NSA-approved handset runs Windows Mobile

Goodness me.

This is the phone that is apparently approved — or at least possible for — Mr President-Elect Obama to use.

You know how he’s ‘addicted’ to Blackberry?

Well, give him one of these and watch him become immediately un-addicted.

Windows Mobile. Total total unmitigated rubbish when you ACTUALLY want to use a device that can respond swiftly and immediately to your requirements.

Anyone who’s ever done a send/receive with their Windows Mobile device will tell you, it’s 100% rubbish if you do anything else other than wait for it to complete.

You can’t actually USE it. Because the OS is using 100% of resources to connect to your IMAP server and sod about downloading your email.

Add on a few more layers of security and geez, it’ll take years to do anything decent.

Still, the General Dynamics handset Secterea Edge looks pretty nifty.

Instead of $350, they’ve sensibly added a zero.

Well, it’s the Goverment, right?

So one of these babies:

… Will set you back $3,350. And, as ZDnet points out, even the accessories are stupidly expensive. ($100 for a cigarette-lighter charger).

Here’s a quote from the ZDnet piece:

The Sectera runs a mobile version of Microsoft Windows, including versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player. The NSA claims that the installed versions of Internet Explorer, WordPad, and Windows Messenger are good enough for data that’s classified at a level of Secret. Presumably the federal spooks have found a way to protect IE from the numerous security flaws that continue to plague the Internet’s most popular browser.

The NSA declined to comment on Monday.

You bet they are. They’re probably still waiting for the device’s little circle egg-timer thing to stop whirring.

Here’s the full image of the device:

Place your orders for the Sectera at the General Dynamics C4 site.