[anon(1464249)]

BlackBerry still enjoys a number of government smartphone contracts, but a new Android device forthcoming from Boeing might threaten that relationship. The aviation giant copped to development of a secure smartphone last year, but now the so-called ?Boeing Black? has hit the FCC (via Myce), providing a little more background.

The Boeing Black is designed to be ?sold primarily to government agencies and companies �engaged in contractual activities with those agencies that are related to defense and homeland security. The device will be marketed and sold in a manner such that low-level technical and�operational information about the product will not be provided to the general public,? according to the FCC filing, so it?s definitely not something like the Blackphone from Silent Circle and Geeksphone, which is aimed more at keeping privacy-conscious general consumers secure.

It is, however, a clear stab at the core of BlackBerry?s remaining U.S. market share. The Canadian smartphone maker just announced a new contract with the Pentagon to provide 80,000 new BlackBerry phones to Department of Defense employees in a rollout that began January 31, meaning it?s still far and away the provider of choice when it comes to U.S. secure government agencies.

Samsung is trying to crack that market, too, with its KNOX software and new marketplace, designed to be used on BYOD devices. That?s still not nearly as robust an offering as BlackBerry?s devices, however, and also a far cry from what Boeing looks to be offering with its new dual-SIM, LTE powered ultra classified smartphone kit. Still, Samsung clearly wants to move in that direction and is evolving its approach to help make that happen.

For now, BlackBerry is hanging on to its choice role as the smartphone platform of choice for use in sensitive enterprise settings, but that?s unlikely to last forever unless it can turn around other parts of its business. Banking on being the next major platform provider for industries that require heightened security is a smart move, but we?ll have to wait and see how far exactly Boeing has gone with the Black before heralding it as the new king of smart, secret mobile.

Here?s a shorthand version of where the offerings mentioned above fit relative to one another, for those keeping track at home:

KNOX: BYOD security for enterprise users who don?t want two devices and aren?t necessarily working with national secrets.
Blackphone: Smartphone for the paranoid consumer, who?s willing to pay a little extra and sign up for subscription services in exchange for privacy peace of mind. Snowden-inspired.
Boeing Black: Potentially self-destructing James Bond phone that lets communication in, but keeps spies out. Also Snowden-inspired in all likelihood, but from the opposite direction.

Source: Boeing Black Secure Smartphone Hits The FCC, Aims To Be The Next BlackBerry | TechCrunch

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[co4nd]

Well I could see Boeing getting the entire US Federal Government switched over to these things, especially during an upcoming election cycle. Boeing is American and Part of the US Military-Industrial complex, and they have a ton of money to grease the gears of Washington. What surprises me, is if they really wanted to do this, why didn't they just buy Blackberry.

[SmellWhole]

I dunno about this. Boeing is a military industrial complex powerhouse. It might as well be an NSA partner. This might reach the same markets Sectera and the Panasonic Toughbook target. BlackBerry, like the the IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad, is business rugged.

[psypher22]

Somebody get this to blackberry, so they can put out an official response to this.

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[sjmartin007]

It's based on android. O ok. Not sure if this will catch on. Boeing is far from a software company.

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[propeller10]

Boeing could save tons of money on research and development by buying Blackberry instead.

[Tre Lawrence]

Somebody get this to blackberry, so they can put out an official response to this.

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If BBRY needs us to notify them of stuff like this, there is a serious disconnect.

[notafanboy]

They are to little too late. Never mind to late but the game was over hours ago. I wonder if the American propaganda machine will point out how late they are to the game?

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[graxyq]

Has Boeing given up on making aircrafts after the dreamliner ?

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[eddy_berry]

Haha. Hey, anyone else noticed all these secure phones that are being developed now are all "BLACK"??? I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. LOL.

"Yes. Yes. Let's make a secure phone for no apparent reason. Let's name it Black ....erm.... something. Whatever. We'll work out those details as soon as we find out how we go about making a secure Android device." - Boeing Exec.

"Hey guys, I've got a great idea. Let's make a smartphone specifically geared toward security conscious business. We'll call it Black... erm... phone. Yeah that's it!. Blackphone! That sounds perfect. It just screams security!" - Blackphone Exec.


Oh man this makes me chuckle. What were these guys thinking?

Edit: ooh Dual sim though. BlackBerry better step it up this year.

[java0317]

Good point notafanboy! If the media used the same logic as they use towards blackberry, I could almost bet a penny that they will dismiss blackphone as a futile attempt to enter an oversaturated "secure" smartphone market. After all iphone has made lots of progress in making their OS secure as has samsung with knox. To make it worst, blackberry is still alive and is still the most secure platform around.
SO, its a futile attempt. Unless you consider that getting out of the gate a decade behind is not too late.

[Canuck671]

Now you know why airbus went with BlackBerry

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[byex]

Boeing lol. They should stick to "trying" to make quality aircrafts.

747 one of the last great boeings.

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[The Aficionado]

Why are they making phones now? Is it really this easy? Maybe I'll make my own android phone too

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[tchocky77]

It's based on android. O ok. Not sure if this will catch on. Boeing is far from a software company.

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I've dealt with them as a liaison between them and the US Navy. I can promise you Boeing writes FAR more software than BlackBerry does.

This is a very real threat for BlackBerry. These guys are face to face with the government, both civilian and military, every single day. I mean like, in their offices.

You guys laugh. But this is really bad news for BlackBerry.


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[co4nd]

Haha. Hey, anyone else noticed all these secure phones that are being developed now are all "BLACK"??? I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. LOL.

"Yes. Yes. Let's make a secure phone for no apparent reason. Let's name it Black ....erm.... something. Whatever. We'll work out those details as soon as we find out how we go about making a secure Android device." - Boeing Exec.

"Hey guys, I've got a great idea. Let's make a smartphone specifically geared toward security conscious business. We'll call it Black... erm... phone. Yeah that's it!. Blackphone! That sounds perfect. It just screams security!" - Blackphone Exec.


Oh man this makes me chuckle. What were these guys thinking?

Edit: ooh Dual sim though. BlackBerry better step it up this year.

I think they'd say it comes from the term BlackOps which the people they are marketing will relate to.

[milo53]

Wow! Where did that come from?

[pankaler]

I've dealt with them as a liaison between them and the US Navy. I can promise you Boeing writes FAR more software than BlackBerry does.

This is a very real threat for BlackBerry. These guys are face to face with the government, both civilian and military, every single day. I mean like, in their offices.

You guys laugh. But this is really bad news for BlackBerry.


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Damn I have no idea boeing is like this... but i believe that their software must be top notch because lives is their bet if something's goes wrong.

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[rizdragon]

i have an idea... let me make a newer secure smart phone... i'll call it BlackBlacker... ot BlackBlacky... or BlackPhone (oops that's taken)... how about BlackBlack... BlackBone, BlackWhte, BlackSung, nevermind... i'll just keep on putting words infront of or after the word Black stolen from BlackBerry and presto... it'll be done...

nice strategy all the Secure phone companies are adopting... they are stealing the trade name of BlackBerry 50%... 5 letters from a 10 letter word... can BB do anything about this blatant copying of their name?

[Bor Navas]

Why are they making phones now? Is it really this easy? Maybe I'll make my own android phone too

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Don't forget to make it "ultra classified"!
Blackboing boingblack teleblack.. meh
Go Airbus! Lol

channel C000F331C- my Z30 rocks!

[badiyee]

Boeing locks down their jet fighters they say,

If Malaysia wanted to shoot a missile from a F-18,needs Boeing's A-OK they say.

If Boeing is to say A-OK, needs USA's Congress's A-OK, they say.
So many OKs, then only you can shoot, with a remote lock from USA, they say.

And Malaysian crack engineers managed to unlock the code, and we can fire the missiles, with or without USA's permission. We bought em', now we can use em'.

Hacked, cracked.

Boeing locked down their planes tight they say,

If Malaysia wanted a software upgrade, ask Boeing they say.

If Boeing wants to give A-OK, USA Congress must give A-OK they say.

So many OKs, then only you can upgrade software, with a remote "we cherry pick your upgrades" from USA Congress, they say.
So why do we even have to ask USA for something we bought?

And Malaysian crack engineers managed to unlock the code, and now we can update our F-18s, with or without USA's permission.
We bought em', now we can use em'.

Hacked, cracked.


And now we hear Boeing wants to make secure smartphone, they say.

On an Android.

What?

Can you say it again?

[Canuck671]

The new name is BlackAppsung

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[eddy_berry]

I think they'd say it comes from the term BlackOps which the people they are marketing will relate to.

Oh really now? That's convenient.

[Tre Lawrence]

I highly doubt they are going for BBRY name recognition when they choose the term "black."

[playbookster]

I highly doubt they are going for BBRY name recognition when they choose the term "black."

Yeah because that wouldn't make any sense at all right?

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