Obama hanging on to his BlackBerry for now

President Barack Obama isn't giving up his BlackBerry—at least not for now.

The White House is shooting down the notion that Obama's device is caught up in a pilot program designed to transition away from BlackBerry smartphones.

The pilot program is being carried out by the White House Communications Agency. It's part of the Defense Department and is responsible for making sure Obama has communications capabilities wherever he goes.

But White House spokesman Jay Carney says the Executive Office of the President isn't participating in any pilot programs affecting their hand-held devices.

U.S. government agencies have been one of the last bastions for BlackBerry Ltd. The company pioneered the smartphone in 1999 but has since been hammered by competition from the iPhone and Android-based rivals.

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