President Obama may soon be rocking an Android from Samsung or LG
President Barack Obama may soon be giving up his trusty Blackberry in favor of something more… green. Before you give Obama brownie points, the switch (like most things) has absolutely nothing to do with his own preference, but that of the White House Communications Agency (WHCA), which oversees all of the President’s communications, both incoming and outgoing.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the WHCA (along with an internal technology team) is still in the early phases of testing smartphones from both Samsung and LG to be used for official use. Because testing is still in its early phases, Obama will still be using his Blackberry — the smartphone he recently used to snap a controversial selfie — for another good couple of months, but should be up and running with Android before his term in 2017 ends.
Because of the open nature of Android, it makes it more appealing for government agencies to hack up and lock down in order to gain clearance. Why not the iPhone? It simply isn’t secure enough to gain White House certification. Not that it matters, but when Obama does receive his new Android, there’s a good it will be running something a little closer to stock Android, without all bells and whistles that come along with TouchWiz (or whatever LG is calling their UI customizations these days).
For those unaware, the President’s current Blackberry only allows him to contact 10 people, something we expect will remain the same once his shiny new Samsung or LG phone arrives. It’s tough being a President.
[The Wall Street Journal | via The Verge]