Forest Service kicks off Apple iPad test
By
Bob Brewin
The Forest Service started testing Apple iPads this summer, distributing 50 of the tablet computers to information technology development staff, executives and field users, including firefighters, according to internal documents.
The first phase of the pilot will end in early 2012, and will test the iPads' mail, calendar and contact functions, according to a memorandum and presentation from Doug Nash, the Forest Service's chief information officer, posted on the Government Attic website. The website contains documents acquired through Freedom of Information Act requests.
The second phase in winter 2012 will evaluate the use of iPads with virtual private network connections, email attachments and SharePoint collaboration software. Printing and instant messaging will be tested in the final phase, slated to start in the spring of 2012, the internal memo said.
While the Forest Service pilot includes only iPads, the documents said the CIO must determine if the agency should evaluate all tablet computers, including those that run the Google-developed Android operating system. "Many applications in the Android environment appear well-suited for [Forest Service] resource requirements," the memo stated.
A Sept. 28 internal presentation titled CIO Mobile Computing -- iPad Proof of Concept said the Forest Service initially decided to test iPads because they are the "most mature mobile device[s] in the marketplace."
That presentation also disclosed that 20 of the Apple tablets have been distributed to firefighters in a "fire mobility" trial.
According to the presentation, the long-term objectives of the test are to document mobile business requirements, determine annual operating costs, and decide if the tablets can bridge the "mobility gap" between a phone and a laptop.
Last month, the Transportation Department completed an iPad test and a spokesman said the tablet computers eventually could be used departmentwide. The National Archives and Records Administration has recommended all 3,000 of its employees be equipped with iPads, based on the success of a test that started in October 2010.
The Veterans Affairs Department hooked 1,000 iPads to its network in October, and signaled it eventually could field 100,000 tablet computers.