Privacy and security is at the forefront of everybody’s minds at the moment, but for some parts of the Internet, privacy has always been a focus. In the Android world, we have seen various companies offering improved security of stock Android such as Samsung’s Knox technology, some of which was incorporated into Google’s Android. We’ve also seen how Google and BlackBerry are working together on various security projects, but for those people who want the most private, encrypted experience, there is always Silent Circle’s Blackphone. This is a device deliberately hardened with privacy and security at the forefront of the design, running a forked version of Android called Silent OS, which looks and feels like stock Android. The original Silent Circle device, the Blackphone, was very much a mid-range Android device when launched. It’s based around a 4.7-inch, 720p display, a 2.0 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 4i processor with 1 GB of RAM. It includes a number of Silent-branded applications for secure, end to end, encrypted communication including voice, messaging and email. These applications work best when used in conjunction with another Blackphone, and customers receive a free years subscription with the Blackphone. Silent Circle showed the second generation Blackphone device a number of months ago at the Mobile World Congress in Madrid. At the time, it was claimed that the device would be launched in the summer, but as of yet, the device has yet to be released. However, today’s development is that now the device has a pre-order page, although there is no price at the moment.
In terms of the actual device, Silent Circle have followed the industry trend in redesigning the Blackphone 2 to be more of a premium product in terms of the materials used. The all-plastic chassis is gone and instead, the Blackphone 2 is built from glass both on the front and rear. The screen has been enlarged to 5.5-inch across the diagonal and the resolution upped to 1080p, which is 1,920 by 1,080 pixels. The device has an octa core 64-bit processor, 3 GB of RAM, a MicroSD card slot, LTE and a 3,060 mAh battery including quick charging technology. That the device has finally reached the pre-order phase means a release would appear to be imminent and the device is in the final stages of preparation.