PlayBook becomes certified for U.S. government use

The latest tablet from Research in Motion receives FIPS 140-2 certification as required for official federal use

Allen Ngo, Published 07/21/2011

RIM certainly has something to boast about today, as the company has announced its PlayBook tablet received official certification from the U.S. federal government for use within the administration.

“The certification demonstrates our continued commitment to meeting the needs of security-conscious organizations and enables the U.S. federal government to buy with confidence knowing that the PlayBook meets their computing policy requirements for protecting sensitive information,” said Senior Vice President of BlackBerry Security Scott Totzke. The BlackBerry brand has always been a favorite for many businesses in the U.S., but the fact that the PlayBook is the first tablet to receive recognition from the country’s federal government is a milestone for tablet devices in general.

The PlayBook is being showcased this week at the U.S. federal government information technology conference, probably for government officials to familiarize themselves with the tablet’s functions and operating system. According to the press release, the PlayBook has also been awarded Best in Show and Best in Handheld Devices during the conference.

Check out some external reviews of the 7-inch PlayBook tablet here. The 16GB model can currently be bought for just $448 on Amazon.

Source(s)

http://blackberryrocks.com/2011/07/21/blackberry-playbook-tablet-certified-u-s-government/

http://static.blackberryrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/blackberry-playbook-angle-whitebg.jpg

+ Show Press Release

Press Release

BlackBerry PlayBook Wins ‘Best in Show’ Award at FOSE 2011

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) announced today that it has received FIPS 140-2 certification for the new BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, making the BlackBerry PlayBook the first tablet certified for deployment within U.S. federal government agencies. No other tablet on the market has gained FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) certification from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is required under the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA).

“RIM is pleased to announce that the BlackBerry PlayBook is the first tablet approved under FIPS for use within the U.S. federal government,” said Scott Totzke, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Security at Research In Motion. “This certification demonstrates our continued commitment to meeting the needs of security-conscious organizations and enables the U.S. federal government to buy with confidence knowing that the PlayBook meets their computing policy requirements for protecting sensitive information.”

BlackBerry PlayBook is a powerful, ultra-portable tablet that fits comfortably in one hand. It has a stunning 7-inch high resolution display, offers true multi-tasking capabilities and a high-fidelity web experience. It also allows for secure pairing with BlackBerry® smartphones via the BlackBerry® Bridge™ app, which enables users to access their BlackBerry smartphone’s email, calendar, address book, memo pad, task list, BBM (BlackBerry® Messenger) and browsing functionality using the larger display on the tablet.

The FIPS-certified BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is being showcased this week in Washington DC at FOSE – the largest Federal government information technology conference in the U.S. – where BlackBerry PlayBook has just been awarded Best in Show, and also Best of FOSE in the Handheld Devices category.

More information about the BlackBerry PlayBook is available at www.blackberry.com/playbook.

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Allen Ngo - Lead Editor U.S. - 5190 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2011

After graduating with a B.S. in environmental hydrodynamics from the University of California, I studied reactor physics to become licensed by the U.S. NRC to operate nuclear reactors. There's a striking level of appreciation you gain for everyday consumer electronics after working with modern nuclear reactivity systems astonishingly powered by computers from the 80s. When I'm not managing day-to-day activities and US review articles on Notebookcheck, you can catch me following the eSports scene and the latest gaming news.

contact me via: @AllenNgoNBC

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Allen Ngo, 2011-07-21 (Update: 2012-05-26)

PlayBook becomes certified for U.S. government use

Source(s)

Press Release

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