On the other side of the equation--city-issued iPads--the adoption rate slowed to a crawl. The iPad initiative lets departments make the call on who may be entitled to an iPad. Doll doesn't know how many workers requested an iPad and were denied, but concedes the number could have been high.

Truth is, the iPad is additive technology, an additional cost. No one who was issued an iPad turned in an existing PC or laptop. Meanwhile, Minneapolis's public sector still suffers through tough economic times and is expected to make budget cuts again in 2013. This doesn't bode well for city-issued iPads.

"At the end of the day, people are really questioning, what is the value proposition of the iPad?" Doll says. "The iPad is not replacing any existing technology. As an additive cost, the iPad is giving pause to department leadership about who can be issued one."

:

In order for iPad adoption to spike, the iPad needs to show its usefulness. Yet critics have long argued that the iPad is a poor content-creation device, a criticism that has proven to be true in Minneapolis. The vast majority of iPad users are manager-types who might look up factoids at meetings, check email, write short messages, and access files over the Internet.