Silent Circle, the company behind the Blackphone, has announced that it has joined Google's Android for Work program, along with its newest smartphone. The Blackphone 2 will be the company's first product for the program, as it looks to offer customizable solutions while still focusing on privacy and security. The Blackphone 2 runs a customized version of Android, called Silent OS. This is all part of the company's enterprise privacy platform, which combines software, services, and devices together to offer excellent privacy and security.
Press release:
Silent Circle Joins Google's Android for Work Program
Blackphone 2 will be its first Android for Work product, expanding support for enterprise services
Silent Circle today announced that its next generation Blackphone 2, the company's privacy-first smartphone, will be its inaugural product in Google's Android for Work program. The company joins Android for Work as part of its ongoing mission to deliver enterprise privacy.
The Android for Work program, announced earlier this year by Google, aims to offer businesses simple management and enhanced security for user devices. The program's flexibility in offering customizable solutions is a strong fit for Silent Circle's "privacy without compromise" approach.
"Privacy is about being able to decide and control what information to share and how you share it," said Bill Conner, President and CEO of Silent Circle. "We're delighted to join the Android for Work program. It's a significant step forward in Silent Circle's development which enables us to deliver privacy and security to a broader enterprise customer base, while meeting their need for the wide-ranging apps and services provided by Google."
The participation in Android for Work marks the continued expansion of Silent Circle's enterprise privacy platform, a unique combination of software, services, and devices working together to integrate privacy at every level of business. The platform includes the Blackphone 2 and its Android operating system, Silent OS.
"With the first Blackphone, we delivered an Android experience coupled with control over app permissions and the powerful Spaces feature, which lets users securely separate work life and personal life on the same device," said David Puron, SVP Engineering, Devices. "Customers responded to Blackphone's unique offering of privacy by design, and pushed us to offer even more choices for its second generation."
"Our Blackphone 2 release this fall will bring support for Google Play and Google Mobile Services to Silent OS," said Puron, "and with support for Android for Work, companies can strike their own balance of control over data and connectivity with established productivity services that are used throughout enterprise."
The Blackphone, named one of Time Magazine's "Top 25 Best Inventions of 2014" and one of MIT Technology Review's top 10 technology breakthroughs the same year, includes Silent Circle's encrypted communication software for secure voice and video calling, text messaging, and file transfer. The new version of the phone being released this fall will also offer expanded support for existing Mobile Device Management (MDM) programs and an updated implementation of the Spaces feature introduced in the first Blackphone, all on faster hardware designed to deliver a premium user experience.
