Despite rumours, no iPads for us, says Cambridge City Council

It might not seem that far fetched, given that Cambridge is one of the UK's technology hotspots, but Cambridge City Council has this week denied rumours that it is planning to purchase some of Apple's new iPads.

The iPad was launched late last month to considerable excitement - which died away quite quickly when the device turned out to be pretty much a scaled-up iPhone. Already launched in the US, the device has yet to make it to this side of the pond, but apparently that hasn't stopped rumours that Cambridge City Council was intending to shell out £29,400 to buy a batch to help it to reduce the environmental impact of creating, printing and then shredding committee reports.

Of course, the rumoured plan caused considerable outrage, but in a statement the Council has said that the iPad is not being considered as an option to improve its eco-credentials, although the use of some tablet or notebook devices is a possibility. "At least one Cambridge City councillor already uses a device of their own for this purpose, and discussion of whether devices should be provided to other councillors has appeared on the blogs of a private individual and a Cambridge City councillor," the statement said.