Better late than never, I suppose. The United States Department of Defense had added its first Android device to its list of officially supported handsets and tablets: the 5-inch Dell Streak. The phone/tablet made it through an extensive gauntlet of testing for security and comparability, performed by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). This means that DOD employee and contractors will be able to use the Dell Streak, now almost 18 months out from its initial release, to conduct their business around the world.

To be fair, the Streak 5′s outdated hardware wasn’t what was being tested. Dell’s corporate software suite, Mobile Security for Android, is what was getting the real shake-down. I suppose that since the testing procedures take so long, older hardware is the only thing that’s available. Dell mentioned that the security suite will be available on “the next wave of Dell Android devices” set for a 2012 release. The company is eager to serve the government and military market, especially since it’s currently the only Android manufacturer to do so.

So what does this mean for government workers? More choice, for one – if you work for the Department of Defense or one of the branches of the U.S. Military, you no longer have to use a Blackberry to access sensitive networks and data. Dell’s security suite, developed with help from Good Technologies, allows for remote access to desktop PCs and servers, as well as command and control programs. Maybe you might even be able to use it on some current hardware, sometime next year.

[via InformationWeek]