ICE Dropping Blackberry For iPhone
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency wants to acquire 17,676 Apple iPhone devices for its staff, officially replacing Blackberry phones after eight years, Information Week reports.
J. Nicholas Hoover writes ICE is among several agencies that are switching to Apple iOS devices from Blackberry, including the Federal Air Marshall Service, Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, Air Force, Federal Aviation Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
According to the report, Blackberry maker Research and Motion estimates it has nearly one million government users and upgraded 400,000 devices last year.
In solicitation documents, ICE said it was changing its mobile device strategy to take advantage of increased capabilities of devices including availability of thousands of applications.
Some contractors are also moving away from Blackberry, including Booz Allen Hamilton, who plans to buy 25,000 iPhones and Android devices in the coming months.
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