iPhone joins the Marine Corps?

[iphonewiz]

Came across this interesting link. After watching Iron Man, I was thinking about military applications for the iPhone. With a harden case, there could be some really cool apps built.

iPhone in the military?

 

[Michael CM1]

Came across this interesting link. After watching Iron Man, I was thinking about military applications for the iPhone. With a harden case, there could be some really cool apps built.

iPhone in the military?

I'm no military guy, but I'm pretty sure they have more sophisticated stuff already. They had satellite communications (satellite phones) before we had heard of cell phones. Heck, the Internet is based off something made for the Dept. of Defense!

 

[kdarling]

The military has been using ruggedized WM devices for years.

Some are quite beyond the iPhone. For example, this one with a fast cpu, VGA graphics, and super hardened.

Let's not even get into the iPhone's lack of expansion slots and REPLACEABLE BATTERY

Kevin
(ex Staff Sergeant, combat Tactical Electronic Warfare)

 

[t0mat0]

I'm no military guy, but I'm pretty sure they have more sophisticated stuff already. They had satellite communications (satellite phones) before we had heard of cell phones. Heck, the Internet is based off something made for the Dept. of Defense!

The story linked is a fair few weeks old.
But if you look at the Garmin blog - soldiers are buying up their own GPS to coordinate themselves, and some Garmin gear has already saved the hides of a fair few out in the field.
DoD will have cool kit. But the average soldier? Body armour, uparmouring vehicles, decent guns, decent radio systems... UK and US both stink in this regard. Seeing as they have iPods already out there - I could easily imagine soldiers using iPhones if they have GPS.

 

[kdarling]

t0mat0, that's true. Soldiers often had to buy their own kit.

I remember at one EW unit, we all had Radio Shack battery-of-the-month club cards, so we could stock up on free D cells at home, for later use when deployed.

Batteries and toilet paper. Two combat essentials