Mr. Trump campaigned on a platform of shaking up Washington, but his pomp-and-circumstance arrival began with two jarring concessions to a city he may not inhabit full time: This week, he was forced to abandon his cherished “Trump” 757 for an Air Force jet, and, according to people close to the transition, he has traded in his Android phone for a secure, encrypted device approved by the Secret Service with a new number that few people possess.
– Well, it appears the Secret Service has pried Donald Trump's beloved Android phone from his tweeting fingers. An unidentified friend of Trump's tells the AP the new president handed over his phone Thursday on the advice of security advisers. The New York Times reports Trump's Android was replaced by an encrypted device that received Secret Service approval. Barack Obama, the first president to use a mobile device in office, started with a "heavily modified" Blackberry before moving to a mostly disabled iPhone. The devices were used to check email and news sites but rarely—if ever—for phone calls. This is all likely to cramp Trump's style. A Republican senator says the president was known for answering his phone even if he didn't recognize the number. He would even call back strange numbers that didn't leave a message. A former Secret Service agent tells Cnet Trump is unlikely to be able to use his new device for phone calls because they are way too easy to intercept. Trump's aides—some of whom are excited journalists and others won't have direct access to him—say he's likely to instead go office to office in person to get his "gossip" fix. It's possible he'll still be able to tweet. The Newseum in Washington DC has asked Trump about getting his Android to put on display.