iPod touch goes to war

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 21 Apr 2009 at 15:48

The US Army has apparently found an entirely new purpose for the iPod touch - war.

The US Army has begun outfitting troops in Iraq with the device in order to link them with "intelligence sources" including aerial images from reconnaissance drones, according to a report in Newsweek.

The report cites examples of soldiers using their iPod touch to show pictures of wanted men to locals along with pre-recorded phrases in Arabic, such as "have you seen this man?".

The army's also apparently outfitted the devices with its own Vcommunicator app, which translates spoken and written Arabic, Kurdish, as well as two Afghan languages.

Perhaps the neatest trick is the ability for a soldier to take a picture of a street sign, upload it, and immediately receive up-to-date intelligence on the area, including hotspots, safe zones and water sources.

It's suggested the army is impressed with the iPod touch's price - far lower than the cost it would normally pay to research and develop a new device - and the versatility offered by the Apps Store.

Presumably the iPod touch still doubles as a music player too, though we imagine Ride of the Valkyries is strictly off the playlist.