The U.S. military has been making a strong push lately into building on top of existing systems like the Android OS in order to increase capabilities while keeping costs low. The Army recently wrapped up its "Apps for Army" competition in which Army soldiers and civilians were asked to create apps that were of use to the Army. The contest wound up involving 141 programmers split among 53 apps.
Of particular interest to Android users is the fact that 10 of the 15 winning apps were running on Android, with the remaining five written for the iPhone. One of the top Android winners was written by two Army Corps of Engineers members and was designed to help the Army organize and spread critical information using Google Maps and Earth during disaster relief efforts. The pair chose Android as their platform of choice because it was "more flexible to use" than the iPhone's development environment.
The Army officer in charge of the competition, Lt. Gen. Jeff Sorenson, commented that the other service branches were looking into similar competitions as well. He also said that "as soon as next year" the Army would consider getting iPhones and Android devices into the hands of deployed soldiers.
DOD CAC holders should be able to pick up the apps here. Thanks to you-know-who-you-are for the tip!!! [Government Computer News]
17 Comments
Android just keeps getting good news...
I'm glad the military can use apps like this during relief efforts for example.
Again...shinning example of the difference between a system built by a software engineering company vs one built by a UI and hardware design company. Pretty screen transitions aren't gonna cut it when theres work to be done.
Wow... truly fantastic! I can imagine an android commercial:
"Android. Because the army likes it better than the iPhone."
:D
Just have Andy the Android going "OORAH"!
Easy there cowboy. We ain't leathernecks, our grunt is HOOAH. not that oorah nonsense.
Just an FYI, the correct URL is: https://storefront.mil/army
It was wrong in the GCN article, and so therefore in the post as well.
Either the DoD changed the link again or it's not active anymore...any ideas?
Android guided smart bomb app. :-p
My thoughts exactly. But I'll will patiently wait until the Air Force's Predator Drone remote app hits. I'm gonna be all over that baby.
Next all they gotta do now is build augmented shades for environmental purposes.
Ghost Recon Future Soldier is almost here.
I just recently went throhght proccesing to enlist into the marine corps and every single marine recruiter i seen there was carrying a govt issued droid
Interesting, do all/most government agencies use the same wireless carrier or what? I've always wondered about that... You'd have to think there'd be extra security protocols and safeguards for phones in certain areas of government and the military.
Does anyone else think "141 programers split among 53 apps" doesn't sound like much? What was the approval process to participate in the contest?
Kyle, you missed an M in programmers btw, on the article... Spellcheckers work on Sundays too. ;)
Government agencies do not all use the same carriers. They use who provides the best service in the area. Cell phones are not used for sensitive information either. So there are no extra security measures required.
I beg to differ. Working for the gov there are most definitely security protocols on phones. Everything on a military or gov network cell or landline or computer has to have the appropriate certificates and a encryption process. Then all the info has to go through DOIM (directorate of information management). They have VERY strict guidelines on what devices are on the network and their security capabilities.