We got a quick look at Boeing's ultra-secure self-destructive smartphone at MWC in March, and now BlackBerry has confirmed that it's currently working with Boeing on the handset, called the Boeing Black.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen was busy talking through his company's latest set of financial results when he announced the news.
"We're pleased to announce that Boeing is collaborating with BlackBerry to provide a secure mobile solution for Android devices utilising our BES 12 platform," Chen said, as reported by Reuters. "That, by the way, is all they allow me to say."
BES is BlackBerry Enterprise Service, a high-security platform enabling organisation to safely manage large numbers of handsets. It works across BlackBerry devices as well as those running iOS and Android.
Mission possible
The Boeing Black has been in the pipeline since way back in 2012 and is designed to go into a self-destruct mode — securely wiping all data and files, rather than blowing up — if someone starts tampering with it.
Boeing is pitching it at government agencies and companies with sensitive data to protect, so it's unlikely that we'll ever see it released to the consumer market — and perhaps that's for the best if you don't want your toddler accidentally wiping everything off your smartphone.
Calls are automatically encrypted and the phone features a dual-SIM slot as well, while the phone also has the ability to connect to a variety of biometric sensors (for added security) and satellites (for avoiding conventional cellular networks). According to reports the phone is now being shopped around to potential clients.
This story will self destruct in five...
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