Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Pentagon Approval of iOS and Samsung KNOX Is Bad News for BlackBerry

Posted by Soulskill on from the slicing-up-that-sweet-taxpayer-pie dept.

rjupstate writes "The Pentagon is quickly moving to approve the latest devices and platforms from BlackBerry, Samsung, and Apple. That's good news for two of those companies. It's not-so-good news for BlackBerry. 'The Pentagon currently has about 600,000 smartphone users – almost all using BlackBerrys – but ultimately aims to have as many as 8m smartphones and tablets, under the terms of a scheme made public last November.' 'In its effort to expand into the high security government niche, one that BlackBerry has enjoyed near singular control of for years, Samsung recently created a government advisory board made up of Samsung executives and security experts from various U.S. and foreign government security agencies. ... In the end, the program will likely elevate that status of both Apple and Samsung within military and civilian government agencies in the U.S. and other western countries.'"

12 of 49 comments (clear)

  1. Puhleez by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Come one now, everything is bad news for BlackBerry these days.

    1. Re:Puhleez by thomasw_lrd · · Score: 2

      But the CEO said that tablets will be gone in 5 years. Surely he knows it all from behind the walls of his struggling company?

      In 5-10 years, that statement will be on par with "Nobody will ever need more than 640k"

      --
      21st Century Renaissance Man
    2. Re:Puhleez by Guspaz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      RIM's attempts to enter the tablet market were laughable and flopped miserably, so I would argue that they have very little understanding of that market. For them to proclaim the death of the market that they completely failed to penetrate is bizarre.

    3. Re:Puhleez by NatasRevol · · Score: 2

      Which is just stupid.

      EVERYTHING in their current form will be dead in 5 years.

      --
      There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
  2. BlackBerry approved same as Knox by JLavezzo · · Score: 2, Informative

    I don't understand how the takeaway from this is bad news for Blackberry. The same announcement that Samsung's Knox was approved said that Blackberry 10 is approved.
    http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=119929
    “We are pleased to add Blackberry 10 and the Samsung Knox version of Android to our family of mobile devices supporting the Department of Defense,” the spokesman said. “We look forward to additional vendors also participating in this process, further enabling a diversity of mobile devices for use within the department.”

    1. Re:BlackBerry approved same as Knox by __aaqiui4953 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Blackberry previously had almost exclusive control over the government market. Now they don't - there are now other equally acceptable options such as Samsung and Apple. Blackberry has to compete, rather than simply exist.

    2. Re:BlackBerry approved same as Knox by fatalwall · · Score: 2

      I wouldn't have much of an issue with having to compete when the available number went from 600,000 to 8,000,000. That provides 7,400,000 new potential sales and IT staff that are more friendly to BlackBerry due to the management ability they have over them compared to Android and iPhone devices without third party software. You dont actually think each user gets to pick which device they are going to use do you?

    3. Re:BlackBerry approved same as Knox by steelfood · · Score: 2

      I don't understand how the takeaway from this is bad news for Blackberry.

      You don't understand why a monopoly is good for business and bad for the customer?

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    4. Re:BlackBerry approved same as Knox by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 3, Informative

      I don't understand how the takeaway from this is bad news for Blackberry. The same announcement that Samsung's Knox was approved said that Blackberry 10 is approved.

      Okay, we'll take it slow. Blackberry phones have been approved in the DoD for years. Android phones were never approved until this decision. Where Blackberry had a monopoly, they now have competition. This is not good news for them.

  3. lunacy. by Adult+film+producer · · Score: 2, Funny

    In what weird parellel universe is the android os ever considered secure?

  4. Re:Apple TOS by DougOtto · · Score: 4, Informative

    The clause you're referring to is with regard to export control and is actually US law, not something they just threw in for the hell of it:

    You also agree that you will not use the iOS Software for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of missiles, nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.

    --
    Solving Unix problems since 1989...
  5. Re:Launch the FUD missles.... by mtb_ogre · · Score: 2

    Except, that's not what the article says. BB has long been approved, "Samsung's Knox version of Android is currently going through the security review process, with a decision expected in the next two weeks." The iPhone has already gone through the review and there were specific recommendations made to make it compliant. Samsung is using the NSA's Android version as a core component so it's likely there were some specific implementation guidelines which they followed and it's likely they won't have as many post-review changes to put in place, but until the review is done, it's hard to say. Regardless, Knox isn't even available yet and won't be for a couple of months.