<em>Image from the White House</em>
While he and many of his staff members use Apple’s iPads, United States President Barack Obama has revealed why he does not use an iPhone: “I’m not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone,” the President said earlier today. Nonetheless, he says that his daughters both use iPhones. President Obama has stuck to his BlackBerry over the past few years because of its messaging and encryption capabilities. No word on if the iPhone will ever be suitable for a President, but Apple has been beefing up its smartphone’s security via hardware, software, and sensors in recent years.
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It seems odd that he can have an iPad given it is so similar. Maybe it is because it is Wifi only?
I believe Obama has the Cellular iPad if I’m not mistaken, but I could be. I know when Weev (Auernheimer) did the AT&T + UDID database dump he found a ton of top ranking politicians who had ceullular iOS devices…
He is using a WiFi only iPad… Look at the top where the power button and 2.5″ mini jack is… You dont see the long black antenna… Its a WiFi only iPad based on that… (see this image: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OMtuKnbID4M/UmbmA61Wv-I/AAAAAAAABMk/-ejXk_UPjIY/s1600/ipadmini2_capacity_price.PNG)
Likely he only uses the iPad for reading the newspaper and such, and it is only talks with well-known networks, and over VPN at that. Phone calls can be a bit more sensitive.
I very much doubt they trust a public cellular network or any commercial device for any potentially serious business.
So he can use a device running iOS and it’s secure enough but he can’t use a device running iOS because it’s not secure enough. Good to see he’s being the straight shooter he usually is. If you like your phone you can keep it…….
I don’t like the guy anymore than you (it seems), but this is not about the device’s OS as much as it is about the dedicated infrastructure behind the handset itself.
Oh good grief.
Do you seriously think he’s the one making the decisions about which phone and tablet he can use? He had to lobby hard to get the spooks to approve a Blackberry!
You write this article like Obama is carrying around a common commercial Blackberry like a Q10. This is hardly the case. This phone costs approximately 5000USD, it is rather thick (about 3 iPhones), and weighs in like a small brick.
Its known that the Presidents & any mayor / official in office ( high ones) get a phone which is NOT available to any of us. It looks the same but its tougher & has more things then a commercial one. I have seen a Blackberry 9900 which was beefed up in which does not break / have lag issues & have more things on it.(Prime Minister of Canada has one.)
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2009/01/24/ive_never_had_a_blackberry_pm.html
They didn’t just step into Best Buy and pick up this Blackberry.
It is reasonable to assume that there is special hardware and software in the device, and that it has been deeply probed and inspected by engineers working for the US Government.
Many sensitive areas and discussions prohibit cell phones in the building, because it is certainly reasonable for the well-funded foreign government to compromise these devices at the lowest levels. And it is also reasonable to assume that the telco back-end equipment at the local tower and elsewhere has been compromised.
You are not anonymous. Nor is the President.
Why would Apple or Google worry about or compete our gov’t phones, they are making plenty of money the way they are now?