It’s no secret our new President is attached to his Blackberry…
Barach Obama is the first President of this country who really understands technology and has integrated it into his daily life. This is a great, and frankly long overdue, change in perspective on the role technology should play in creating a more efficient and responsive government.
That said, President Obama has been fighting an uphill battle with the people charged with his security to find some way to let him continue using the Blackberry 8830 that was a staple of his campaign communications. Unfortunately, current consumer level cell phone technology really isn’t up to the demands of the job. It uses continuous pinging to find the closest cell tower, signals that anyone can zero in on to discover the location of the person using it. Consumer phones also do little to prevent eavesdropping on either the data or voice channels they transmit and receive on. Combined, these two drawbacks will probably eliminate the Blackberry from the list of phones Obama can choose from.
And that list may end up being a REALLY short one…
There is probably only one smartphone available that has been certified to support the level of security being demanded in this case – the Sectéra Edge. Sectéra Edge is made by General Dynamics – a well known military contractor – for situations that require hardened, secure communications. Here is a video clip from their website showing it in action:
The “Barackberry”, as as this handset has been jokingly referred to, is one large smartphone. Compared to your typical Blackberry, it is about a half an inch wider and taller, and almost three quarters of an inch thicker. It also weighs over twice as much – 12 ounces compared to about 5! This isn’t the type of phone that anyone but a die-hard geek would want hanging from their belt.
While the Sectéra Edge could theoretically be a substitute for a Blackberry on a technical level, it really wouldn’t be in practice. The beauty of today’s mobile smart devices is that they are truly personal. They have form factors that make them comfortable to hold and use, and they can be configured to work the way you want them to. You actually end up thinking of them more as an extension of yourself than as distinct devices.
Perhaps the most compelling and addictive aspect of today’s smartphones’ are the spontaneous, instantaneous way they let you connect to everything. Have a free minute between meetings? – do a quick check news, email, or the markets. Get a flash of inspiration at the dinner table? – send off a quick email or IM. This is how any technically literate person in business operates today. They are always on and always working.
And that’s exactly what’s expected of our President…
I certainly empathize with Barack Obama on this one. Being personally connected in that way has been a part of both my business and personal life for the better part of the last two decades. Giving that up would be extremely difficult.
It is truly addictive…
And while having to trade in a Blackberry or iPhone for a government issued “phone brick” would be hard enough on it’s own, there’s one more piece of news that makes the thought of it downright painful.
The Sectéra Edge is based on Windows Mobile…
