Silent Circle's Blackphone 2 to support Android for Work

Earlier this year, Google made it quite clear to help enterprise-segment with its Android for Work initiative for its mobile operating system. Now, the company has finally announced its expansion plans that now includes 40 companies including device manufacturers, application makers and management providers. For the first time, Android for Work has also partnered with mobile carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Rogers, Bell Canada, Telus Mobility and KT. These will offer broad support for Android for Work. This means, people will be able to turn to their mobile operators to take advantage of Android for Work’s integrated security, management and productivity solutions.  Android for Work has also showcased devices that are built for regulated industries like government and healthcare with strict security and compliance requirements. For instance, Blackphone by Silent Circle has built enhanced privacy and security features on top of the Android platform. Silent Circle had created quite a buzz for its ‘Blackphone’ that came with heavy encryption to ensure that your data is safe from malicious minds. In the wake of snooping by NSA, the phone hit headlines for its security features. The **Blackphone 2** was announced in March and will be launched later this year. The Blackphone 2 will have a 5.5 full HD display. According to specs sheet put up by GSMArena, it has an updated 64-bit octa-core processor in an yet unknown chipset, a 3060mAh battery, microSD card slot, LTE and 3GB of RAM. The price of the smartphone will remain the same as the earlier one at $649, adds the report. The company also announced a new Blackphone+ 8-inch tablet built to for enterprises which will launch in the latter half of 2015.  The Blackphone 2 runs PrivatOS, which is said to be a highly secure and forked version of Android. Silent Circle is updating PrivatOS and is expected to launch PrivatOS 1.1 with something called Spaces, which according to the company is “an OS-level virtualization and management solution that enables devices to be used for all aspects of mobile life without compromising choice, privacy or ease-of-use.” Security Circle had also announced that it will build the world’s first enterprise privacy platform with features like Silent Phone which allow encrypted voice and video calls over a P2P encrypted VoiP service, Silent Contacts, which will allow users to encrypt their business and personal address books, Silent Manager which allows enterprises users to manage devices, plans, etc. Talking about security, Google has also teamed up with Samsung that offers some of the highest levels of government certification with its KNOX devices. Last year, what caught everyone’s attention was its alarmist dystopian video, hinting at the ongoing spying controversy  that was unleashed courtesy Edward Snowden. Soon, Silent Circle announced the Blackphone that aimed at thwarting NSA-kind snooping.

The Blackphone includes the full Silent Circle suite of applications namely, Silent Phone, Silent Text, and Silent Contacts. These apps, designed with keeping privacy at their core, require the user to connect to the internet using their smartphones or tablets and both parties must have the apps installed in order to keep things private between them. The phone will work like any other phone, but gives users control over privacy and security.  One can not only make secure phone calls and send/receive data, but the device will also ensure that the content stored on the phone is secure from snooping. The company is now teaming up with Android for Work, and making it sure that the Blackphone 2 is aimed at enterprise too, and not just consumers who are conscious about their privacy.