AppleInsider Staff
Apple CEO Tim Cook will meet with Turkish President President Abdullah Gül on Tuesday local time, with rumors claiming the topic of discussion will be a potential iPad in education deal worth somewhere between $3 billion and $4 billion.
Continuing a mini world tour that has seen meetings with two heads of state in as many days, Cook and an accompanying delegation will next visit Turkish President Abdullah Gül on Tuesday, Feb. 4. The announcement was made on Monday via the president's official webpage.
While topics up for discussion remain unknown, some believe Cook and Gül will talk about Turkey's "FATIH Project," which looks to replace traditional classroom teaching tools with advanced equipment like Apple's iPad. A report from December claimed the two would meet in February.
Cook's meeting comes almost one year to the day after Apple's VP of Education John Couch met with Gül to discuss the country's education program. That meeting was followed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters to get a better understanding of the company's iPad in education technology before putting out a call for bids for his FATIH Project.
According to reports, the initial phase of the high-tech education initiative includes the purchase of 10.6 million tablets, with an add-on option to acquire another 2 to 2.5 million units over a four-year period. Total cost of the plan comes in at between $2 billion and $4 billion.
Cook's visit coincides with the opening of Turkey's first Apple Store, a 21,500-square-foot outlet located in Instanbul's Zorlu Center. Apple is growing its presence in the region and in October opened the doors to its Online Apple Store.
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13 Comments
Three word, Mr. Cook: Cash up front.
May?
10.6 Million iPads for the initial phase. That's a lot of iPads.
Imagine how many iPads will be purchase for the whole project.
The LA Unified School District iPad project is a great success.
Apple needs to shine bright in this Turkey project. I wonder if they are using Pearson for the curriculum.
[quote name="AppleSauce007" url="/t/161878/tim-cook-to-visit-turkish-president-this-week-may-discuss-4b-ipad-deal#post_2467143"]10.6 Million iPads for the initial phase. [COLOR=000000]That's a lot of iPads.[/COLOR] Imagine how many iPads will be purchase for the whole project. The LA Unified School District iPad project is a great success. Apple needs to shine bright in this Turkey project. I wonder if they are using Pearson for the curriculum. [/quote] You forgot the /s http://o.dailycaller.com/all/2013-12-02-l-a-schools-ipad-giveaway-continues-to-be-a-hilarious-epic-disaster?ref=&mediaKey=dailycaller&width=960&height=1549&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fdailycaller.com%2F2013%2F12%2F02%2Fl-a-schools-ipad-giveaway-continues-to-be-a-hilarious-epic-disaster%2F&size=small&oswts=1391473902145
Tim Cook better make sure he gets all his money up front. I've heard there is an awful lot of corruption going on in the Turkish government. I personally think Cook should pass on this project as it sounds too good to be true.