PlayBook approved for use by U.S. gov't officials

[yllus]

Good news for the PlayBook and the QNX platform. I wonder if it'll see much adoption by the U.S. government?

National Post - RIM’s PlayBook approved for use by U.S. government officials

Barack Obama is already one of the world’s most famous BlackBerry users, but is the President of the United States on the verge of becoming the world’s most famous BlackBerry PlayBook user, too?

On Thursday, Research In Motion Ltd. announced its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet has received “FIPS 140-2 certification” from the U.S. government, making it the first tablet approved for use by employees of U.S. federal government agencies.

RIM received the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is required under the Federal Information Security Act of 2002.

For RIM, the stamp of approval from the U.S. government represents a key victory for the BlackBerry maker and could pave the way for the PlayBook to become commonplace in the upper echelons of power in Washington, similar to how the Waterloo, Ont.-based company’s BlackBerry smartphones became standard issue on Capital Hill.

Since launching earlier this year, RIM’s first tablet has struggled in the consumer market to keep pace with Apple Inc.’s iPad, which currently commands 61.3% of the market, compared to about 3.3% for the PlayBook, according to data from market research firm Strategy Analytics.

Of course, it was RIM’s commitment to security which helped the BlackBerry smartphone become the mobile device of choice for government agencies around the world, including the U.S. government and U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Although RIM’s decision not to include a native email client on the BlackBerry PlayBook was seen by many critics as an oversight – users can access their email by wirelessly connecting their PlayBook to their BlackBerry smartphone — RIM officials have maintained that by ensuring no email data is stored on the PlayBook itself, the device is more secure for government IT departments.

“RIM is pleased to announce that the BlackBerry PlayBook is the first tablet approved under FIPS for use within the U.S. federal government,” Scott Totzke, senior vice president of BlackBerry security at RIM, said in a statement.

 

[gsaldivar]

Very nice. :thumbsup:

So we should see native email, calendar and messaging on QNX any day now, right?

 

[Tristicus]

That sounds good for PB owners.

 

[Imp]

Very nice. :thumbsup:

So we should see native email, calendar and messaging on QNX any day now, right?

Three months and counting... Nope.

 

[DivideBYZero]

This is a solid win. No other tablet has FIPS 140-2. Hopefully the PIM apps are not far behind this milestone, not because I need them, but just to shut up the tiring pissants.

 

[gsaldivar]

Hopefully the PIM apps are not far behind this milestone, not because I need them, but just to shut up the tiring pissants.

Meh.

You're just pissy because there is now one less excuse why three months after release there still isn't native email on the Playbook.

“We will have ... a standalone non-web, non-paired email client on it within the next, I believe it was 60 days scheduled.” -Co-CEO Jim Balsillie on 4/15/2011

 

[DivideBYZero]

http://crackberry.com/quick-look-android-app-player-blackberry-playbook

 

[shortylickens]

So they are so desperate the need the president as a spokesman to keep them afloat?
What happens when his rating tank and the other guy uses an iPhone?

 

[Alone]

So they are so desperate the need the president as a spokesman to keep them afloat?
What happens when his rating tank and the other guy uses an iPhone?

And what does this have to do with the Playbook getting FIPS approval?

Oh, right, nothing.

Troll, troll, troll your boat...

 

[DivideBYZero]

And what does this have to do with the Playbook getting FIPS approval?

Oh, right, nothing.

Troll, troll, troll your boat...

Forum should have been renamed, 'Apple, Android and Nothing Else'.

 

[yllus]

So they are so desperate the need the president as a spokesman to keep them afloat?
What happens when his rating tank and the other guy uses an iPhone?

There isn't a brand in the world that wouldn't commit murder to have President Obama prominently use their product. Dude's considered the epitome of cool by 2/3rds of the world.