Abilene Christian University says it will be the first university in the counattempt to give iPhones or iPods to all incoming freshmen. Today the university unveiled an elaborate news-media blitz on its Web site, including an online video showing a fictionalized account of how the university plans to use the devices for various services on campus.
The 900 students who will start at the university this fall will be given the choice of an iPhone or an iPod Touch (which can connect to the Internet via wireless networks but does not function as a cellphone).
How much will it cost? The university won’t say, but “it’s not a significant financial investment at this point,” according to Phil Schubert, executive vice president. “We’ve been able to fund this out of general financial resources.”
Does that mean the university got a sweet discount from Apple? No, said Mr. Schubert. “I’d like to tell you we’re getting these things for free, but that’s not the case,” he said. “If schools are out there thinking, ‘We’re going to get great discounts from Apple … that’s not likely to happen.”
In 2004 Duke University decided to give iPods to all of its first-year students. The move generated a high volume of publicity, but two years later the university scaled back the effort, so that only students in certain courses were given iPods (and then only as a loan rather than a gift). —Jeffrey R. Young