Barack Obama to part ways with Blackberry for 'BarackBerry'

London, Jan 25 (ANI): After insisting on sticking to his Blackberry, US President Barack Obama has finally given his nod for a secure, souped-up, high-tech personal digital assistant (PDA)- Sectera Edge.

According to reports, the new White House resident will carry a Sectera Edge, made by General Dynamics, the military contractor, and developed specially for the National Security Agency (NSA).

The Sectera Edge boasts encryption devised by the NSA, which gathers intelligence from cyberspace.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said that the buzz about Obama's BlackBerry replacement is "almost as exciting as the presidential dog," reports Times Online.

The PDA can turn into secure communications device just with a touch of a button.

When used in classified mode, the top-secret smartphone's screen turns red and then it can communicate only with similar handsets.

With a price tag of 2,465 pounds, the Sectera Edge includes the option to "exchange secure e-mail with government personnel".

And thus, it won't be possible for anybody to forward presidential e-mails to third parties.

President aides have been searching for a secure BlackBerry-style phone, after Obama made it clear that he was determined to hang on to his lifeline to people outside the White House bubble.

"They're going to have to prise it out of my hands," he said.

His insistence raised security fears about terrorist hackers being able to pinpoint the president's location, but Obama has finally overridden the concerns. (ANI)