If you are a freshmen that will be attending Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey this coming school year, you will be getting more for your tuition than just a room and free meals. Today, Nokia announced that all incoming freshmen at the university will be getting a Nokia Lumia 900 this fall; the program is part of a partnership between Nokia, Microsoft and AT&T.
In addition to the Lumia 900, freshmen will also receive a custom version of the university"s SHUmobile app made just for the smartphone. The special app will include the Freshmen Experience, which will add " ... customized social media integration and direct communication channels with their freshmen peers, peer academic advisers, housing information and roommates."
Seton Hall University will get a jump start on their freshmen class by using the Nokia Data Gathering service. It will, among other things, let the university communicate with their students this Summer by providing, among other things, information about to use the Lumia 900.
In a statement, Michael Taylor, Academic Director, Center for Mobile Research & Innovation for Seton Hall, says:
Mobile technology has become ubiquitous and pervasive, but we are just beginning to understand the breadth of its impact across campus. Smartphone use in higher education has tended to rely on finding a specific app to fulfill a specific curricular purpose. With the close collaboration between Nokia and Microsoft on the Lumia 900, the phone itself takes center stage.
Source: Nokia press release