Will Uhuru change his BB phone over security concerns?

Tuko Guest Writer Yesterday 45462

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– When it comes to smartphones, the world is moving fast

– This speed may not be the same within the political sphere – especially at the highest of ranks in government

It is no news that security is very strict at the higher ranks of political power, and presidents’ phones are probably the most guarded devices, what with the threats of hacking and sabotage rampant in a high tech world.

No sooner had we revealed the phone that Uhuru Kenyatta uses than we learnt about how the ‘leader of the free world’, President Obama, made a shift in phone brands.

READ ALSO: Finally, we reveal the phone that Uhuru Kenyatta uses

Just recently, outgoing Obama bid goodbye to his “increasingly rare” BlackBerry device which he was using since before he took office.

In an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, President Obama made some snarky remarks about the ridiculously few features of his phone.

But about two years ago, the White House Communications Agency was testing other phones, including models by Samsung and LG.

This sent shivers through fans of Blackberry, the struggling Canadian smartphone company, which at the time had also announced an annual loss of $5.8bn.

The Blackberry Priv used by Uhuru Kenyatta. The first Android-powered phone described as “the phone that’s supposed to save BlackBerry.” (Photo: arstechnica.com)

President Barack Obama told Jimmy Fallon that he is now in possession of a state-of-the-art smartphone that replaced his BlackBerry.

However, the president added that he might have lesser features in his device than a toy phone.

President Barack Obama speaks with Jimmy Fallon on June 8, 2016, in New York City. President Obama is the first sitting president to appear on the show. (Photo: Thomas A. Ferrara-Pool / Getty Images)

The US president did not say which brand manufactured the device, but speculation has it that it could be a 2013 Samsung S4.

The 2013 Samsung galaxy s4 (Photo: droidlife.com)

The US Senate, which employs more than 20,000 people has followed suit, owing to the expiry of Blackberry’s guarantee.

This follows that its personnel will no longer be issued with BlackBerry and it is no longer possible to replace models that used the BlackBerry 10 operating system, now that the company uses Android.

This decision spells the end for one of BlackBerry’s last greats, which it had held onto thanks to its security certification.

Blackberry devices had been long considered “the CIO’s best friend”, and although some companies will still use it, the tipping point in the company’s decline has come.

Does President Kenyatta’s team have to start shopping for another phone ahead of the 2017 General Election? Maybe not.

Check out a few pics of the phones other world leaders use:

Tanzania’s John Magufuli uses a Symbian second generation phone (Photo: ibtimes.co.uk)

Angela Merkel has two phones. She uses a Nokia 6260 Slide, for party matters only. For state affairs, Merkel uses a BlackBerry Z10, fitted with an encryption chip by Secusmart. (Photo: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)

Matteo Renzi, Italy’s Prime Minister is an Apple devotee who wrote a tribute to Steve Jobs on his Facebook page, calling him “the Leonardo da Vinci of our time”. (Photo: Financial Times)

French president, François Hollande, is inseparable from his iPhone 5, unlike his predecessor Sarkozy who had a Blackberry addiction. (Photo: Ruet Stephane)