Video: Obama's new 'BlackBerry'
Much has been made of President Barack Obama's desire to keep his beloved BlackBerry as a communications device. On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that, thanks to a "compromise," his boss will be able to keep a security-enhanced BlackBerry and use it for e-mail.
What's unclear is whether the device he will use is a BlackBerry made by Research In Motion, or a similar smartphone. The one that keeps getting pointed to as an option is the Sectera Edge, made by General Dynamics. It's the only such device in the category that the National Security Agency has deemed secure enough for use in the highest levels of our government. Check out the video above from CNN, which got a demonstration of the Sectera Edge from GD.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
The Sectera is not a Blackberry device.
It is not made by RIM.
It is made by General Dynamics and runs a custoemrized / hardened version of Windows CE (embedded) with a customer interface by General Dynamics.
Quite frankly, General Dynamics should really be complaining about this (forcing the new outlets to tell teh story truthfully), for news vehicles calling their custom device a Blackberry, a competitor in this space. General Dynamics gets the dollars for this device, and the work that went into it, not RIM.
Since when did RIM make PDAs, since when did RIM or any other mobile OS, other than Windows run MSOffice Mobile, MSN Messenger, Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer.
This is the only device and OS that has cleared this NSA Standard. Desinged, built and tuned specifically for this purpose. Proving that anything is secuable to the standard you need / want and can be secured if you know what you need, want and know what you are doing / willing to put in the effort.
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Governent Computer News
'http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/45946-1.html?topic=mobile-wireless'
The Sect'ra Edge is the result of NSA's Secure Mobile Environment/Portable Electronic Device program and incorporates the Secure Communication Interoperability Protocol and High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor Interoperability Specification specifications for secure access to federal voice and data networks. The devices link to the Department of Defense's Public Key Infrastructure networks using a Common Access Card, and data stored on the devices is secured with data-at-rest encryption.
The Sect'ra Edge runs the Microsoft Windows operating system and includes Internet Explorer for Web browsing secure and non-secure Web applications. It also gives users access to several other Microsoft applications in secure and non-secure modes, including Windows Viewer to see images and Microsoft Office documents and the Personal Organizer for accessing contact and calendar data, as well as Wordpad for jotting notes, Windows Messenger for instant messaging and Windows Media Player.
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Come on CNET get it Right, even if CNN and others continually get it wrong.
General Dynamics, NSA and Microsoft get the kudos this time.
"What's unclear is whether the device he will use is a BlackBerry made by Research In Motion, or a similar smartphone. The one that keeps getting pointed to as an option is the Sectera Edge, made by General Dynamics."
The details of the product posted by "postanote" are 100% correct. This is a Windows CE (Mobile) device and RIM has nothing to do with it. It can operate in an NSA-approved secure mode that provides voice and data communications modes that are as secure as are available. This product is approved for use by the US Military for secure communications in tactical situations.
The only downside of the device is it HUGE and battery life is poor - HOURS, not DAYS of standby like RIMs products. This is a result of the multiple radios inside the product and many extra hardware bits to provide NSA-approved security. If you look closely at the product, you will see many duplicate red and black buttons and connectors. The "red" side is insecure and the "black" side is secure.
Here's a link to the product on the GD website: http://www.gdc4s.com/content/detail.cfm?item=32640fd9-0213-4330-a742-55106fbaff32
It's about $3,300 and there are versions available for most every US carrier (Verizon, Sprint, generic GSM, etc)
- by DeathByWonkavision January 26, 2009 4:11 PM PST
- UGLY, CLUNKY and INANE. Democrat or Republican, the President deserves a device with at least some style.
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