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NYPD to replace 36,000 smartphones

September 1, 2017.

Two policemen on 42nd street using their mobile phone.

Policemen on 42nd street using their mobile phone. © iStock.

Just months after the NYPD issued its officers with 36,000 Microsoft-based smartphones, the force is switching to iPhones. The city bought Windows-based Lumia smartphones as part of a $160 million NYPD Mobility Initiative that Mayor Bill de Blasio touted as “a huge step into the 21st century.” Unfortunately, Microsoft has since decided to stop supporting the operating system, making the phones basically junk. Even so, they weren’t a complete waste: for the first time, NYPD beat cops were able to receive alerts, search databases, file reports and watch 911 services in real-time.

New York Post, “NYPD needs to replace 36K useless smartphones.”