The Apple developed iPhone and iPod Touch has certainly made an impact on the lives of the people that got the device, and then proceeded to downloading a sleuth of apps that would cater for their needs and wants. It has now come to light that the iPhone is such a useful piece of technology that it is a requirement for college students – not all of them, just the ones attending the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

According to Brian Brooks, associate dean of the University of Missouri's Journalism School, incoming college students will be required to have an iPhone or iPod Touch; not for the reason that they are so cool even Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft’s Bill Gates, wants one but for the reason that these Apple developed devices have an academic purpose. They can help a college student with his studies, and by making them an requirement (not an enforced one, meaning that no penalties will be handed to those who do not get an iPhone or iPod Touch) it helps out students in financial dire.

“Lectures are the worst possible learning format. There’s been some research done that shows if a student can hear that lecture a second time, they retain three times as much of that lecture. The reason we put required on it is to help the students on financial need. If it’s required, it can be included in your financial need estimate. If we had not required it, they wouldn’t be able to do that,” said Brian Brooks

That’s pretty good for when you are battling some hard to understand matter, but what if you find yourself battling real people, as in armed forces. The other interesting piece of information that has recently come to light is that the US army is actively using iPhones. US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are using the iPhone so as to be able to communicate with the locals, for transferring sensitive information, and even in working out sniper trajectories.