BlackBerry Explains How It is Different from Blackphone

Blackphone has finally started shipping to consumers who have pre-ordered the device. For those of you who haven’t already heard the name Blackphone, it is a device born out of the partnership between Geeksphone, a Spanish manufacturer, and Silent Circle, a security company. Blackphone runs a special version of Android dubbed PrivatOS. Its manufacturers claim that it is ideal of IT employees, public figures, executives and anyone who does not want to compromise on their privacy and security. However, in reality, the device is primarily aimed at consumers who may not require high-end security.

Blackphone reportedly makes it possible to send and receive secure messages and phone calls. Users will also be able to browse through a VPN and transfer documents privately. These features have assumed a lot of significance in recent times following Edward Snowden’s shocking revelations about the NSA. Needless to say, Blackphone is being touted as the next best thing in mobile security.

It is not surprising then that some sections of the media have already started comparing Blackphone with BlackBerry. After all, the name BlackBerry is synonymous with privacy and security. While BlackBerry hardly showed any interest in talking about this device in the beginning, the company recently posted an article on their Inside BlackBerry Blog. In this article BlackBerry has clearly explained how its phones are different from Blackphones. BlackBerry even went to the extent of claiming that the only similarity between BlackBerry and Blackphone starts and ends with the name.

Blackphone takes a ‘go-it-alone’ approach to security and it contrasts with BlackBerrys’ end-to-end enterprise mobility management (EMM) solutions. BlackBerry’s BES10 provides businesses with a single platform that allows them to manage their work or personal BlackBerry, Android and iOS phones. Using BBM Protected Chief Information Officers can rest assured that the employees are messaging one another securely. By making every segment of the end-to-end journey secure, BlackBerry has won the confidence of some highly regulated and most security conscious enterprises in the world.

All of us want to keep our electronic communications safe and private. We want to protect our mobile devices and data from malicious hackers. The Blackphone is costly, but it is unlikely to provide the kind of security and peace of mind we are looking for.

As far as enterprises are concerned, security that doesn’t go beyond the device isn’t real security. In the case of enterprise security, the kind of protection offered by BlackBerry makes even the best features of Blackphone superfluous.

However, BlackBerry does not write off Blackphone. Although the company does not see any similarities between the devices, it appreciates the fact that Blackphone shares its values regarding privacy and security. This fact is also mentioned in the blog post. In fact, BlackBerry has welcomed the attention Blackphone brings to digital privacy and secure communications. It is just that Blackphone and BlackBerry are on different playing fields at the moment. BlackBerry has already proved its potential. It will be interesting to see if Blackphone manages to accomplish that feat.For the time being, however, it is hard to find any real similarities between the two devices and platforms.