We’ve all probably heard by now how unsafe our phones are against the likes of NSA, the talk started off last year when Edward Snowden leaked a barrage of highly classified documents. For those who believe that all major companies have agreed to sell out their users there is an alternative on the market now, developed as part of a joint venture by Silent Circle and Geeksphone, the Blackphone is the first smartphone “which places privacy and control directly in the hands of its users.” Even though the phone itself had been previously unveiled, today it has gone up from pre-order for a cool $629.
This unlocked phone has specifications that can rival most Android devices, a 2GHz quadcore processor with 2GB RAM, 16GB of onboard storage, a 4.7 inch IPS display, 8 megapixel rear and 1.3 megapixel front camera as well as 4G LTE connectivity. Though its possible that the specifications might be altered prior to launch, at least that’s what the PR says. Silent Circle’s full suite of apps comes preinstalled, so users will be able to take advantage of Silent Phone, Silent Text and Silent Contact to keep their communications safe and secure, person on the other end must have a compatible phone for receiving said encrypted communications. The price also brings subscriptions for many security services, such as secure cloud storage from SpiderOak, VPN from Disconnect as well as anonymous search and private browsing. Blackphone will reach customers some time later this year.