Pentagon Will Continue to Support BlackBerry Phones

The Pentagon announced Wednesday that it would continue to support “large numbers” of BlackBerry phones made by Research in Motion.  Even as the United States Military moves forward with plans to begin using other devices.

Last week, the Defense Department invited companies to submit bids for software that can monitor, manage and enforce security requirements for devices made by Apple and Google, with an eye to awarding a contract in April.

A Pentagon spokesman said the U.S. military was working toward allowing vendors to supply other smartphones, while maintaining strict security requirements.

He said the department aimed to use commercial mobile technologies as it stepped up the use of “new and innovative applications” to support the military’s evolving requirements.

But the Pentagon also stressed it was not moving away from its use of BlackBerry phones.

RIM spokesman Paul Lucier said his company’s BlackBerry Mobile Fusion product could also be used to manage Android and Apple devices, and RIM was “excited for the opportunity to include BlackBerry Mobile Fusion in the DOD’s portfolio.”

Ultimately, the Pentagon wants the software to support a total of 8 million devices, according to the document.

Source: Reuters