It may sound ironical but iPad got snubbed by Russian government while a lot less successful PlayBook managed to hook US
government. Apparently, Russian government does not deem Apple tablet secure enough for government use. The government is instead looking at alternatives and may end up choosing Android tablets or even RIM's PlayBook. iPad dropped out of race as government looked for more "cryptographically secure tablet PCs."
RIM, on the other hand, managed to enamor the US government enough to collect the approval for government use. BlackBerry PlayBook became the first tablet to receive FIPS 140-2 certification which means that the tablet is fit enough to be used by federal government agencies. The company said, "This certification … enables the U.S. federal government to buy with confidence knowing that the PlayBook meets their computing policy requirements for protecting sensitive information." The tablet has failed to capture consumer market, so it is good to know that it would be appreciated by its target market of corporate and government users.
While RIM is busy flaunting its newly earned laurel, it would be interesting to see if this certification actually leads to any big orders from the government. RIM currently carried out mass retrenchment of its employees and sure, the company is in need of some brisk business to bring it back on track.