Blackphone 2 makes its official launch in the U.S.

At a time when BlackBerry has already come clear with its plans for its Android-powered “Priv,” it’s clear that there is a need for more secure smartphones in the market. Blackphone was one of the pioneers of this concept with Android, even though our review of its first-generation variant didn’t match our expectations. After vaguely showing us the

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Blackphone 2 makes its official launch in the U.S.

At a time when BlackBerry has already come clear with its plans for its Android-powered “Priv,” it’s clear that there is a need for more secure smartphones in the market. Blackphone was one of the pioneers of this concept with Android, even though our review of its first-generation variant didn’t match our expectations. After vaguely showing us the

Continue reading »

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The case against automatic updates on Android

None of us “like” out-of-date things. Updates to apps and operating systems bring us new features, improved functionality, better user interfaces, and (most importantly) bug fixes.We all hate bugs, but bugs vary in severity from mildly frustrating to zero-day security holes that can be exploited to do all kinds of nasty stuff. Depending on their type and scope, patches and updates aren’t things that arrive on our smartphones and tablets all that easily. Each bringing its own set of challenges and frustrations.AppsApplications get updated with whatever frequency their ...

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Blackberry vs. Blackphone: which would you buy? (Poll)

2015 is an interesting time in the high-security niche of mobile technology. Blackberry’s making a migration of sorts to Android with not only its services but a device in the works, too. In the meantime, privacy services provider Silent Circle is cranking gears for the second version of its forked Android phone, the

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An Android partnership with BlackBerry could be just what both need

Why do so many corporations support BlackBerry and iOS, but not Android? That’s a question I get asked quite often, and one that I find myself in the middle of with my own employer.I don’t work for Pocketnow full-time. I’ve got a day job with a manufacturing company right here in Northern Utah. While this takes time away from reviewing awesome new hardware and hacking custom ROMs and Kernels on my platform of choice, it gives me a unique perspective.I carry an Android that I bought with my own money even though my day job offered to buy an iPhone for me. That choice ...

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Here’s what I want from a Blackphone 2

Back in August we took Blackphone through its paces – two of them, actually. You see, a phone by itself isn’t all that compelling. After all, you’ve got to have someone with another phone to talk to. Such is the case with Blackphone. As a quick refresher, Blackphone is more than just a phone, it’s a secure platform (based on Android) that includes a suite of apps and subscriptions to various services that really make the phone an ultra-private communication tool. It was great in concept,

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Blackphone previews changes coming to PrivatOS in the new year

If you’re looking for a smartphone that takes its security seriously, there’s not a handset that wears its commitment to user privacy and OS integrity on its sleeve more boldly than the Blackphone. But as we saw when reviewing the handset, this is a phone that sometimes sounds a bit better than its reality can follow-through with, and we took issue with software stability problems and what we viewed as first-gen missteps. But the great thing about software is how amenable it is to ...

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Blackphone giveaway: still time to win!

If you’ve been following Pocketnow so far this summer, no doubt you’ve come across one or more of our smartphone giveaways. We’ve been handing out phones, accessories, and invite codes since June, often announcing the new giveaway each Monday. Does that mean we’ve got a new one for you today? Well… no, but there’s a good reason for that. See, last week,

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3 things you should do to improve your Android Security right now

We’ve spent the last week or so talking about smartphone security and how the privacy-centric Blackphone can help keep your communications as well as your data private. We’ve looked at all the technical stuff that’s going on to keep you secure, as well as given it our full hands-on review treatment.But what if you don’t have a Blackphone? If you’re running ...

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Smartphone giveaway: win a Blackphone from Pocketnow, GSM Nation, and Fight for the Future

Last week came and went without a new opportunity to win anything as part of our ongoing Pocketnow summer of giveaways. After the weeks of handing out phones, invite codes, and accessories, we needed a brief reprieve to catch our breath. And we know, it’s not fall yet, so we aim to keep this party going for just a little while longer. Today we’ve got a very special contest to announce, as we partner with GSM Nation and Fight for the Future to award one lucky reader

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Blackphone vs BlackBerry, Galaxy Alpha, and another OnePlus screwup | Pocketnow Weekly 109

Updated with links to the high-quality version of the podcast below! Thanks for joining us for the live show, everyone, and enjoy the HQ downloads in the Links section.One of the nice things about a mobilized mob of fanatics is … well, nothing. For the purposes of intelligent discourse and civility, there’s nothing cool or helpful about a bunch of heated fanboys rabidly denigrating a new product because it happens to threaten their preferred smartphone. We’ve talked about

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Blackphone review: security above all

As I write this review, my Facebook wall sits abuzz with consternation from friends and family alike, all of them complaining about the same offense in a rare show of unified ire. Facebook’s recent mandate that mobile users install its Messenger app, with all its Orwellian security permissions, has reignited a discussion more and more ...

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The perfect password: is there such a thing, and how to choose it?

This week as I’ve been going hands-on with the ultra-secure Blackphone, there’s one thing that’s really stuck out in my mind: passwords, and if there is such thing as a “perfect password”.We use passwords for a lot more than most think. Every day I wake up and check my email. Doing so requires that I enter a password. I head over to Pocketnow and login with another password to publish my daily article. I then share that article with various social media networks, each with a different password.When I check my phone ...

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