The incoming college freshman of Seton Hall’s Class of 2016 will a little something extra, on top of their meal plan, course catalogue and extra-long twin bed: a Nokia Lumia 900.
Apparently born out of the New Jersey college’s partnerships with both Nokia and Microsoft, each matriculating student will receive his or her own Microsoft phone, as part of the school’s Mobile Computing Initiative.
As PC World reports, this isn’t the first time the school has given mobile devices to its students; “In the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years, students in various programs were issued Nokia smartphones and Amazon Kindles, and in 2010-11, Apple and Android tablets were handed out to those in select majors.”
However, in a deal of undisclosed terms, this will be the first time an entire class is given a gadget.
The phones seem intended to make the transition into college life a little easier, with access to the school’s own SHUmobile app.
SHUmobile includes, among other school-specific features:
• Access to faculty and employee directory
• Browse course catalog
• View Campus map
• Get Setonian News
• SHUfly tracking
• Browse library catalog
The housing and roommate info and advisor/advisee communication feature, in particular, are a novel new approach to facilitating the typical functions of collegiate life.
SHUmobile is also available for iOS, Android, and Blackberry.
Now if only Australian universities could start cutting deals like this! [PCWorld]