Blackphone is out. Blackphone 2 is in.

One year after unveiling the original Blackphone, privacy protection startup Silent Circle has announced a second-generation of the device called Blackphone 2. The new phone is all about safety and encryption, but it also features the usual upgrades, including a bigger display, faster processor, more memory, and improved battery life.

With consumers becoming increasingly aware about their privacy rights, coupled with the continual demise of companies that sell snoop-resistant, business-focused handsets, such as BlackBerry, it's no surprise that alternative security-focused offerings have come to the market. The new Blackphone 2, for instance, will cater to the business sector.

Blackphone 2 runs a secure OS that's forked from Android and boasts a feature called Spaces. It gives you the ability to have separate profiles for work and personal. It also comes with a set of secure apps. They are basic phone apps with a focus on privacy. Silent Phone, for instance, is an app just for voice calls over an encrypted VoIP service.

The new Android phone also features better integration with Citrix's Mobile Device Management - on top of impressive specs. It has a 5.5-inch screen (1,920x1,080) with Gorilla Glass 3, a 64-bit eight-core processor, 3GB of memory, support for microSD, and a non-removable 3,060mAh battery. And it costs the same as the first Blackphone.

Apart from Blackphone 2, Safe Circle announced at Mobile World Congress that it plans to launch a tablet under the Blackphone line in autumn. Although it's officially called Blackphone+, it is not a phablet with phone capabilities. It's just a secure tablet with "phone+" in the name.

The $649 Blackphone 2 will go on sale in July.