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Blackphone, a smartphone designed to keep conversations private, has now begun shipping to customers, for a price of $629 off-contract.

Developed by SGP Technologies SA, the Switzerland-based joint venture of Silent Circle and Geeksphone, the Blackphone was officially launched earlier this year at Mobile World Congress (MWC).

Blackphone uses the security-enhanced operating system, PrivatOS, built on Android KitKat. The OS provides users protection and control over security issues without the usual compromises.

Blackphone features private encrypted voice and video calls and text messaging with attachments via Silent Circle's, Silent Phone and Silent Text apps created by Phil Zimmermann and Jon Callas, giving users the freedom to communicate securely anywhere they find cellular or Wi-Fi connections.

The included Kismet Smarter Wi-Fi Manager prevents Wi-Fi hotspots from capturing Blackphone users' wireless connection history and other information that could be used to track users' locations or patterns of activity and information about sensitive office or home networks.

The phone's Security Center gives owners complete control over application permissions, allowing immediate changes without rebooting or reinstalling.

In addition, a remote wipe tool gives Blackphone owners further peace of mind in having the ability to control their phone's data from anywhere in the world.

Disconnect Search is the default search provider for Blackphone, offering private browsing protection from invasive Web monitoring by hiding users' IP address, browser cookies and personal information. Blackphone also features Disconnect's Secure Wireless app, which is a smart VPN designed to prevent eavesdropping over Wi-Fi and cellular networks.

Blackphone owners can also access files in SpiderOak's private encrypted cloud service right from their mobile device, knowing only they have the means to decrypt and access their private files.

EU orders will be shipped first, followed by US devices. SGP Technologies will take the next wave of orders on July 14.

Specifications:

Screen

• Screen Size: 4.7? (1280 * 720)
• Display Technology: 4.7" IPS HD
• Technology: Capacitive >4 point multi-touch

Camera

• Sensor size main camera 8 MP AF
• Type of camera flash: Flash LED
• Front camera 5MP FF

Connectivity

• Single micro-SIM slot
• Bluetooth Class 4.0 LE
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
• Micro USB
• 3.5mm audio jack

Energy

• Battery 2000mAh

Dimensions

• Approximately 141 x 69 x 9 mm (rear camera housing - additional 2 mm)

Hardware

• Processor: Quad-core 2GHz System on Chip (SoC)
• Platform: NVIDIA Tegra 4i

Storage

• 16GB on-board storage
• RAM: 1GB LPDDR3
• Single microSD slot

Data Network

• North America (Region2)
• GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
• HSPA+/WCDMA: 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 MHz (42 Mbps)
• LTE FDD bands: 4/7/17 * (Cat. 3 100 Mbps)


• Rest Of World (Region1)
• GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
• HSPA+/WCDMA: 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz (42 Mbps)
• LTE FDD bands 3/7/20 * (Cat. 3 100 Mbps)


• * LTE Cat. 4 (150 Mbps) under development

Sensors

• Gravity sensor, light sensor, proximity sensor, magnetic sensor
• GPS

Weight

• Approximately 119 grams or 4.2 ounces

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