Blackphone releases secure smartphone at MWC

Last month, we told you that a super secure handset called Blackphone would be unveiled at MWC. Fast forward to today and the spy bustin' phone was indeed introduced in Barcelona. Created by a partnership between Silent Circle and Geeksphone, the Blackphone will retail for $629 unlocked. It will be powered with a derivative of Android known as PrivatOS.

The Blackphone is bundled with a number of privacy tools including a two-year subscription to Silent Circle's app suite for encrypted calls, messages and contacts. Also included is secure cloud storage and tools to remotely wipe and restore the device. Keep in mind that you can only use the secure Silent Circle app to call others who are subscribers to the same app suite. The bundle includes a one-year subscription for three friends and family, but the majority of your calls probably won't be protected, unless you want to pay up to cover more friends under a paid subscription.


The device itself features a 4.7 inch HD IPS screen, a quad-core 2GHz processor under the hood with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of native storage. Unfortunately, there is no microSD slot. The back and front-facing snappers are 8MP and .3MP respectively. The phone does come with LTE connectivity. While Blackphone is set to work with Dutch operator KPN Mobile in Europe, it will work on any GSM carrier.

Although Blackphone wasn't built to prevent the NSA from obtaining your metadata, it was built to capitalize on those who are worried that the NSA is doing just that to them, right now.


source: Blackphone via Geek, TechCrunch