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Anti-snoop Android 'Blackphone' sees the light of day

Silent Circle's phone for the security conscious reaches first buyers

The “Blackphone”, a super-secure Android handset promised to arrive in late June has just made its deadline, with the announcement that the first batch started to ship on the last day of the month.

The handset is the brainchild of Spanish smartphone maker Geeksphone and Silent Circle, a secure communications firm founded by inventors of PGP encryption. The two companies now operate a joint venture, Switzerland-based SGP Technologies SA, which today announced “Blackphone handsets have started shipping to the device's first pre-order customers”.

Those who get their (presumably gloved) hands on the device are promised encrypted voice, video and TXT communications, anonymous web browsing, connections to WiFi access points without leaving most of the usual footprints and fine-grained controls over applications' access to data and a phone's functions.

SGP Technologies also reports that the phone will soon go on sale through Dutch carrier KPN and that online sales will resume on July 14th.

Blackphone's first run sold out months ago and the company says it thinks there is pent up demand for its product. Last May the company revealed it had scooped $US30m to help it meet that demand. In a couple of weeks it will know if that pile of cash is enough! ®

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