Boeing to develop own smartphone

Airplane manufacturer Boeing has revealed that it is nearing the end of the development cycle for its Android-powered smartphone. The phone will mainly cater towards employees who need highly secure communication devices, such as the aerospace and defense industry.

Roger Krone, president of Boeing Network and Space Systems added that this will probably be the only time that Boeing will be developing a smartphone.

Brian Palma, vice president of the company’s secure infrastructure group, added that “the Boeing phone” will more than likely be launched in late 2012 and should be cheaper than other manufacturers of highly secure communication devices.

But he was quick to add that it won’t be at the selling price of iPhones, BlackBerries and other consumer market smartphones. “We are going to drive down towards a lower price point, but … not mass-market price point,” Palma said.

While the phone will not cater for the mass-market, he is confident that there is a strong market for such a device. “We believe that there is significant interest in the defense side as well as the intelligence side and in the commercial world as well,” he added.

Krone added that the smartphone will have all the functionality of a phone available on the consumer market, but with a higher level of security. “The phone will give them (Boeing workers) what they are used to seeing (on consumer market smartphones) and give them the functionality from the security perspective.”

Specifications of the smartphone and whether it will carry the company’s logo, has not yet been disclosed – neither has the manufacturing partner of the device.

Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor