Apple's Tim Cook Heading To Turkey In 2014 Over Big iPad Deal, Says Sources

Yesterday, an Apple employee newsletter surfaced in which CEO Tim Cook teased some big plans the company has in store for 2014. While such big plans weren't elaborated on, a Turkish publication — Emlakkulisi — has reported that Cook has a trip to Turkey planned for February 2014, where he will reportedly talk to Turkey's President Abdullah Gul about something being referred to as "FATIH Project".

The FATIH Project, as it is being called, is a mission to update educational institutions in Turkey from the traditional chalkboards and textbooks to things more modern and portable. The technology would include a vast quantity of tablets, of which it is being reported iPads will make up a hefty sum. This follows a visit by Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Apple's headquarters earlier this year.

The visit was said to involve listening to a company pitch of its iPad slates, something similar to visits that also took place with Microsoft and Google. Under the FATIH Project, 10.6 million tablets will be acquired in phases for schools in the nation. Following that acquisition, it is being reported iPads numbering between 2 and 2.5 million units could be purchased.

In February, CEO Cook will reportedly visit Turkey to discuss this matter, as well as to visit the first Apple Store in the country, which is located in the Zorlu Center in Istanbul and opens in early 2014. The information is said to come from unnamed sources close to the matter that spoke to the Turkish media company.

SOURCE: Apple Insider