US government agency drops BlackBerrys for iPhones

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to order 17,600 mobiles from Apple

A US government department has dealt a blow to Research In Motion (RIM) by announcing its intention to provide employees with iPhones instead of BlackBerrys.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will purchase iPhones for more than 17,600 employees in a move that marks the end of an eight-year contract with RIM.

The iPhones, worth a combined $2.1m (£1.3m), will be used by a "variety of agency personnel, including, but not limited to, Homeland Security Investigations, Enforcement and Removal Operations and Office of the Principal Legal Advisor employees," the department announced in a statement.

"The iPhone services will allow these individuals to leverage reliable, mobile technology on a secure and manageable platform in furtherance of the agency's mission," ICE added.

A government department switching to Apple devices will be disappointing for RIM. However, Computing research has previously shown that, for now, BlackBerrys remain the smartphone of choice for employers.

Sixty-one per cent of firms who provide company mobiles to staff give the option of a RIM device, with many citing security as a key factor. That compares to 38 per cent who offer iPhones and 30 per cent who allow employees to select company-provided Android devices.

RIM still has one million government customers in North America, but an agency ditching it for Apple is likely to cause worries that others will follow, especially following what was another loss-making quarter for the Canadian firm.

New BlackBerry smartphones running on an updated operating system were unveiled earlier this year. The firm hopes the new devices can help turn its fortunes around once they are released, most likely during the first quarter of 2013.