Andre Yoskowitz
5 May 2013 15:29
The Pentagon has said this week that a number of BlackBerry and Samsung devices have been cleared for use on Defense Department networks, meaning the military will soon be open to more devices and technology.
Lieutenant Colonel Damien Pickart says BlackBerry 10 smart phones, BlackBerry PlayBook tablets and Samsung's Android Knox have been cleared.
"This is a significant step towards establishing a multi-vendor environment that supports a variety of state-of-the-art devices and operating systems," Pickart added.
Additionally, the LT says iOS 6.0 devices are expected to get clearance later this month.
The news is huge, as will the contracts for OEMs. The Pentagon has 600,000 mobile device users. 470,000 use BlackBerry and under 50,000 use Apple or Android as part of test programs.
Any device cleared had to pass a security review process approved by the Defense Information Systems Agency.