Silent Circle has officially announced that pre-orders for its first smartphone dedicated to protecting the privacy and security of its owner have begun. It's called the Blackphone, and it was first announced earlier this year. The device runs a custom version of Android called PrivatOS and comes equipped with a full suite of privacy-focused apps.
Features of the Blackphone:
- 4.7-inch HD IPS screen
- >2GHz quad core CPU
- 2 GB RAM
- 16 GB storage
- LTE
- HSPA+
- Front camera >8Mpx with flash, plus rear camera
Some of these features are still fluid and we will be more certain as the release date of the device, set for June 2014, approaches.
The device will also be equipped with a range of security applications:
- Silent Circle Apps
- Silent Phone
- Silent Text
- Silent Contacts
- Blackphone-built apps
- Blackphone Firewall
- Blackphone Activation Wizard
- Blackphone Remote Wipe
- Select 3rd-party apps
- Disconnect Secure Wireless
- SpiderOak Blackphone Edition
- Kismet Smart Wi-Fi Manager
The Blackphone applications come with a one-year subscription, which will cost $10 per month… The device is unlocked and can be used on any compatible network.
The Blackphone smartphone is backed by some major names and is the brainchild of security experts such as Phil Zimmermann, who created the PGP encryption tool.
The whole undertaking is certainly an interesting idea, but it's somewhat hard to believe that there are enough people willing to pay $630 just for the device and $120 per year for the security apps. And of course it is important to note that to use this device, the people you communicate with must also use the same, or they must use Silent Circle apps for Android or for iOS.
