ANTenna Blog -- Business & E-Business

Rumor has it that the new President is about to get a special Blackberry with advanced encryption features that will let him stay in contact on the road -- just like every junior sales manager in America.

According to a blog post in the Atlantic picked up around the Internet, the device may or may not yet be in Obama's hands.

Details are still sketchy. Apparently, typical government Blackberry's "aren't designed for encryption that protects messages above the "SECRET" status, so it's not clear whether Obama is getting something new and special."

He may also be getting a Sectera Edge, made by General Dynamics, for secure voice calls. CNN says the "$3,350 smartphone was approved by the National Security Agency" and is already dubbing it the "BarackBerry."

According to the New York Times, in a press conference scheduled to start right about now, "Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, is preparing to explain how" it will all work.

The idea is for the device to be used for personal and routine messaging, and it will all be kept from public view until the end of Obama's presidency.

Oh, and the Times adds: "The president did give up one thing: his old address, the one he’s been using for years. His new address? That’s classified."