iPod goes to war

Jake Widman
Tuesday, 21 April 2009 00:58

Business IT - Technology

According to a report in Newsweek, U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are increasingly turning to iPhones and iPod Touches to exchange vital information in the field.

Modern warfare, especially in its counterinsurgency form, requires a lot of real-time data exchange.

Soldiers need to download information from sensors on the ground and in the air, send coordinates to weapons systems, translate English to Arabic and back again, and communicate on the fly with other troops.

The military has equipped soldiers with handheld devices designed especially to handle these tasks on the battlefield. But it turns out that an iPod Touch or iPhone in a protective case can stand up to the rigors of the battlefield and fulfill all those tasks cheaper than the custom-built devices can.

The report quotes Lt. Col. Jim Ross, director of the Army's intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors operations in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, as saying an iPod "may be all that they need."

It helps that most soldiers are already familiar with how the iPod works, so the training is easier than it would be with an unfamiliar device.

The multifunction devices also have the benefit of replacing multiple pieces of equipment a soldier would otherwise have to carry.

For more on how the iPod is used on the battlefield, see page 2 .