[not_rhodey]

not to be a bummer, but it doesn't seem like anything special was done with this special purpose hardware. why go to the trouble to engineer and advertise this as a piece of security enhancing hardware when it's really just "PrivOS"? also, any plans on open sourcing "PrivOS"?

did I miss something in the writeup? OSS modem firmware, OS wifi chipset, anything hardware or firmware related?

[dublinben]

You're missing the fact that this can be sold (at an outrageous markup) to large enterprises and government agencies because it looks secure/private.

Beyond that, it provides literally nothing that you can't install for free on any Android device. I could make you an equally "secure" or "private" device for $300 and an hour's time.

[coldpie]

> Beyond that, it provides literally nothing that you can't install for free on any Android device. I could make you an equally "secure" or "private" device for $300 and an hour's time.

Yeah, this was my takeaway from the article. They even link to the Google Play store entries for the software that comes packaged on the phone. Missed opportunity, I think.

[gambiting]

I think you missed this part of the article:

"What sells this phone is the software and services it is bundled with, which separately would sell for $879"

The software bundled with the phone makes the phone worth buying.

[maqr]

I don't think you missed anything. I don't see any reason to trust blackphone more than a properly configured Nexus.

The OS might have some neat UI for privacy stuff, but fundamentally if it's closed source and has a closed baseband (afaik, there's no phone with an open baseband), then there's no real security.

[JshWright]

> then there's no real security.

Is there no middle ground? Doesn't a device that changes your threat model from 'passive dragnet' to 'active compromise by a nation state' have some value?