02/03/2015
Blackphone 2 is Probably the World's Most Secure Smartphone.......
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"While the rest of the market is going one way, with selfie sticks and curved screens, we're going down another, to the heart of problems, sticking with privacy and security," said Silent Circle's Mike Janke at the launch of the company's new secure smartphone, the Blackphone 2. And he's not kidding — though no frills in design, it's kitted out with some serious security features.First, the hardware. A 5-inch handset with a Full HD screen (protected on the outside by Gorilla Glass 3), it's running on a 64-bit Qualcomm octa-core processor, backed by 3GB of RAM. A removable 3060mAh battery sits inside (with Quick Charge 2.0 features), with microSDXC support for expandable memory. So far, so standard.It's on the software side where things get a bit more interesting, and that 3GB of RAM shows its worth. Though Running on Android, the phone is equipped with Silent Circle's PrivateOS 1.1,an enterprise-orientated, highly secure layer that sits on top of Google's OS.This gives users a "Spaces" UI, which keeps the different areas of your mobile life encrypted andcompartmentalised. It's essentially a virtualisation system, letting the Blackphone 2act as separate "devices" within itself, even offering different log-ins running concurrently on each app or service. So, you can set up an Enterprise Space for your work documents and communications, a Personal Space for your private emails and saucy sexting pics, and a Silent Space that's pretty much aphone-wide version of Chrome's"Incognito Mode".Each space can be filled with the"Silent Suite" apps, whose functions are pretty self explanatory; Silent Text, Silent Contacts and Silent Phone, each keeping your communications encrypted and isolated from each other. The phone will also come equipped with the Silent Store, the world's first-privacy and security orientated app store.Those looking to use the phone for conference calling will benefit also from the new Silent Meeting function. This lets you set up secure conference calls with as many as 50 participants, offering scheduling and invitation tools too. Providing all users are using the Silent Meeting feature, there's no need for annoying log-in passwords, with the encryption and security being handled behind the scenes."We're replacing BlackBerry, we don't care that BlackBerry's CEO is throwing nasty things about us onto Twitter. We're going to dominate them," said Silent Circle security specialist (and former Navy Seal) Mike Janke at today's launch. While that's not amassive claim to make with BlackBerry on the backfoot, if theBlackphone 2 can live up to its secure claims, it'll certainly fill a hole left by BlackBerry's disappointing touchscreen smartphones.Due out in the summer, the Blackphone 2 is expected to retail at $629.
