US federal agency to test new BlackBerry10 smartphones

Zeebiz Bureau

Toronto: A US federal agency has said that it would test Research In Motion's new BlackBerry10 smartphones.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will begin a pilot program early next year to test the new line and the software to manage them on its network.

The news has sent RIM shares up more than 6 percent pushing the stock to its highest close in more than seven months.

BB10 represents Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM's best hope of persuading both corporations and government users to stick with its smartphones, long valued for their strong security features. RIM promises the new line, powered by the BlackBerry 10 operating system, will perform more smoothly and with more speed than previous BlackBerrys.

With Agency Inputs