Full Metal Playlist: Army Issues iPods For Translation, Data Processing

The iPod Touch is in the Army now.  And it's not just for killing time back in the barracks, listening to your favorite tunes.

The US Armed Forces are now using it for everything from language translation in Iraq (so you'll never forget how to say "Drop your weapons!" in Arabic) to interpreting data from satellites, ground sensors, and unmanned drones.  Even better, the iPods can do all this for thousands less than custom-built hardware, are proving to be rugged enough for battle, and (so far) have proven to be unhackable. 

Couple that with the intuitive, easy-to-use interface and Apple's "there's an app for that" approach, and soldiers are finding the iPods to be one-stop-shopping solutions that can replace many of the gadgets weighing down the average foot soldier.

[Via Newsweek]