Blackphone, a private phone at the cost of convenience

Speaking of privacy, smartphones today, be it based on the Blackberry, Android, IOS or Windows operating system platforms, are still considered vulnerable at one point or the other. An opinion Sean Gallagher of Ars Technica states that smartphones today are about as private as a gas station bathroom which are full of leaks, prone to surveillance and awkward security keys.

We agree to what he says and also add into the same that there are very few smartphone operating systems that offer extreme privacy. Blackberry smartphones are still being used by the US Whitehouse, with Barack Obama seen using one of the BB devices simply because of its high level of secure features. The security experts at the White House have been testing other smartphones such as LG, Samsung and iPhones, but have not yet given a go ahead.

Coming back to secure phones, Blackphone has been unveiled, which promises security to the best known till date. Blackphone is a product of SGP Technologies, which is a joint venture between GeeksPhone and Silent Circle. Blackphone provide internet access via a secure VPN service and runs on an Android operating system, named PrivatOS.

Blackphone is an encrypted phone, which features a 4.7-inch IPS HD (1280x720 pixels) display. It is built using an Nvidia Tegra 4i chipset, which features a 2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. The internal storage is 16GB with an expandable option of up to 32GB using a microSD card. The rear and front cameras feature an 8MP and 5MP sensor respectively; connectivity options include Wi-Fi b/g/n, LTE, 3G, Bluetooth v4.0 and GPS. The phone runs on PrivatOS, which is a variant of Android, is powered using a 2000 mAh battery, is 9mm thick and weighs just 119 grams.  

Ars Technica had a complete experience on the Blackphone when the device was on beta stage. They claim that the phone, though powered by an Android operating system, is not completely from Google. PrivatOS is a heavily tweaked operating system with the base platform being Android. It does not feature the regular Google applications that you see on regular Android-based smartphones today. Which means, no Google Play too, and you cannot just install apps that you wish. PrivatOS limits the number of apps, which are carefully chosen by the company itself to ensure your privacy.

Here is a small piece of information, which you will ask, regarding privacy.

• You cannot install any applications that are not approved by Blackphone.
• Every app that is installed can be limited to the way they communicate with the servers. You can turn on / off the app’s data path (Wi-fi, 3G, etc) individually.
• Every IM and email is encrypted.
• Your calls, video and SMS are encrypted too, restricting anyone from eavesdropping on your conversations. Silent Voice and Silent Text are used as apps for conversations and chat.  
• A bundled Kismet Smart Wi-Fi Manager keeps the smartphone connecting to unfriendly networks.
• A VPN route to anonymise your online search and internet traffic, thus keeping web trackers away.

However, the smartphone does compromise on convenience in order to offer extreme privacy. The smartphone does not perform as you would expect. Performance tests done by Ars Technica reveal the device as ‘acceptable’ and they also ran into a few troubles when switching network cells while on a call. The hardcore performance tests done by the team revealed the device around 20-30% slower than a Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and the iPhone 5S in certain tests, while at par in a few other tests. They also stated that the user interface may ‘baffle’ some users. These tests were done when the phone was yet in beta phase and the final product may have polished out a few or most of the issues stated here.

Well, the USP of the device is not performance, it is privacy. Hence you cannot expect the performance that you need. However, the need for both performance and security is on the rise and hopefully Blackphone will be soon upgraded accordingly. The Blackphone is not every user’s necessity, as yet. If you are a government official, a delegate, high-profile business man or someone with a similar profile, who thinks their privacy should not be at stake, you could consider a Blackphone.

The Blackphone is priced in the US for $629 with taxes as per applicable. For an additional $250, you get a two-year subscription of the VPN and online secure storage. At the moment, the Blackphone is not available in India, but you can get one shipped here for an additional price. The Blackphone has exhausted its previous lot with an overwhelming response from pre-orders. The next shipment will be available from June 30, 2014.