US President Barack Obama uses his BlackBerry or similar device as he walks to the Oval Office after returning to the White House in Washington, DC Photo: AFPMr Obama was spotted tapping away outside the Oval Office before holstering the gadget on his belt, as photographers snapped away.
Mr Obama's super-secure device - nicknamed BlackBerry One in the media - is believed to be encrypted to stop foreign intelligence agencies eavesdropping on the president's private communications or tracking his whereabouts.
The president, who says his device is a window out of his strictly controlled world of official meetings and blanket security, told reporters last week he had won a battle with lawyers and the Secret Service to keep the device.
"The president has a BlackBerry through a compromise that allows him to stay in touch with senior staff and a small group of personal friends," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs last week.
"It's a pretty small group of people."
"The security is enhanced to ensure his ability to communicate, but to do so effectively and to do so in a way that is protected," he added.
According to The Atlantic magazine, the president will be using a standard BlackBerry but one equipped with a "super-encryption package" developed by an intelligence agency, probably the National Security Agency.
Other reports suggested that the President would be furnished with a Sectera Edge, made by General Dynamics, the military contractor, and developed specially for the NSA.
Mr Gibbs confirmed that any emails sent or received by the president would be subject to the post-Watergate Presidential Records Act of 1978, which requires that a record be kept of all White House communication. - telegraph
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