The President's New Phone
UNDATED (WBAP) -- There was talk that the Secret Service was going to take away then President-Elect Barack Obama's PDA to wit he told them they would have to pry it from his hands.
Now, if you are addicted to a blackberry, iPhone or other portable data assistant, you probably understand the President's determination not to lose the thing. Turns out, all he needed was a device that talked in secret when need be.
After a little detective work on secret communications devices, we have learned that Mr. Obama's new blackberry-like PDA is none other than the NSA-certified, General Dynamics Sectera Edge. A Secure Mobile Environment Portable Electronic Device, or SME PED, weighing in at 12 ounces.
With a talk time of 5 hours, 3 hours secure, it's designed to U.S. Military Specifications to be dropped 4 feet 26 times onto concrete while operating, waterproof up to 20 feet for 40 minutes, heat protected to operate in temperatures as high as 140 degrees and as low as -9 degrees, safe from blowing dust for 6 hours while operating and protected against heavy vibration, shock, extreme humidity and altitudes.
And, using the DoD PKI-enabled Common Access Card standard, the Sectera handles Type 1 encrypted storage of classified data, including Suite B algorithms, with one-touch switching between classified and unclassified PDA functions!
The texting is not secure but he can IM with the Pentagon all day long, in perfect secrecy. And it can be yours for a mere thirty-two hundred dollars-if you have a secret security clearance (you can't get a Sectera without one). General Dynamics spokeswoman Fran Jacques could not confirm or deny this is the device the President uses, for obvious national security reasons, but if you need a secret secure PDA, it turns out there is only one in the world and that's the Sectera Edge made by General Dynamics (available with leather or nylon holster).
And yes, the Sectera is made in the USA, if you were wondering. If you want to drool over the specs or watch the sales video, see it at the GD website.
by Christopher Landers WBAP News :
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