Under the NSA's Secure Mobile Environment/Portable Electronic Device (SME PED) program, President Obama will have two candidates to choose from: the Sectera Edge and the L-3 Guardian.

Obama's BlackBerry reliance ("They'll have to pry it from my hands!") has caused a great deal of speculation recently about which device will replace his beloved smartphone. Under the NSA's SME PED (Secure Mobile Environment/Portable Electronic Device) program, two devices are being considered the likely candidates for replacement.

Both the Sectera Edge by General Dynamics -- which was the candidate put forth by a recently updated Government Computer News article -- and the L-3 Guardian by L-3 Communications interface with the Department of Defense's Public Key Infrastructure. It does this via the Common Access Card, a standard government ID card that is now in issuance to over 17 million employees. Likewise, both devices must be able to make secure connections for both voice and data and carry extremely strong encryption.

Certified by the NSA for classified voice and data communication earlier this year, the Sectera Edge has been reported by many as the most likely new "BarackBerry." Running embedded Windows CE, the touchscreen device is designed to meet MIL-STD-810F spec for shock, temperature, water resistance, altitude and more. To incorporate all the secure and non-secure features, the device ends up being quite a brick. Inside it has the CAC card reader mentioned earlier, both classified and unclassified USB ports and PDA keys, a classified serial port, a proprietary headset jack, docking connector, MicroSD slot, two displays, GSM/CDMA radios, and no Wi-Fi.

The typical Sectera Edge does run a version of Internet Explorer, does enable instant messaging, and does enable viewing of Microsoft Office documents such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. And typically, one can sell for as high as $3,350.

L3 communications' device, the L-3 Guardian, has been available since August 2007 and runs a Windows embedded operating system. Like the Sectera Edge, it can switch between secure (SCIP for voice, HAIPE-IS for data) and non-secure (quad-band GSM, dual-band CDMA) communications on the fly. Though it features most of the same PIM features as the Sectera Edge, the Guardian is not a touchscreen device.

Yes, there's a secure Web browser, though it's unclear whether the President can maintain a Facebook page with that level of security. The typical selling price for US government procurement purposes is $3,150.