Maine’s Department of Education has revealed that it has ordered 64,000
Apple laptops as part of its decision to expand the Maine Learning Technology Initiative into all public high schools. An additional 7,000
MacBook notebooks will be ordered over the coming weeks, as Maine becomes the first American state to provide every public school student with a
laptop . Prior to the deal, an estimated 2,000 public high school
students in Maine attend schools with laptops. This latest contract is expected to see that figure rise to an estimated 25,000 by August.
The state has provided middle school students and faculty members with
Apple MacBooks under the initiative since 2002. It is not known how much the Maine Department of Education has paid Apple for the laptop
PCs, though the deal does include Apple’s iLife and iWork applications. Apple will also provide educational
software, training, repair and replacement and technical support.
With the corporate market largely dominated by
Microsoft Windows computers, the education market has been an important one for Apple for a while now. Apple are of the view that students with an Apple
notebook will be more likely to shop with Apple in the future, whilst students and teachers are also being offered a free
iPod Touch if they buy a Mac.