Blackberry Passport/Classic

[Dark_Knight]

Okay, so i've been a long time Blackberry supporter, or maybe it's that I like to support Canadian companies, but i'm not sure how I feel about the new devices slated for release this year. 

At first glance I thought the Blackberry Classic was the best of the two, but now i'm leaning towards the Passport.

Yes, the Passport has a very design-forward (if that's the right term here, i'm still unsure) approach when compared to Blackberry's usually conservative design language, but I think that it offers the best value  and future potential over the two devices being offered. The one hang-up for me in the keyboard layout. For decades now Blackberry has perfected the QWERTY smartphone. In fact, their followership was almost entirely amassed because they did one thing well: QWERTY. It's that one thing that make me lean back towards the Blackberry Classic. It's basically a Q10 on steroids.

All of that said, i've been an iPhone and Android guy for quite a while. I'm not sure I could live with a device with such a limited app ecosystem, even if they are adding the Amazon app store.

What does everyone else think of the two new Canadian devices?

[xl]

The Classic is for those attached to the navbelt. Love the precision the trackpad offers.

The Passport is for those who want a keyboard with maximum screen size (I so missed the 9810 slider). Blackberry removed the bottom key row for additional screen space. In someways it's squarish like the Porsche design, but without the price tag.  Thankfully they won't reduce the buttons to 2... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KhZKNZO8mQ

Gonna make my decision in September to see which fits better in my hands.

http://crackberry.com/blackberry-ceo-john-chen-shows-upcoming-blackberry-passport-and-blackberry-cla...

[Newfdogg]

I have the Q10 but the Passport look's good too, I like the fact that it's bigger and the specs are good too, but I'm going to stick with the Q10 for now because when BB gets like the other guys,they will have something new every 4 months.

[xl]

Huh.... the Q10 has been out for 12 months now.  Where are you getting a 4 month cycle?

[xl]

BTW... while we are waiting for Passport to be released... I discovered the Snap emulator that gives my Q10 new life.....

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPtlAy7vmO0

• GoPro, Roku, Fitbit (can't sync), Whitecaps, and Wifi Analyzer now works on my Q10.
• Just wished Telus's Optik to Go app would work.... bummer.  Telus... please fix!

Main limitation is the Q10 screen size/dimensions that messes up some apps.

[Dark_Knight]

Awesome! I didn't know there was an app for that. See what I did there? lol

Have you seen the pre-release review of the Passport? Just posted today: http://crackberry.com/exclusive-pre-release-review-blackberry-passport 

[Newfdogg]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwNkz04KclM

[Newfdogg]

What I'm saying is with the place in Taiwan making BlackBerry,s phones ' expect a new model of phone every 4 months, like Apple, is the IPhone 7 out yet?

[Dark_Knight]

You've lost me @Newfdogg 

Apple was a bad example, as they only release one-two phones every twelve months. Maybe you meant to compare to Samsung? 😛

The # of devices aside, Blackberry's target market has changed, at least for the next few devices they plan on releasing. They are targeting business professionals, not consumers. 

[FishTire]

With every update the Android Runtime gets better and better. Not everyone is even aware that the BlackBerry will run apk's.

I think you'll find what you need in either BlackBerry World or Amazon app store (which you can actually install and use right now)

[brizzad]

I'm very impressed with the Passport.  Having converted to full touch (Z10 and then Z30) - I have come to love BlackBerry's smart virtual keyboard.  The predictive, contextual, personalized suggestions via flick-typing are really great.  Swiping for deletion & changing keyboard layouts is really intuitive and quick.

Now to see that they've incorporated some of these same features into a physical keyboard throws a bit of a curveball at me.  I really thought I had migrated beyond qwerty keyboard devices.... but these features have me very interested in purchasing the Passport:

Passport's positives:

• Big screen! Having a qwerty keyboard doesn't have to compromise on screen size. This is great, as I much prefer the screen real estate of my personal Z30 over my corporate issued Q10
• "Touch enabled" keyboard: Being able to use flick-typing on a physical keyboard, deletion gestures, and then there is the trackpad functionality.  Working in IT - to have mouse cursor functionality on a device with this large of a screen will be amazing for Remote Desktop, & Citrix Receiver capabilities.  Precision text selection will be a welcomed advantage in bringing back trackpad capabilities to the OS.
• Battery life: 3450mah I imagine will be as great on this device as the 2880 is on the Z30, if not better.  
• Big Sound: The Z30 has tremendous audio quality & volume - the Passport is confirmed to have the same great quality here

As for the app situation - the 1:1 screen ratio had me concerned, after having both the Z30 & Q10 - I see the differences in app availability.  Luckily though, the large 1440x1440 screen resolution apparently will accommodate 'zooming' of applications to allow for not only 1:1 applications, but also the more dominant 16:9 applications.  That to this point, is rumor - but will be the clincher for me as to whether or not I will consider replacing my Z30 with it. September can't come soon enough.

[The_Pro]

Passport looks awesome. Can't wait for Telus to bring it to their stores. Nice design from Blackberry.