T conductors turn to iPhones for updates (via the Boston Globe)

I love that the MBTA, despite they're many structural antiquities, seems to be embracing technology when possible to improve service for riders.  I'm a big fan of the bus tracking apps, which have really turned me into a bus rider, where I used to avoid the less-frequent-than train buses like the plague, (particularly after several experiences waiting for an hour for a weekend bus that was supposed to come every half hour).  I know they've started rolling out iphone ticketing on the commuter lines, and I'm looking forward to trying this out when I take my next train ride to Worcester or Lowell - the two places I most frequently travel on commuter train (and by most frequently travel I mean a couple of times a year).



All that is great, but sometimes I wonder if they have really looked into the best option, or they're just so into talking about how technologically savvy they've become that it's not really about efficiency.  Case in point: from today's Globe:

When a commuter rail train is delayed, riders with smartphones often know more about what is happening than their conductors, armed only with ­radios.

Not anymore. Twenty-four conductors, banned by federal and MBTA rules from ­using or even carrying phones, are now armed with Conductor Companions, specially programmed iPhone 4s that cannot send texts or e-mails, download applications, browse the ­Internet, or make calls, except to 911.

But conductors can run a special application that provides train locations, messages from dispatchers, and schedules and track information for the commuter rail and other T lines.

 Great idea but it begs the queestion: is an iphone 4s, which "unlocked" can cost upwards of 6 or 7 hundred dollars (and I'm guessing the MBTA didn't necessarily shop online for the best deal!) , really necessary hardware to run a single app for train conductors?   Perhaps it was already programmed for the iphone and the cost for reprogramming for a less expensive device would have exceeded the cost savings on the devices themselves?   Or perhaps the conductors want to be able to play Angry Birds during coffee breaks?