Roughly a year ago, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) made headlines for a new program which equipped officers with Windows Phone devices. At the time, the phones were being called a “major success” in fighting crimes, with officers looking at 2,000 wanted flyers, conducting 36,000 database searches, and reviewing information about 29,000 911 calls on the Windows Phone devices. Unfortunately, in a sign of the times, a new report from the New York Post explains that the NYPD is planning to ditch the Windows Phones for iPhones by the end of this year.
A major impact in the decision to replace the 36,000 Windows Phones for newer iPhones is Microsoft recently ending support for Windows Phone 8.1, the OS of choice on the Lumia 830 and 640 XL which the department was using in the field. According to reports, despite spending $160 million on the phones, the department now sees the phones as obsolete, since they believe they can no longer be upgraded.
Some inside the NYPD are blaming Jessica Tisch, the Deputy IT Commissioner for the NYPD for not getting a panel of experts to oversee the whole process. A source familiar with the situation tells the New York Post:
“Nobody purchases 36,000 phones based on the judgment of one person… I don’t care if you’re Jesus f- -king Christ, you get a panel of experts”
According to a statement in New York Post, The NYPD will not discuss the situation until Jessica Tish returns from vacation. So, time will tell, but for now, officers in the department will just have to enjoy their new iPhones, and just like the rest of the Internet, settle with Windows Phone being dead.
