Schools now have the luxury of a 3-year AppleCare+ program for iPad purchases, for the same old price as the previous 2-year program.
From AppleInsider:
Instead of the regular two-year coverage period, AppleCare+ for institutional buyers now carries three full years of warranty protection. The price is unchanged at $99.
The change is limited solely to institutional buyers, and does not apply to education purchases made for personal use by students or faculty. AppleCare+ coverage for the general public also still carries a two-year iPad coverage period for $99.
People don’t seem to upgrade their iPads as quickly as their iPhones. From what I’ve noticed, the iPad is more in-line with Macs on that front. When you tie that to the fact that schools don’t really have deep enough pockets to keep buying these things every two years for students, the extra year of AppleCare makes absolute sense.
I’d imagine these small change would go a long way in pushing the decision makers over the top with purchases. When you compare the AppleCare+ warranty to the Microsoft Complete program, the new school warranty program from Apple comes in a year longer now, and even cheaper in some cases. Microsoft offers a 2-year warranty program at $99.00 for the Surface tablet, and $149.00 for the Surface Pro tablet.
I know what I’d choose if I was making the decisions.
