South Carolina county says goodbye paper, hello iPad2

Charleston County will start purchasing iPad2s for council members and key staffers next month, a move that will both save money and the effort of lugging around reams of paper.

"We did a cost analysis and we estimated the total paper and personnel cost of the binders is about $27,000 every year," said Walter Smalls, assistant county administrator for general services. The county plans to buy 15 iPad2s at about $900 each, for a total cost of about $13,500. "So you really have savings," Smalls said. Smalls said the county will work out any kinks before going live with the new equipment.