switch to iOS.

Armed with Apple's smartphones, the NYPD has seen its response times to critical crimes in progress drop by 14 percent, according to Tisch. The iPhones also allow cops to get videos and surveillance pictures of wanted suspects within minutes of a crime.

"I truly feel like it's the ultimate tool to have as a patrol cop," said Police Officer Christopher Clampitt. "We get to the location a lot quicker," he said. "By the time the dispatcher puts out the job (on the radio) we're already there."

Before the rollout, NYPD's smartphones of choice were Nokia's Lumia 830 and Lumia 640 XL, released in October 2014 and March 2015 respectively. The discontinued devices run Windows Phone 8.1, which Microsoft ended support for in July 2017 to focus on its newer Windows 10 Mobile platform and cloud-based services.

In October 2014, New York City officials announced plans to roll out handheld devices to every NYPD officer for the first time ever, along with tablets for every patrol car. The $160 million initiative was part of a plan to bring the department into the 21st century.

Article Link: NYPD Rolls Out iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Handsets to Manhattan Officers, Replacing Windows Phones

 

[TComm]

The NYPD made the right decision. Apple needs to focus more on business corporations.

 

[asdavis10]

Karma.

 

[testcard]

Crying out for an unboxing video from New York’s finest.

 

[tkermit]

That's quite the upgrade

 

[Music Ambulance]

exit the vehicle with your...
Pause.... .....
.... .......pause

 

[sdz]

The left one seems to be an Android user

 

[maflynn]

Wow, 2018 and they're only doing this now. I think MS had a chance to carve out marketshare with windows phones, but made so many missteps, its failure was inevitable

 

[Avieshek]

I wonder, how long to iPhone X for them.

 

[architect1337]

Apple was the only obvious American Company after Microsoft. I suppose Google Pixel could have been the only other choice - but I suspect the procurement process started before the Pixel came on the scene.

 

[Aussi3]

I don’t understand how they bought a windows phone in the first place. Who thought that was a good idea

 

[jermwhl]

I don’t understand how they bought a windows phone in the first place. Who thought that was a good idea

Microsoft? Maybe. Probably not.

 

[maflynn]

I don’t understand how they bought a windows phone in the first place. Who thought that was a good idea

Usually high level executives that are out of touch with actual usage makes these decisions. What possibly factored in, is that they probably have a lot invested in MS technologies, so the customer rep probably offered them a huge deal to use the phones

 

[Secondempire]

Total Windows Phone usage now down from around 36,002 to around 2.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I don’t understand how they bought a windows phone in the first place. Who thought that was a good idea

If I remember right, they got a really good deal from Microsoft.

 

[_Refurbished_]

I forgot about Windows phone, it’s been so long.

 

[belvdr]

Armed with Apple's smartphones, the NYPD has seen its response times to critical crimes in progress drop by 14 percent, according to Tisch. The iPhones also allow cops to get videos and surveillance pictures of wanted suspects within minutes of a crime.

"I truly feel like it's the ultimate tool to have as a patrol cop," said Police Officer Christopher Clampitt. "We get to the location a lot quicker," he said. "By the time the dispatcher puts out the job (on the radio) we're already there."

How is a phone altering the response time? This sounds more like a process change having an effect and someone piggybacking on that to justify their technology changes. Additionally, I'm quite confident their former phones had cameras.

It's a good choice to abandon the MS phone though. These devices need to be in support.

 

[Remy149]

The NYPD made the right decision. Apple needs to focus more on business corporations.

I work in a hospital in nyc and we use iPhone 6s

 

[Braderunner]

Like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell.

 

[kycophpd]

How is a phone altering the response time? This sounds more like a process change having an effect and someone piggybacking on that to justify their technology changes. Additionally, I'm quite confident their former phones had cameras.

It's a good choice to abandon the MS phone though. These devices need to be in support.

I am assuming they have their CAD system on this new phone which allows the officers to actually see the calls before they are sent by radio. We have this on our iPhones and it was not available for Windows phone thru our vendor. It definitely speeds response time especially in a very busy place like that.

Yes their former phones had cameras. There is a program on iOS they are using that streams cameras to their phones from events and from dispatch that allows them to see what is going on prior to their arrival.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I think MS had a chance to carve out marketshare with windows phones, but made so many missteps, its failure was inevitable

Microsoft's failure in mobile will be studied for decades.

I wonder, though, if the market could really handle 3 major mobile operating systems. Could it be practical?

In the early days of the personal computer we had a variety of platforms: Microsoft DOS and Windows, Apple II and Macintosh, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amiga, IBM OS/2, etc.

But the desktop market eventually settled down to just two: Windows and the Mac.

Why?

A lot of that had to do with the software. Very few developers wanted to, or were able to, support 3 or more different platforms. And if you don't have the software... your platform suffers.

That was one of the big problems Windows Phones had. The "app revolution" was already a major force by the time Microsoft launched their newest mobile platform. And it was Android and iOS where developers had planted their flag.

With Microsoft basically "starting over" in 2010 with a brand-new platform... it was always destined to be an uphill battle against the then 3 year-old iPhone and 2 year-old Android platform.

From a developer standpoint... by the time Windows Phone was launched in 2010... there were already a hundred million Android phones and iPhones out in the world. By 2011 they had ballooned to a few hundred million. And they just kept growing. So how much time could a developer really devote to a brand-new platform like Windows Phone?

Hell... from the beginning of the modern smartphone "app" era... there were plenty of examples of developers being iOS-first or iOS-only. So if they weren't too keen on supporting two platforms... they certainly wouldn't be interested in adding a third. And one that is in a distant third place.

And like I said earlier... if you don't have the software... your platform suffers.

Developer support for Windows Phone certainly wasn't the only problem Microsoft had... but I believe it was one of the biggies.

If you can't get something as simple as your bank app on a Windows Phone... but iOS and Android do have it... it's really gonna affect which phone you'll buy.

 

[alexgowers]

I'm not too concerned about if its an iphone or an android but for them to have been using microsoft is bizarre and troubling. Windows is only holding onto laptop and desktop markets because of entrenched developers, i would love to see someone like google really tackle it with something other than chrome OS.

 

[redgreenski]

Someone at the government level should be held responsible for picking a dying platform.

 

[JosephAW]

Hopefully they've left it on iOS 10 for longer battery life and better performance.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Microsoft's failure in mobile will be studied for decades.

I wonder, though, if the market could really handle 3 major mobile operating systems. Could it be practical?

In the early days of the personal computer we had a variety of platforms: Microsoft DOS and Windows, Apple II and Macintosh, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amiga, IBM OS/2, etc.

But the desktop market eventually settled down to just two: Windows and the Mac.

Why?

A lot of that had to do with the software. Very few developers wanted to, or were able to, support 3 or more different platforms. And if you don't have the software... your platform suffers.

That was one of the big problems Windows Phones had. The "app revolution" was already a major force by the time Microsoft launched their newest mobile platform. And it was Android and iOS where developers had planted their flag.

With Microsoft basically "starting over" in 2010 with a brand-new platform... it was always destined to be an uphill battle against the then 3 year-old iPhone and 2 year-old Android platform.

From a developer standpoint... by the time Windows Phone was launched in 2010... there were already a hundred million Android phones and iPhones out in the world. By 2011 they had ballooned to a few hundred million. And they just kept growing. So how much time could a developer really devote to a brand-new platform like Windows Phone?

Hell... from the beginning of the modern smartphone "app" era... there were already tons of examples of developers being iOS-first or iOS-only. So if they weren't too keen on supporting two platforms... they certainly wouldn't be interested in adding a third. And one that is in a distant third place.

And like I said earlier... if you don't have the software... your platform suffers.

Developer support for Windows Phone certainly wasn't the only problem Microsoft had... but I believe it was one of the biggies.

If you can't get something as simple as your bank app on a Windows Phone... but iOS and Android do have it... it's really gonna affect which phone you'll buy.

As a former Windows Phone user, I think their problems really started when they failed to produce any flagship devices after the Lumia 1520. By the time the 950 launched, it was entirely too late already. Their mobile efforts were actually gaining ground in a few markets, and then they let the product wither up and die. Windows 10 Mobile was so bad at launch that it was all down hill after that. I loved using WP 8.1, but when MS made it clear they weren't doing anything with the platform, the few developers they had left abandoned ship, and so did their users. I used to be a big Windows/MS fan, but between their poor quality control on devices and what they let happen to Windows Phone/Mobile (and Nokia), it will take a lot to win me back. How they ever expect their UWP initiative to be successful is beyond me. They can't commit to anything in the consumer space.