U.S. Army Picks Android for Its First Smartphone

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Posted April 23, 2011 at 12:35pm by Shalom Levytam

The U.S. Army wants every soldier to carry a smartphone and it looks like its initially selected Google's Android for its operating system, according to Wired.

A prototype device running Android called the Joint Battle Command-Platform, developed by tech nonprofit MITRE, is undergoing tests. The development kit behind it, called the Mobile /Handheld Computing Environment, will be released to app creators in July, the Army says.

Joint Battle Command-Platform will feature a mapping function, a Blue Force Tracker program will keep tabs on where friendly forces are, and "Critical messaging" will exchange crucial data like medevac requests and on the ground reporting.

The prototype device will reportedly be able to withstand the physical wear-and-tear of soldiering.

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U.S. Army Picks Android for Its First Smartphone

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ABSA01 - April 25, 2011 at 1:51pm

This article makes me want to play starcraft 2. Call the medivacs....

Solution - April 25, 2011 at 3:14pm

+1 for Starcraft II

Solution - April 25, 2011 at 1:13pm

They definitely should have some sort of PDA (remember Quake, Doom?). Android is more customizable but has more security holes.

prostovanka - April 24, 2011 at 11:25am

I dont think giving a feature for soldiers to see where other soldiers are is a smart move. What if an enemy gets a hold of 1 device they can find any soldier and then :( well u get the picture

Souldja - April 23, 2011 at 3:09pm

U.S. Army should get a jailbroken iPhone instead. Locked iOS - sucks. Locked Android - sucks. Jailbroken iOS = awesome!

xntrick - April 23, 2011 at 2:57pm

I disagree & still maintain it's a failure on the part of those who made this decision. Of course they want full control over the OS however that does NOT mean that having that control is best for the security of the the military & will result in a secure & stable piece of equipment for use by our troops. We've seen many examples of where a contact is awarded based on the lowest bidder & not the best design. I maintain that is what is happening here. This will not have positive results for either the military or Android.

Sabtain - April 23, 2011 at 2:04pm

I meant isn't far ahead in terms of sales that just proves apple knows what it's doing

Sabtain - April 23, 2011 at 2:03pm

Though apples os is locked they still have a huge chunk of the Market they only have 4 phones whereas android has dozens yet is far ahead in terms of sales

Jim James - April 23, 2011 at 1:06pm

This makes perfect sense. The Army wants to completely control all aspects of the phone from hardware to OS. Army would not be able to modify the iPhone hardware, nor it's software. They need not an aesthetically pleasing phone, but one that can be dropped, likely waterproof, and won't scratch when you get sand on it. This is where Apple loses out. It would have been great though if the US Army issued jailbroken iPhones.

John Petes - April 23, 2011 at 1:30pm

Agree with you sir

MZA - April 23, 2011 at 1:39pm

Agreed. Apple has been slammed hard for their exceptionally locked iOS.

Cyber Mafia - April 23, 2011 at 1:58pm

100% Agree with you :)

xntrick - April 23, 2011 at 1:00pm

What a fail

Joe - April 23, 2011 at 1:07pm

No not a fail a successful choice because really they want control to make their customizations like widgets and army stuff not just iphone crap!

DigiHead - April 23, 2011 at 1:20pm

Now yankies will have even more problems than ever before! :D