Pentagon Approves Its First Android Smartphone…the Dated Dell Streak
The US likes to stay on top of technology when it comes to the defense of its people. Take for instance a railgun the Navy has been testing, which recently fired off its 1,000th shot, a milestone in proving the weapon feasible for combat situations. But things are a bit different when it comes to the bureaucracy behind it all, particularly in the case of the first Android smartphone approved for use within the Pentagon’s Defense Information System Agency. DISA will be getting the outdated Dell Streak, an Android 2.2 device that was discontinued by a company that may or may not even be all that interested in working with Android into the future.
The agency and Dell have reportedly been working on getting the Streak up to spec for over a year, though its security features (which have been approved for secure unclassified communications) aren’t all that uncommon. Password protection, remote data wipes, and IT-controlled security policies are standard on nearly all smartphones these days. I guess Dell had to do something with their excess stock of unsold Streak handsets, and the government was just the customer to take them off their hands.
[via Gizmodo]