Research In Motion (RIM) said the US Department of Defense (DoD) has approved the use of the company’s BlackBerry 7 smartphones for its networks.
The approval allows all DoD customers to use the seven upgraded devices following successful testing of the US Army and Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) sponsors and partners smartphones through Army labs.
After the tests, the latest devices have been listed on DISA’s Unified Communications Approved Product List (UCAPL) and would be employed in mission critical applications.
RIM BlackBerry Security Group SVP Scott Totzke said, "RIM’s unwavering focus on security and RIM’s achievement of key security certifications including FIPS 140-2 validation and Common Criteria EAL4+ accreditation continue to be very important to many of our DoD and enterprise customers, but leveraging the full power of BlackBerry smartphones is also important as it helps them realize the full potential of their investment in the BlackBerry platform."
The US Army has brought new applications and capabilities for their BlackBerry users last year, RIM said.
The army personnel and DoD users can now access more features such as voice activated universal search, Near Field Communications, Augmented Reality, and Social Feeds 2.0, among other features.
