Army Rangers take smart phone to Afghanistan

The Army's 75th Ranger Regiment will have as part of its gear in Afghanistan an Android GD300 smart phone that will be paired with the Joint Tactical Radio System AN/PRC-154 Rifleman Radio, reports Defense Tech.
 
The addition of the Android GD300 to the rangers' battlefield kit marks the combat debut of the smart phone, according to Defense Tech.
 
The concept of teaming a smart phone with the JTRS radio stems from the Army's Land Warrior and Nett Warrior programs, the story stated. The problematic Land Warrior program attempted to give soldiers the ability to do things a smart phone might do, but with considerably heavier hardware that required frequent maintenance to keep the complex system running.