NYPD trades old Nokia Windows phones for 36,000 new iPhone 7s

A New York City Police (NYPD) car as seen on March 18, 2016. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

Book ’em, Siri

Used to be, police officers relied on training, intuition, some contacts in the underworld and their partner to take that bite outta crime. But in New York City, they just got a new tool; Apple iPhones. The NYPD is handing out iPhone 7 and 7 Plus handsets to the men and women on the beat, to the tune of about 36,000 handsets. The iPhones are replacing an aging fleet of Nokia Windows phones.

So far, the changeover is getting high marks from officers and their superiors. One officer told the New York Daily News that it was the “ultimate tool” to have as a patrol cop. Police will use the phones to take photos and video and of course communicate with each other, citizens and headquarters. NYPD officials say they’ve already seen a 14 percent drop in response times by officers using the new phones. We just want to know what kind of iPhone cases the cops are using.

Gardez vos mains!

Speaking of smartphones, they can be distracting, as we all know, but that’s an especially big problem while driving, and France is having none of it, or at least less of it. A French publication reports that new laws stipulate that it's now illegal to hold or use your phone while driving – or even while you’re just in the car, even if it’s stopped. It’s only legal to chat or text while in specific designated phone-OK parking spots, or if you’ve just been in a crash, ironically.

French drivers are fairly notorious for their, uh, enthusiastic driving, and a recent rise in accident rates after a long decline has officials eyeing the ever-addicting celly phone as a possible cause. A recent drop in rural speed limits has already made drivers angry, this probably won’t help much. Get caught driving while phoning in France? That’ll be 135 Euros, please, or about $166 dollars.

Flat six batteries?

Still think driving electric is a distant tree-hugger dream? Porsche apparently disagrees. After initially pledging to sing several billion dollars into the electrification and hybridization of their iconic sports cars, the Stuttgart-based automaker has now literally doubled down on that pledge and says it’ll drop well over $7 billion on the conversion strategy. Why? Many Euro governments are now eyeing future bans on petrol vehicles, at least in major cities.

The super-cool Mission E concept car will be a key player, and it’s getting closer to production finalization even though, you know, it’s a concept car. But the E could be the signature model in Prosche’s fast-growing electric stable of cool electric cars. The Mission E is reportedly on track for a 2019 production launch, with nearly 700 horsepower on tap and over 300 miles of range in top trim. Oh, and it seats four, just like Tesla’s upcoming Roadster refresh.

But one big advantage the E may have: The ability to recharge to 80 percent in just 15 minutes, which is quite a bit faster than a Tesla. Hey, we can kill 15 minutes on Facebook without even thinking about it. So much for that range and charging time problem.

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