NMSU invests nearly $1.5 million in free iPads for all freshmen

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - Every New Mexico State University freshman is eligible for a free iPad this semester.

"Honestly, when they emailed me, I thought it was a scam!" admitted Hen Lam, a freshman majoring in kinesiology.

The iPads come as part of a technology bundle valued at $667 each, according to the NMSU bookstore manager. The university has purchased 2,200 bundles.

“It’s a really impressive tool," said Collin King, the NMSU bookstore manager.

Every bundle includes an eighth generation iPad, an Apple pencil, a keyboard case and four years of Apple Care. King told ABC-7 that the future of textbooks are digital. He said the bookstore saw an 80% increase in digital textbook purchases this year.

"Every industry had to adapt," King said. "Faculty are able to write and update their textbooks much more quickly."