[NYPOST] The NYPD has to scrap the 36,000 smartphones it gave cops over the past two years because they’re already obsolete and can’t be upgraded, The Post has learned.The city bought Microsoft-based Nokia smartphones as part of a $160 million NYPD Mobility Initiative that Mayor Bill de Blasio touted as "a huge step into the 21st century."
But just months after the last phone was handed out, officials plan to begin replacing them all with brand-new iPhones by the end of the year, sources said.
The move follows Microsoft’s recent decision to stop supporting the operating system that runs the NYPD’s devices and nearly a dozen custom-engineered apps.
Law enforcement sources blamed the boondoggle on NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology Jessica Tisch, with one saying, "She drove the whole process."
"Nobody purchases 36,000 phones based on the judgment of one person," a source said.
"I don’t care if you’re Jesus f- -king Christ, you get a panel of experts."
Technology experts had long questioned the NYPD’s decision to choose Microsoft-based phones over those that run on Google’s Android software or Apple’s iOS.
"The NYPD’s decision to go with Microsoft’s mobile operating system seems to confound more than a few, since Windows Phone’s 2.3 percent US market share is anemic when compared to Android’s 65.2 percent and iOS’s 30.9 percent," read an article published on the tech news site Digital Trends in October.