[cash7c3]

Man those students at Aoyama Gakuin University in Japan are pretty lucky. All the students there are getting iPhones. The college started giving away iPhones to all 550 members of the faculty and student body today to test out their attendance via iPhone tracking system. In the fall the system is set to be initiated fully. The college is also planing on expand things allowing students to take simple tests, submit homework, and review class related videos.

The cost of the new iPhones will not be incurred by the students or the school. iPhone provider Softbank Mobile Corp is kindly providing all the phones.

Not mentioned is the potential of more invasive tracking of student drinking habits, who's sleeping with who, where the "cool" places to shop are, etc, but hell, free iPhone!

[via the mainichi daily news via engadget]

[DiPSET08]

I wish I was lucky enough to get an iPhone for free from my college.
And lol @ 'who's sleeping with who'

[mikerlx]

I wish i could have got a free iphone from college

[jeffhuys]

I'm glad I do not! I like being the only one who has an iPhone !

[c0mpguru]

Lucky them. I would have loved to get a free iPhone.

[tsunami78]

They just wanted to find out how many teachers were engaging in "extracurricular" activities with the students ;-) Was that really "A" quality work?

So yes... "Who's sleeping with who"

[Jordo_6]

Wont there be a problem with privacy if teachers are able to track what students are doing when ever?

Sounds cool getting a free iPhone and all but I'm not so sure I would want teachers being able to see where I am all the time ha.

[aussiebob]

Good idea.Leave the phone at home and go out.This way they will think you are studying!

[Jordo_6]

or just turn location services off..

[confucious]

Not sure the iPhone's got enough memory to track my drinking habits, maybe that's why they're introducing a 32Gb model.....

[alek]

im kinda sure to be tracked u have to open an app, it wont do it by itself and i guess the wouldnt risk jailbreaking.

[bfj]

in an unbelievably strange twist of fate, i am currently studying abroad at aoyama gakuin. i asked my friend about it this morning and she said that apparently it is just one department and she wasnt going to get one.

before i got here i read about how poorly the iphone was doing in japan because everyone thought that it didnt do enough different things or whatnot and that they had to drastically drop the price to attract people, but every college girl ive shown my phone to has loved it. they all comment that they want one but it's too expensive. i dont really get it

[bbillh77]

Is this a study or a spy mission