Army Wants To Give Soldiers Androids & iPhones, But Not Blackberries

How times have changed

Dec 14 2010, 6:03pm CST | by Mark Raby

Army Wants To Give Soldiers Androids & iPhones, But Not Blackberries

When it comes to having a smartphone that can hold sensitive information and be deployed over a huge scale, there used to be only one name - Blackberry. Now when the US Army wants to give a phone to all its soldiers, that's not even an option.

According to the Army Times, the deal would not only pay for each officer's phone, but would also cover the monthly charges as well, a move that could lead to a pretty large bill for taxpayers.

We've all seen the footage of a soldier having the "privilege" of talking to his family for a few minutes while in a combat base. Then the camera pans out to see a huge line of soldiers waiting for their chance to just say hi to their loved ones.

But it's not just about being able to contact home more often. Smartphones are now so advanced that they would actually have very meaningful applications in the world of combat.

"At war, smart phones would let soldiers view real-time intelligence and video from unmanned systems overhead, and track friends and enemies on a dynamic map," reports the Army Times.

The cost to taxpayers, most would probably agree, would be worth it.

What's interesting is the Army's choice of phones. It appears it isn't even considering Blackberry, which is yet another blow to the platform that has been losing government and enterprise customers right and left.

The Army would obviously have to work closely with Google and Apple to tweak the platform so that it secures sensitive information and can work as well as possible in remote areas.

The plan is far from being completed, but it goes to show that the Army is keeping up to date on consumer technology and seeing how it can help keep us safer.

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Mark Raby
Based in New York City, Mark follows the consumer electronics industry like a hawk. A published book author, he has a particular affinity for 3D technology and video games, and as such will surely be in the market for a new pair of glasses soon. Mark can be contacted directly at mark@i4u.com.