Pentagon Approves BlackBerry 7 Use

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry may not have quite the traction it once did in the Beltway, but in the Pentagon it remains the device of choice, largely because of its security features.

To wit, the U.S. Department of Defense has approved RIM’s BlackBerry 7 devices for agency-wide use. Vetted by the U.S. Army and Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930; BlackBerry Torch 9810; BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860; and the BlackBerry Curve 9360 have all been certified for use by U.S. Army and other Defense Department personnel.

Welcome news for DoD employees who’ve been stuck using an older, slower version of the OS, and great news for RIM, which has won a renewed vote of confidence from what must certainly be its single largest customer. According to the DoD’s fiscal 2013 budget, it currently has about 250,000 BlackBerrys in use (along with “5,000 Apple iOS pilot systems” and “3,000 Android pilot systems”). So having its BlackBerry 7 portfolio approved for use across the department is a lucrative win indeed — especially if it paves the way for deployment of BlackBerry 10 at some point in the future.