Silent Circle's privacy-oriented smartphone, the Blackphone, will start shipping in three weeks.
Silent Circle in partnership with Geeksphone announced the Blackphone in January this year. The makers of the Blackphone claims that the handset is the world's first smartphone that gives its user total control of privacy.
The upcoming smartphone is powered by a modified version of Android, PrivatOS, which is believed to be more security-oriented. The Blackphone will be carrier and vendor independent, which will ensure that individuals and businesses are able to make and receive secure phone calls, send texts, store files, browse the internet and more without compromising the privacy of the user.
Phil Zimmermann, the CEO of Silent Circle, says that the Blackphone will offer all the capabilities of a modern smartphone but will have high security features, which may not be found in other handsets available in the market.
"I have spent my whole career working towards the launch of secure telephony products," said Zimmermann in January 2014. "Blackphone provides users with everything they need to ensure privacy and control of their communications, along with all the other high-end smartphone features they have come to expect."
The handset will sport a 4.7-inch HD IPS screen; however, the resolution of the display remains unknown. A 2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM will power the Blackphone. The handset will offer 16GB of on-board storage with the option to expand further using a microSD card.
The upcoming smartphone will be equipped with an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The handset will also offer Bluetooth 4, Wi-Fi and GPS support.
Smartphone users throughout the world have been very concerned after Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, leaked classified agency data to the media. The leaked details highlighted the agency's secretive and mysterious call recording operations, which may have affected millions of telephone users throughout the world. However, the NSA claims that the call recording operation was meant for national security.
Apart from making and receiving calls, smartphones have also become an important medium to send texts, browse the Internet and store or transfer files. Customers will not want that government agencies spy at them via their handsets. Blackphone may prove as an ideal handset for customers who are concerned about their privacy.
The Blackphone has a price tag of $629 and the company opened pre-orders for the handset in February this year. The first batch of the handset has been sold out and Silent Circle may start taking orders for the phone once the first pre-booked batch starts shipping after three weeks.
