Obama tethers an American iPad to his Canadian BlackBerry

The White House, like many other government and corporate organizations, continues to standardize upping RIM's BlackBerry devices for their vaunted security in messaging. But the president isn't waiting for RIM to offer its PlayBook.

At a town hall meeting hosted by Jorge Ramos of Univision, Barack Obama mentioned, "I took my BlackBerry off for this show, because I didn’t want it going off, and that would be really embarrassing. But usually I carry a BlackBerry around."

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal MarketWatch blog, Ramos asked whether the president had an iPad.

"I do have an iPad,” Obama answered, joking that he also has his own computer to the amusement of the audience.

“I mean, Jorge, I’m the president of the United States,” Obama said. “You think I’ve got to go borrow somebody’s computer? Hey, man, can I borrow your computer? How about you? You’ve got one?”

The report says Obama uses his iPad tethered to his BlackBerry, but that nothing was stated about how the president uses the tablet device. Last fall, it was revealed that Apple had contracted with Unisys to "provide maintenance and other services to companies and government agencies that purchase Apple devices."

Unisys had already started deploying iOS apps for government agencies, including a security app for US Department of Homeland Security border patrol agents, designed to allow them to remotely monitor border cameras using iPhones.

The US Army has been using iPhones with customized applications since at least 2008, and armed forces in the UK have also started deploying iOS devices for training purposes.