Kazakh PM orders direct-reports to buy an iPad

Richard Orange is the Telegraph’s man in Central Asia.

I chuckled at Richard’s recent piece about the surging demand for tablet computers in Kazakhstan.

Apparently, the Kazakh Prime Minister, Karim Massimov, has been rather cheesed off by the fact his direct reports sometimes take up to three days to reply to his emails. Mr Massimov’s preferred service level is ‘within 10 minutes’. And his preferred fix? Buy an iPad.

As Richard reports:

Ever since, owning an iPad has become a symbol of loyalty for officials in the oil-rich former Soviet republic. Directors of state-run companies have floated plans to issue tablet computers to every executive, and it is rare to see officials on flights to Astana, the country’s capital, without one.

I’m not privy to the details of Kazakh Government mobile policy, but I wonder if they could simply issue a BlackBerry device to each person, rather than a tablet? Although a frequent complaint I’ve heard from many senior (ageing) executives is that the BlackBerry is sometimes difficult to see — whilst the large format iPad is very easy on the eyes.

I’d very much recommend the Kazakh Government to get some of the RIM people in the door shortly to give them a of the all new PlayBook which might also meet their requirements.

It’s an interesting way to stimulate a technology trend, isn’t it? Time for Apple to open an official supply base in the Kazakh capital?