14 DAY TRIAL // The privacy-focused Blackphone sparked a lot of interest last year, when it launched promising users a secure, worry-free user experience most bug-sensitive mobile devices can’t offer.
The original Blackphone was announced as the first high-end smartphone with a focus on privacy and security. A few months ago, we told you that the company behind the handset, Silent Circle, was also working on a tablet.
This week at MWC 2015, the startup is taking the chance to unveil the sequel to the super-safe Blackphone, plus the promised tablet.
The Blackphone's sequel is coming this summer
The new Blackphone 2’s design has been perfected, so the handset looks a lot more premium, being quite similar to the Apple iPhone 4 and boasting an all-glass front and back.
The phone is also slightly larger, making an entry with a 5.5-inch full HD display, a faster 64-bit processor and more RAM onboard. Security-focused mobile users will be able to pick up the successor this summer, but we’re not given a clear date for when that is supposed to happen.
The company provided even fewer details about the tablet, so we can’t reveal any information about the specifications, the software or hardware we should expect to find on the device. The tablet is currently dubbed the Blackphone+ and is of the 8-inch variety. But the naming scheme might change in the future.
The products are still in development, and as company officials admit, there are lots of decisions left to be made regarding the two devices.
Silent Circle is exploiting customers' security concerns
The two models run on a forked Android version with a focus on privacy called PrivatOS which is also compatible with Android apps.
In its presentation, Silent Circle outlines that more and more people are on the lookout for secure mobile devices. In the wake of the Sony Pictures hacking scandal, private citizens too are feeling the pressures of the lack of privacy weighing on their shoulders.
The startup boasts that it has up to $750 / €669 million in orders for its first-gen handset, so they are hopeful the Blackphone 2 and tablet will be quite successful as well.
The new Blackphone products will probably come equipped with Silent Circle’s own software for encrypted voice and video calls, messaging and contacts management.
The company has also developed a new platform for the tablet, called Silent Meeting, that offers encryption during conferences with multiple people.
