The Financial Express (Delhi Edition)
The ‘Rolls-Royce’ of smartphones
What makes the R9-lakh ‘Solarin’ Android mobile handset so special?
HOW MUCH are you willing to pay when it comes to protecting your privacy? If you’re talking about smartphones, it could be as much as 9,500 pounds (roughly $14,000, or R9 lakh, before taxes come into play). At least that’s what Tel Aviv-based Sirin Labs would like us to believe. The company recently unveiled its privacy-focused smartphone named ‘Solarin’ via a glitz-filled London launch in front of a captive celebrity audience that included Hollywood superstars Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hardy.
Privacy has been lately a topic of concern in the smartphone industry and there have been several brands trying to leverage this threat. Silent Circle, an encrypted communications firm based in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, was one of the companies that launched its privacy-focused Blackphone recently, though that was limited to North America. Sirin Labs is the latest to enter the segment.
Sirin Labs, set up by a Kazakh entrepreneur, says buyers of the phone will be protected from cyber attacks by spy-grade privacy technology, which is “currently unavailable outside the agency world”.
The company has used chip-to-chip 256-bit AES encryption in its new Android device, which, it says, is comparable to the level of security protecting military communications. The device also incorporates a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, a 23.8megapixel camera, a 5.5-inch high-resolution screen and promises superior Wi-Fi connectivity.
Sirin has brought in industrial designer Karim Rashid—who has worked with the likes of Giorgio Armani, Veuve Clicquot and Swarovski— to oversee the smartphone’s design concept. Polished robustness is the overwhelming sensation of the Solarin: the casing features titanium panels and an aerospace-standard metal composite chassis, while the curved screen incorporates Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and delivers 2K resolution.
In terms of audio, three bass-boosted speakers are linked through a smart amplifier to restrict distortion, while the accompanying beryllium headphones reduce the amount of excess noise generated. The addition of Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 technology promises to prolong daily battery life and reduce the amount of time needed to charge the device, while the 128 GB internal memory and 4 GB RAM matches the iPhone 6S in the for mer instance and betters it with regards to the latter. At 250 gm, however, it is almost twice as heavy as two iPhone 6S handsets, which will, undoubtedly, put off some potential customers.
Security, however, remains the primary focus of the device. To that end, a constellation of measures—both remote and built-in—have been implemented to ensure that the phone is protected in the event of loss or theft. As well as full-disk encryption and the ability to resist unauthorised factory resets, the Solarin will allow users to locate, lock and wipe the device if they find themselves no longer in possession of it.
While military-grade 256-bit AES encryption and Zimperium’s active mobile protection software act to provide secure conversations and frustrate a variety of cyber attacks, the Solarin additionally offers privacy-conscious customers an extra security measure in the form of a ‘shield’ switch on the back of the phone, which limits the handset’s functionality, so that it only permits encrypted calls and messages.
Curiously, the Solarin includes a fingerprint sensor, an element, which is commonly held to be a significant security vulnerability in most smartphones. Sirin Labs claims that its optical trackpad technology and algorithm are ‘highly accurate’, yet there are few concrete details as to how exactly it safeguards its biometric identification tool from hackers.
Despite the eye-watering price tag, however, it is still far from the world’s most expensive mobile phone, that title having been claimed by the bejewelled $310,000 Vertu Signature Cobra designed by French jeweller Boucheron.