<s>
The	O
Blackphone	B-Application
is	O
a	O
smartphone	B-Application
built	O
to	O
ensure	O
privacy	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
SGP	O
Technologies	O
,	O
a	O
wholly	O
owned	O
subsidiary	O
of	O
Silent	O
Circle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Marketing	O
is	O
focused	O
upon	O
business	O
users	O
,	O
stressing	O
that	O
employees	O
often	O
conduct	O
business	O
using	O
private	O
devices	O
and	O
services	O
that	O
are	O
not	O
secure	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
Blackphone	B-Application
service	O
readily	O
provides	O
users	O
with	O
options	O
that	O
ensure	O
confidentiality	O
when	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blackphone	B-Application
provides	O
Internet	O
access	O
through	O
VPN	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
device	O
runs	O
a	O
modified	O
version	O
of	O
Android	B-Application
called	O
SilentOS	O
that	O
comes	O
with	O
a	O
bundle	O
of	O
security-minded	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
of	O
the	O
Blackphone	B-Application
were	O
sold	O
from	O
20142016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
of	O
an	O
encrypted	O
telephone	O
has	O
been	O
an	O
interest	O
of	O
Silent	O
Circle	O
founder	O
and	O
PGP	B-Application
creator	O
,	O
Phil	O
Zimmermann	O
,	O
for	O
a	O
long	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
video	O
on	O
the	O
Blackphone	B-Application
web	O
site	O
,	O
Zimmermann	O
said	O
,	O
</s>
<s>
Aaron	O
Souppouris	O
of	O
The	O
Verge	O
wrote	O
that	O
"	O
The	O
Blackphone	B-Application
looks	O
like	O
a	O
fairly	O
standard	O
Android	B-Application
phone	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
a	O
4.7-inch	O
HD	O
(	O
the	O
exact	O
resolution	O
has	O
yet	O
to	O
be	O
announced	O
)	O
IPS	B-Architecture
display	I-Architecture
,	O
a	O
2GHz	O
quad-core	B-Architecture
processor	I-Architecture
,	O
16GB	O
of	O
storage	O
,	O
an	O
8-megapixel	O
camera	O
,	O
LTE	O
—	O
pretty	O
much	O
everything	O
you	O
'd	O
want	O
in	O
a	O
smartphone	B-Application
,	O
and	O
very	O
little	O
you	O
would	O
n't	O
.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Blackphone	B-Application
also	O
allows	O
insecure	O
communications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blackphone	B-Application
runs	O
a	O
custom-built	O
Android	B-Application
OS	I-Application
called	O
SilentOS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
major	O
features	O
of	O
SilentOS	O
are	O
anonymous	O
search	O
,	O
privacy-enabled	O
bundled	O
apps	O
,	O
smart	O
disabling	O
of	O
Wi-Fi	O
except	O
trusted	O
hotspots	B-Application
,	O
more	O
control	O
in	O
app	O
permissions	O
,	O
and	O
private	O
communication	O
(	O
calling	O
,	O
texting	O
,	O
video	O
chat	O
,	O
browsing	O
,	O
file	O
sharing	O
,	O
and	O
conference	O
calls	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Geeksphone	O
also	O
claims	O
the	O
telephone	O
will	O
receive	O
frequent	O
secure	O
updates	O
from	O
Blackphone	B-Application
directly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
supports	O
the	O
following	O
2G	O
,	O
3G	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
4G	B-Architecture
bands	B-Protocol
,	O
respectively	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
North	O
America	O
(	O
Region2	O
)	O
:	O
GSM	O
:	O
850	O
/	O
900	O
/	O
1800	O
/	O
1900MHz	O
;	O
HSPA+	O
/WCDMA	O
:	O
850	O
/	O
1700	O
/	O
1900	O
/	O
2100MHz	O
(	O
42	O
Mbit/s	O
)	O
;	O
LTE	O
FDD	O
bands	B-Protocol
:	O
4/7/17	O
(	O
Cat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rest	O
of	O
world	O
(	O
Region1	O
)	O
:	O
GSM	O
:	O
850	O
/	O
900	O
/	O
1800	O
/	O
1900MHz	O
;	O
HSPA+	O
/WCDMA	O
:	O
850	O
/	O
900	O
/	O
1900	O
/	O
2100MHz	O
(	O
42	O
Mbit/s	O
)	O
;	O
LTE	O
FDD	O
bands	B-Protocol
3/7/20	O
(	O
Cat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
30	O
June	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
Blackphone	B-Application
began	O
to	O
ship	O
advance	O
orders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2015	O
,	O
Geeksphone	O
sold	O
its	O
part	O
of	O
SGP	O
Technologies	O
to	O
Silent	O
Circle	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
wearables	B-Operating_System
sold	O
under	O
the	O
brand	O
Geeksme	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Silent	O
Circle	O
released	O
a	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
Blackphone	B-Application
,	O
the	O
Blackphone	B-Application
2	O
,	O
in	O
September	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
a	O
5.5-inches	O
full	O
HD	O
screen	O
with	O
Gorilla	O
glass	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
Qualcomm	O
Snapdragon	O
Octa-Core	B-Architecture
Processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
one-year	O
subscription	O
to	O
Silent	O
Circle	O
’s	O
secure	O
voice	O
and	O
video	O
calling	O
and	O
text	O
messaging	O
services	O
,	O
plus	O
a	O
one-year	O
"	O
Friend	O
and	O
Family	O
"	O
Silent	O
Circle	O
subscription	O
that	O
allows	O
others	O
to	O
install	O
the	O
service	O
on	O
their	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
year	O
of	O
SpiderOak	B-Operating_System
cloud	O
file	O
storage	O
and	O
sharing	O
,	O
limited	O
to	O
5	O
GB	O
per	O
month	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kismet	B-Protocol
Smart	O
Wi-Fi	O
Manager	O
comes	O
pre-installed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ars	O
Technica	O
praised	O
that	O
the	O
Blackphone	B-Application
's	O
Security	O
Center	O
in	O
PrivatOS	B-Application
gives	O
control	O
over	O
app	O
permissions	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
bundled	O
Silent	O
Phone	O
and	O
Silent	O
Text	O
services	O
that	O
anonymise	O
and	O
encrypt	O
communications	O
so	O
no	O
one	O
can	O
eavesdrop	O
on	O
voice	O
,	O
video	O
,	O
and	O
text	O
calls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
praised	O
the	O
Disconnect	O
VPN	B-Application
and	O
Search	O
that	O
keeps	O
web	O
trackers	O
from	O
the	O
telephone	O
and	O
anonymises	O
web	O
searches	O
and	O
Internet	O
traffic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
a	O
Blackphone	B-Application
was	O
on	O
exhibit	O
at	O
the	O
Victoria	O
and	O
Albert	O
Museum	O
and	O
one	O
had	O
been	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
collection	O
of	O
the	O
International	O
Spy	O
Museum	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
some	O
point	O
in	O
the	O
2010s	O
,	O
Silent	O
Circle	O
stopped	O
selling	O
blackphones	B-Application
,	O
although	O
they	O
still	O
offer	O
privacy	O
software	O
intended	O
for	O
off-the-shelf	O
phones	O
.	O
</s>
