What Obama won’t be using: the Sectera Edge

There was a lot of speculation that President Obama would have his BlackBerry replaced with the Sectera Edge, a secure, rugged Windows Mobile smartphone built by General Dynamics. We know that’s not the case now: the White House has confirmed that the president will be using a BlackBerry with enhanced security, presumably a security/encryption software package from the National Security Agency (NSA). But the Sectera Edge is an interesting device. It was designed and built for the NSA’s Secure Mobile Environment Portable Electronic Device (SME PED) program. It offers secure wireless voice for all communications classified up to Top Secret, and email and Website access up to Secret. It ipmlements the Secure Communications Interoperability Protocol (SCIP), to secure phone calls to other SCIP-compatible devices. It has the High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor Interoperability Specification for secure connectivity with classified networks. It’s married with Apriva’s Sensa, a secure mobile email system for Windows Mobile devices. The smartphone was certified by the NSA earlier in 2008. At first glance, the Edge looks pretty similar to some of the older BlackBerries: The phone is bulkier and much heavier than typical smartphones: dimensions are 1.3 x 3.2 x 4.9 inches, and its weight is 12 ounces. The smartphone can keep classified and unclassified applications and data separate. And it can switch between classified and unclassified functions. It has interchangeable wireless modules for multi-band GSM or CDMA cellular networks, including 3G, and for 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. Product information and full specs are online. And, as you’d expect, it’s way more expensive: with one of the wireless modules, it costs $3,150 to $3,350, and various accessories ranging from holsters and headphones to earbuds and batteries can add hundreds more.