If you want to understand why HealthCare.gov was so troubled, you need to know this one thing: The president of the United States still uses a BlackBerry.
But perhaps not for much longer.
The White House is testing Samsung and LG smartphones, which presumably use Google’s Android operating system, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Although Obama has said that he uses an iPad to catch up on the news, the newspaper quoted an unnamed source saying that the White House is not testing an iPhone.
While BlackBerry was once at the forefront of phone-based email — so much so that it was nicknamed the “CrackBerry” its high-powered users who were addicted to it — the company fell behind as more consumer-friendly companies like Apple and Google got into the market.
Still, BlackBerry maintained a stronghold at the White House and Capitol Hill, where it still holds sway over politicians and their staffers partly due to inertia and partly because high-security options were in place.
If Obama switches to a modified Android phone, though, that may change quickly.
