Newsweek is reporting that the iPod touch (and presumably the iPhone, as they run the same software) is replacing more expensive, government-contracted handhelds as the "networked warefare" mobile device of choice for the US Military. Not only do soldiers often already know how to use iPods and iPhones:
Apple gadgets are proving to be surprisingly versatile. Software developers and the U.S. Department of Defense are developing military software for iPods that enables soldiers to display aerial video from drones and have teleconferences with intelligence agents halfway across the globe. Snipers in Iraq and Afghanistan now use a "ballistics calculator" called BulletFlight, made by the Florida firm Knight's Armament for the iPod Touch and iPhone. Army researchers are developing applications to turn an iPod into a remote control for a bomb-disposal robot (tilting the iPod steers the robot). In Sudan, American military observers are using iPods to learn the appropriate etiquette for interacting with tribal leaders.
So, does this mean we'll see full force iPhone hero shots in all the new Michael Bay movies from now on?
