Speaking to v3.co.uk, David Wilde, the council's chief information officer, explained that 600 staff require a smartphone for their job.
They can, he said, choose an HTC Windows Phone 7 device or a BlackBerry. The split is currently 250 to 350 in favour of BlackBerry.
"The Windows platform is far better for certain tasks like downloading attachments than the iPhone, and we offer both devices as we can deliver them for the same price," he told the news provider.
First released by Microsoft in 2010, Windows Phone 7 is the successor to its Windows Mobile platform. But in contrast to its predecessor, the device is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market.
The phone was first unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona.
Posted by Simon Jones
