BlackBerry PlayBook Certified For U.S. Government Use

Although RIM's mobile business seems to be lagging behind in many aspects, they did manage to snag a first today. The BlackBerry maker announced that their PlayBook is now the very first tablet to be certified for use by the U.S. government. This of course is to prove the PlayBook meets even the highest enterprise security needs.

The PlayBook received the FIPS 140-2 certification, which enables the U.S. federal government to purchase the tablet and be confident in knowing that it meets their data security requirements. The certification is used to judge the security of mobile devices, firewalls, routers, and servers used by federal agencies such as the FBI.

This will certainly help RIM with PlayBook sales, which have been weak in the consumer sector. The company, once leading in enterprise products and services has recently seen its market encroached on by Apple and Android devices. However, Apple has also applied for the FIPS 140-2 certification for its iPhone and iPad, but approval has yet to be announced.

[via BGR]