How many of you have heard of the Sectera Edge smartphone? It runs Windows Mobile, it's made by General Dynamics (the people behind the F-16 Falcon fighter) and it's about to get a whole lot of publicity. Why? Because the feature set is perfect for one smartphone user – Barack Obama. But what can the President of the United State's choice tell us about the mobile market?
Read on in the full article.
This is very true. In my case, my choice of devices is severely limited by the fact that I have to run MemoryMap. Several Symbian devices have tickled my fancy of late, particularly since they sorted out the woeful calendar app but my requirement to run MemoryMap currently limits me to Windows Mobile.
Interesting article, very timely!
his requirements matched very few phones
His particular requirements would be EXTREMELY rare of course. I don't think there's much of a market for heads of government, it would consist of perhaps 200 - 300 individuals? 😊
Seriously though, someone in Obama's position is in such a uniquely risky job that the general rules of smartphone design simply wouldn't apply. There's no point worrying about animated transitions or music store compatibility, it's security and reliability that totally swamp all other considerations.
Given that, I don't think there's much to be learnt from this for the consumer market, just like there's not much to learn from F16 fighters for passenger jets.
The one thing it does prove though is that there's no such thing as a perfect phone, the market is too diverse for any "one size fits all" devices.
While there may only be 200 heads of state, there are people who may be working on top-secret projects (Government contractors, IP attorneys, investment bankers). If security trumps all, I find it interesting that a Windows Mobile device fits the bill, but truth is stranger than fiction sometimes. I'd be curious how Apple handles it. I assume everyone there gets (or is required to get) an iPhone. They are a very secretive company, so I wonder how they do it?
Obama didn't choose this phone by whittling down the options based on necessary feature sets. This phone is one of only two NSA approved smart phones that he could possibly use. if it came down to features he needed (security features aside), he probably would have stuck with his blackberry.
Tzer2 I don't believe Ewan is hinting that Obama's Choice reflects the US market.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the underlying message is to choose a phone that suits YOUR REQUIREMENTS rather than hunting down the most feature packed phone on the market only to realise that in reality, the half dozen functions you need/use regularly is carried out better in other less functional phones.
Aplologies in advance I you do think think I'm wrong; just an opnion 😊
Chris V
Chris V, you're quite right, I didn't mean to imply that Ewan was saying that.
I just meant that it's no surprise Obama couldn't find many suitable phone models, he's in a rather unusual job. 😊
. If security trumps all, I find it interesting that a Windows Mobile device fits the bill
I would guess the security stuff is handled by something non-Windows which runs in parallel to the smartphone itself (the separate "secure screen" implies this separateness too).
There's probably some custom built super-secret non-MS encryption hardware that sits on top of the phone's usual hardware and OS.
In that sense, maybe it doesn't matter what OS they use as they're using their own security systems anyway?
I'd be curious how Apple handles it. I assume everyone there gets (or is required to get) an iPhone. They are a very secretive company, so I wonder how they do it?
Maybe some kind of separate security measures as mentioned above, made by a specialist corporate security firm?
We may never know, as companies tend to keep their security systems secret.
You should look into Viewranger. It uses OS maps and is very good. It covers the IOM too. I have it on my E90. When i go hiking i have this app, plus Google maps (satellite view) running. Makes it hard to get lost! 😉