ARCHOS and Sikur announce GranitePhone availability - full encryption for $849

How important is privacy to you? Those who really care about it will pay a hefty amount of money to keep all their communications safe. That is the audience ARCHOS and Sikur are betting on with their GranitePhone, a privacy-focused handset they unveiled at MWC, this year.

These companies are now celebrating the announcement of the GranitePhone’s availability, as you can go directly to the official website and pre-order the device. In a similar manner to most previous security-focused mobile devices, this smartphone won’t come cheap – it is worth a mighty $849!

What is it that makes this phone special and will drive you away from other very powerful handsets at around the same price? It sure isn’t the specs, as the GranitePhone definitely lacks on that department. It’s more of a mid-end smartphone in terms of power, packing a Snapdragon 615 processor, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage and a 5-inch 1080p display.

I am not saying it’s a bad phone either, as it will probably run pretty well. It’s just that comparable devices like the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3, ASUS ZenFone 2 and even the Moto G can offer similar performance for under $250.

This phone is not exactly for those looking to have the best “bang for your buck”. Instead, it harnesses the power of Granite OS, its Android-based operating system, to encrypt your calls, contacts, messages, chat, dashboard and more. It encompasses privacy at its fullest, applying multiple layers of protection. Of course, the device also takes advantage of Sikur applications to provide users with secure cloud storage solutions.

Surely, this might be a good solution for those who can truly appreciate a secure phone, but times are changing and even these types of devices are getting more fair with their prices. One of the GranitePhone’s biggest competitors will be the Turing Phone. Turing’s alternative starts at $610 and sports much more powerful specs.

We will have to wait and see how well ARCHOS and Sikur can sell this bad boy. If interested, you can always head over to the GranitePhone website and pre-order your own smartphone. Are any of you signing up for one?