President Obama banned from using iPhone 'for security reasons'

BlackBerry's fortunes continue to decline, but the company still has one high profile fan - although Obama's dedication is reportedly for security reasons

U.S. President Barack Obama places a Blackberry device back in the holster as he makes his way toward the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, January 29, 2009. Obama (REUTERS/Jason Reed)

Barack Obama’s love for BlackBerry smartphones is well documented but he has recently revealed that there may be other reasons for his brand loyalty, with the president of the USA admitting that he isn’t allowed to have an iPhone “for security reasons”.

Obama made the off-hand remark during a speech at the White House dedicated to promoting his health care reforms to a young audience. He joked that whilst he couldn’t use Apple’s smartphone his daughters spent enough time on theirs.

In 2008, prior to his inauguration, Obama famously said of his BlackBerry smartphone that the government would have to “pry it out of my hands”. Luckily, the firm has long had a reputation for creating secure devices, thanks to its default use of encryption on all messages.

Despite the Canadian smartphone manufacturer’s near non-existent sales (research from Kantar suggests that the company accounts for just 0.8 per cent of the market in the US) the devices remain popular with American authorities.

In August this year they were even awarded the prestigious “authority to operate” certification by the US Department of Defense, becoming the first smartphone to receive such a statement of confidence.

Despite this, many tech commentators have pointed out that if anyone knows a thing or two about smartphone security it’s the Obama administration. Earlier this year allegations were raised that the US had been tapping the mobile phones of a 35 world leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.