Defense spokesman says DoD not dumping BlackBerry

March 22, 2013

A U.S. Department of Defense spokesman said Thursday that a report that suggests the defense agency is dumping BlackBerry devices was inaccurate, and that BlackBerry is still part of ongoing DoD mobile device deployment plans. The spokesman contradicted a report in Electronista that cited "well-placed sources" as saying the Defense Department created a pending purchase order for 650,000 Apple iOS devices, including iPhones and tablets. That purchase would replace existing BlackBerry devices that are incompatible with BlackBerry 10, Electronista said. The Z10 smartphone running BB10 goes on sale tomorrow in the U.S. on AT&T for $199.99 and a two-year contract. Other carriers will also sell the qwerty-keyboard Q10 in coming weeks. In a telephone interview, the DoD spokesman said he didn't know where Electronista got its information, but added, "it is not from an official DoD source." He also said the BlackBerry's future at the Defense Department is still very much alive. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9237777/Defense_spokesman_says_DoD_not_dumping_BlackBerry#tk.rss_all