The $629 Blackphone is more anti-Google than anti-government

The $629 Blackphone is more anti-Google than anti-government

Silent Circle and Geeksphone announced the Blackphone earlier this year as everyone was still wringing their hands over NSA spying. The stated goal was to make communications private, just like they ought to be. Of course, that was conflated with an NSA-proof phone, which it’s not. Now, the Blackphone is up for pre-order and Silent Circle has explained more about how the handset will work. Spoiler: it’s not doing anything new, but it does come with a full suite of privacy-minded apps and services. With the Blackphone, what it lacks may be just as important as what it includes.

The Blackphone clocks in at $629, which is right up there with the unlocked cost of most flagship smartphones. The device will run on a 2GHz (or higher) quad-core ARM chip, with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Wondering about a microSD card for more storage? What, and let someone walk away with your data? Surely you jest. Buyers will also be treated to a 4.7-inch 720p LCD and 802.11n WiFi. Despite the privacy focus, the Blackphone does still have the usual HSPA+, LTE, and GPS.

The hardware is fine, though likely generic. The real selling point of the Blackphone is the software it runs. The company calls it PrivatOS, and it’s based on the open source version of Android. Most other Android devices you buy have Google’s services woven into the foundation of the OS, but not Blackphone. This device comes bundled with only Silent Circle apps and a few select third-party services for secure file sharing and VPNs. That means you don’t have access to Google’s app ecosystem, cloud platform, or location services. Although, that’s kind of why you’d buy the Blackphone.