Michigan Officials Recommend HP Over Apple For School Laptops

A ppleis bid to make up some of the ground lost in the education market has been going well; Apple won several high profile contracts to provide laptops to schools. Unfortunately, Apple canit win them all, a point made clear when Michigan officials recently recommended computer maker Hewlett-Packard to provide laptops to Michigan sixth graders. Here are some of the details from an Associated Press report titled Computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co. recommended for school laptops:

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company was recommended for the stateis "Freedom to Learn" contract because it agreed to charge no more than $275 per student per year, Bridget Medina, spokeswoman for the state Department of Management and Budget, said Monday.

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The Hewlett-Packard contract could cost a maximum $35.75 million if all 130,000 sixth graders in Michigan get a laptop computer or handheld device. A spokeswoman for Hewlett-Packard did not return a telephone message seeking comment Monday afternoon.

Members of the stateis Joint Evaluations Committee determined Hewlett-Packard was the "best value and solution for the `Freedom to Learni laptop program," according to a written statement from the state budget office. The companyis proposal was accepted over four other computer companies, including giants Apple Computer Inc. and Dell Inc.

The contract still must be approved by the State Administrative Board, which oversees state contracts. The six-member board Ñ made up of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer and the state school superintendent Ñ is expected to consider the recommendation at its Dec. 16 meeting.

For more information read the full article at the Associated Press affiliate, MLive.com