Obama keeps ‘Berry for personal use; uses clunky Sectera Edge for official business
Yes, we can! Maybe all the hootin’ and hollerin’ about Barack’s quandary regarding the status of his BlackBerry actually ended up helping the President keep the addictive device. For personal use only, Mr. Obama’s BlackBerry will still be in commission, though we do hope he opts to upgrade to a Bold or 8900, at least (give us a call Mr. President, we’ll hook you up)! It will make it more worthwhile since he will be forced to use an awkward and clunky-looking Sectera Edge, which has been approved by the NSA for official use, as a business device. As if this news wasn’t the best free advertising anyone can get, the folks at RIM must be bursting with glee. While we’re all familiar with the device that has been like an appendage for Obama, you might be interested in taking a peek at the Sectera Edge, so hit the jump for an image and details!
Backbeat:
Rather crackberry-addicted than have a 600-lb gorilla on his back like the previous {*snort*) occupant.
TRUTH: You’re 600lbs.??!?!?
To geeks and technologically savvy people, we care about the OS. MOST people don’t care what OS is on their phones. All Joe Consumer cares about is … can it do this, this, and that. And, its not something people can install on their devices. If they started marketing Windows Mobile as a operating system, people would want to put it on whatever phone they have, which is not currently possible. Marketing a mobile phone operating system is a bad idea, that is why nobody does it. I have NEVER seen a BlackBerryOS commercial, or a PalmOS commercial, or even a commercial for S60. People market DEVICES.
Give me windows mobile over blackberry anytime!
That Sectera looks INCREDIBLY functional. I don’t see why the criticism. Yeah, Im a berry fan -but not a RIM investor. Why would I care about anything more than EFFECTIVE?
I wonder who his carrier is.
I don’t think even the cloud of Obama hype will boost sales of that Sectera.
@Trumanhw: 100 buttons and multiple methods of input required to perform simple tasks does not equate to “effective”. That’s the recipe for inefficiency. Time studies do not favor WinMo.
It doesn’t come cheap either, I went to the manufacturer’s website and the cost of the phone is $3,350 USD with a 2 year warranty. I guess there are no Carrier subsidies.
g.p.s isn’t locked down on the blackberry 8830. I’ve used all the standard third party apps for a year on that one. Which carrier does he use? Went carrier does the former and current National and State governments use? HInt: It’s a large c.d.m.a carrier. I’ll give props if anyone can explain how to break into.
The real question about the Presidental Phone is….can it copy & paste?
but why is the screen off centered?
I’ve been saying the same thing. RIM has to be crazy to not be working on some of there flaws. And why havent they sent him a New Blackberry device yet?
@marcus
I dont know if he can, buy my iphone sure can.
This just in: BGR has likely made the National Security report.
This whole issue of whether the President can get a smart device is kind of funny. It just shows how backward the government’s technology is compared to the private sector. It kind of makes all those movies showing the cool techno devices that only the government has seem kind of silly.
One interesting thing with Obama getting this device is going to be support. The WH will probably have to dedicate a team of IT support staff just to support this one device;
1. They’ll need 24 hour support, so figure at least 2 people per 8 hour shift = 6 people
2. Also will probably need some NSA support for all the encryption needed on the device and to monitor what is being sent to it = another 6 people
3. Finally, the Secret Service will definitely put some of their people to cover and maintain the device, look for viruses, etc = 6 people
So just allowing the President to have a smart device will probably use up around 24 people total, who are dedicated to maintaining, servicing, security, encryption, etc. Not only that, but they’ll probably have at least 2-3 devices total which are always synched to the whatever current device Obama is using. These other devices could also act as decoys in case someone did try to track Obama’s movements.
No wonder the Secret Service didn’t want to do this…
Blackberry for “personal use”, what exactly does that mean? Don’t most of us use our phones for personal use? I think they should just set him up with an anonymous account with some huge carrier. They’d lose him just like most of their customers.
Ok Big, you are so stoopid. Good doesnt have any NSA certification because NSA doesnt certify unlcassified products. Using a CAC or SMIME doesnt make it clasified….check your facts….
i know right??!
He uses an outdated 8703 from VZW.
That phone looks like it was made just for the President.