back to article iPhone at war in iRaq

The latest weapons in the US Global War on Terror Overseas Contingency Operation come from Cupertino: the iPhone and iPod touch. According to a report by The New Zealand Herald, US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are using Apple's WiFi-equipped handhelds to better understand and communicate with the locals. The iTunes App …

COMMENTS

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  1. Mathew White

    dont forget...

    ...the Sniper rifle calibration software. Sure its the first thing the troops are going to download.

  2. N

    What about that app

    'Taliban near me' or something like that

  3. Martin Lyne

    For.Fucks. Sake.

    Can we please stop referencing brands? You're in danger of inexorably linking "handheld computing devices that can run applications" with "the fucking iPhone". If they were using HTC Touch HDs would it be worth mentioning the exact brand?

    Would you list all of the brands if there were many?

    I seriously doubt the US Military is limiting it's research to just iPhone apps.

    I do, however, approve of this use of technology to build hypothetical bridges

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    er....

    they have a 3G network in Afghanistan?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    er....

    ...or even Iraq (doh!)

  6. John Freeman
    Alert

    Overseas Contingency Operation

    Awesome use of OCO. I'm sure the "Terrorists", err... "persons with societal challenges" love that! Would the Democrats have their way, WW2 would be renamed a "minor international scuffle". Anyway, I think the iPhone is a great way to learn languages. It's out of the box thinking that can help our Soldiers, err... Overseas Tranquility Restorers communicate better with foreigners....err Non-North American Indigenous Populations. Pffttt.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    @ John 'bring 'em on' Freeman

    Has it never been suggested to you, amongst the many, many problems wIth the phrase "Global War on Terror", are its embodying for the other side exactly what they feel they're fighting against, and its emboldening them to try harder to win it? Do you simply not find this persuasive? Are you next going to suggest military solutions to other problems affecting the world, such as the common cold, or the difficulty of flavouring sardines?

  8. Simon Painter

    @Johnboy Freeman

    "Awesome use of OCO. I'm sure the "Terrorists", err... "persons with societal challenges" love that! Would the Democrats have their way, WW2 would be renamed a "minor international scuffle"."

    Well "Overseas Contingency Operation" certainly sounds a lot better than "invasion of a sovereign nation" which is exactly what it was. There was no war on terror, just an excuse.

  9. Fab De Marco

    @Martin

    I'm with you mate, I don't like the iphone or anything product that starts with a lower case i. But you can't fault the article. It is more about the Apple store rather than the iphone itself. Yes they could have touch HD but windows mobile wont support the apps listed in the article, and in fact Apps for windows mobile seem to be more limited than apps available for the iphone.

    It's all relative anyway as android is the clear way forward for non commercial use. Just need the hardware to wake up a little (Yes I will be buying a magic)

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    where's da oil at?

    I wonder if there's an InfidelDeteckor available on the Nokia? I used a Sony Erricson a while ago and it had great apps like Duke Stone 'em and CamelHumper. I don't think my boss would approve of me getting an iJihad as the mySemtex app was writen from a chap that lived in Golders Green.

    Regards,

    OBL

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    FFS

    Apple make a battle hardened version of the iPhone? No? Then what's wrong with the hardware they are already using? Also have the US militry audited the software to make sure it doesn't replace 'good morning how are you' with 'I'll eat your daughters and feed the remains to my pig-dogs.' No?

    Cocks.

  12. Richard
    Joke

    Bah!

    I hate this way of how we all have to label things and talk around the truth. I blame it on the French.

    (And yes, I do know of the irony here, Msr. Chirac.)

  13. John Freeman
    Black Helicopters

    To the Anonymous Coward...

    "Has it never been suggested to you, amongst the m...blah, blah" So we should just let them do what they want, then? I'd expect that from an Anonymous Coward, I think Chamberlain took the same tack with Hitler. No, I don't suggest military solutions for the common cold, but I do suggest them for vermin who would like nothing better than to blow up your mothers and fathers, sisters, cousins, what have you just to make a statement. You can't bring these people back into society. Meh, maybe I'm just one of those guys that actually believes if you put a fox in the hen-house, there won't be any more chickens then next morning.

    ----

    Black helicopters, because maybe the grunts you hate so much are on them using their iPhones to triangulate and stop that next mortar from killing mommy.

  14. TeeCee Gold badge
    Coat

    Battle tip for the opposition.

    Don't shoot until you see the whites of their iPhones.

  15. Stuart Duel
    Alert

    @John Freeman

    Well John, if you had any sense of history, you would know that us Westerners are regarded as the 'terrorists' by those in the Middle East because we are the ones, or at least our Governments are the ones, who have been subjugating, invading, enslaving, dividing, raping, pillaging and plundering and overthrowing the legitimate governments of their countries for the better part of a Century now. And when we make grandiose promises to free their people of despots (you know, the ones we installed in the first place) and invaders from foreign lands (USSR) and shower them with money for allowing us to bomb their civilisations into the stone age only to wash our hands of the whole mess we've created because, well... they didn't think we'd really help them, did they? You can forgive these people for being somewhat pissed at us.

    But I'm guessing you are American, so you have no sense of any history outside your own borders, and probably only a very tentative grasp on your own.

  16. John Freeman
    Thumb Down

    Borderline Trolling but meh...

    @Stuart Duel

    ---

    100% American and proud of it. We're the people you hate, the one pouring billions into foreign aid loans, research into preventing the spread of disease in Africa, etc. Yep, we're meddling in foreign politics too, but (by your name I'm thinking European) you weren't so pissed when we were meddling in the teen's and 40's then the 50 year cold war afterwards... Da?

    ---

    I'd also say I have a pretty good grasp on history too, Stuart, I know that every...EVERY people/nationality/race what-have-you got to where they are today but subjugating, displacing or otherwise exterminating other people - even those in the Middle East you are so quick to appease. Hell, by your logic we should go try and cram 6 billion people into a tiny site in Africa where man came from, then all the lands, resources, whatever that have ever been taken would be set right. Of course then we'd have to kill ourselves because we couldn't make it up to the Neanderthal's, could we, Stuart? Thumbs down to you mate, I'm all about stomping that bleeding violin you've got playing for these people.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    A useful clarification for which you'll no doubt thank me

    Stuart, John,

    Much as I'm enjoying your little chat, please remember:

    pissed = drunk

    pissed off = jolly cross

    Which is not to say that we Europeans weren't drunk when the Cousins were meddling in the teen's (sic) etc but ............

    Oh, what the hell. Perhaps I need to invent an App for grumpy old gits like me called iDontBelieveIT that automatically translates Engl-ish into English and dispenses my medication.

    pip pip

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