on 08-11-2014 17:08 - last edited on 12-11-2014 16:38 by Toby
As promised, after 3 weeks of intensely playing with my new Toy here is my review from the moment I've opened the parcel until today! Unlike other reviews I will
not focus to much on the technical stuff, so it will probably resemble a blog sometimes, but it will give you a better perspective from your average user point of view.
So, moment of truth! The parcel was delivered when I was out! Unwrapped the plastics bit ( see, loads of technical words), and there it was a plain black box with the Blackberry symbol on it.
Opened it, and loads of little compartments and a manual that looked like a passport,a charger,headphones, data cable where all there. A little foam thing was covering it...lifted it and...
IT's not big....It's HUGE!! Oh my God!
Calmed myself down and took it out... It's now heavy and huge! I'm sending it back!!
Ok ! Calm down!!! Put it on and try it, you have 14 days. If after a few days u still think the same send it back. Sounded like a plan!
Switched it on. First impression...fast...very fast! Menu comes up. Hum, very clear. Ok, after a little fight ( ok,a long fight ) with the little "door" that opens for the sim card and the memory card to go in, signed on to my BB account and we are set, no need to transfer anything.
First thing to check out, the Hub. It is and will always be my favorite Blackberry feature. Easy to set up, all email accounts added, whats app, facebook, twitter set. One, two, three getting all messages in the same place again (including sms).
So lets try whats app to see if this new xl rubbery keys are easier to use, oh predictive text is on, mental note, turn it off it's annoying! Oh wait... it doesn't change your words to something ridiculous,
it gives u 3 suggestions, you select the right one, and based on what u typed so far it will suggested commonly used words. Hey this is useful! I can now write a txt in just a few seconds only by typing a few initials and then just tap tap tap!
Cool! And it's fast, very fast.This screen is very responsive!
So onto the browser, again fast to open ( shall I mention that the 5 bars of 4G coverage help?). Oh, it's easy to browse with a screen this big, and I can choose mobile version or full version (that for once doesn't involve scrolling to the side,up and down because the screen is not big enough.
So, not that I'm one for apps but since the amazon app store is here might as well test it to see if it can really use android apps and... It can ! So what else ? oh, have I mentioned I can scroll without a scroll button?? It's like a sensor scroll button thingy (technical again, sorry) in the middle of the keyboard.
The usual brilliant features such as the calendar where all revamped and are now looking very stylish, there's also a task option that is very handy and this can all be voice activated. Useful stuff like maps, compass,etc are all there and of course all the major apps like, facebook, twitter, dropbox, youtube, etc...
So what makes it so different (besides the odd looks)? The revamped BB features. The hub being one of them, docs to go is brilliant, you can work on Office documents on the go, that are saved in the correct format, and then you can sync it with ur BB account so you don't even need to transfer it to ur pc ( u can pair up pcs, laptops,t ablets...) and like TUGO once they are paired you can used them for voice calls,video calls and sms!
You also have smart tags if your into the scanning bar codes thing, I have to say not my thing.The tutorials are brilliant because if you are anything like me and don't have the patience for manuals and find yourself stuck sometimes,this is a must have!
So now I'm not really worried about the 14 days or how big the phone is!!I love it!
Ok, now a bit of technical stuff then! Below are the main features, and they don't just look good on paper.
General
2G Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
3G Network | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 |
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 | |
4G Network | LTE 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 |
LTE 700/800/850/900/1700/1800/1900/2100/2600 (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 20) |
|
SIM | Nano-SIM |
Announced | 2014, June |
Status | Available. Released 2014, September |
Body
Dimensions | 128 x 90.3 x 9.3 mm (5.04 x 3.56 x 0.37 in) |
Weight | 196 g (6.91 oz) |
Keyboard | QWERTY |
- Capacitive touch 3-row BlackBerry keyboard |
Display
Type | IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
Size | 1440 x 1440 pixels, 4.5 inches (~453 ppi pixel density) |
Multitouch | Yes, up to 10 fingers |
Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
Sound
Alert types | Vibration, MP3 ringtones |
Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers |
3.5mm jack | Yes |
Memory
Card slot | microSD, up to 128 GB |
Internal | 32 GB, 3 GB RAM |
Data
GPRS | Yes |
EDGE | Yes |
Speed | HSDPA, HSUPA, LTE |
WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot |
Bluetooth | v4.0, A2DP, LE |
NFC | Yes |
USB | microUSB v2.0 (SlimPort) |
Camera
Primary | 13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, optical image stabilization, LED flash, check quality |
Features | Geo-tagging, face detection, HDR |
Video | 1080p@60fps, check quality |
Secondary | 2 MP, 720p |
Features
OS | BlackBerry 10.3 OS |
Chipset | Qualcomm MSM8974AA Snapdragon 801 |
CPU | Quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400 |
GPU | Adreno 330 |
Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
Messaging | SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM, BBM 6 |
Browser | HTML5 |
Radio | FM radio with RDS |
GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS |
Java | Yes, MIDP 2.1 |
Colors | Black, White |
- BlackBerry Assistant - BlackBerry maps - Organizer - Document viewer - Photo viewer/editor - Video editor - brilliant/useful/WAV/eAAC+/FlAC player - DivX/XviD/MP4/WMV/H.263/H.264 player - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input |
Battery
Non-removable Li-Ion 3450 mAh battery | |
Stand-by | Up to 432 h (2G) / Up to 444 h (3G) |
Talk time | Up to 18 h (2G) / Up to 23 h (3G) |
Music play | Up to 84 h |
Misc
Price group |
Tests
Camera | Photo / Video |
In a Nutshell, the passport is odd looking and it will take you a few days to get use to but if it's a work phone you are after then look no further! Very sensitive and responsive the generous screen will make anything from a google search, a you tube video clip or a spreadsheet a very enjoyable experience.Why use a tablet? The professional apps are amazing and the BB store has quite a few of them built specifically for Blackberry and and if you have a lot to do or remember it has just what you need. Want to take a few pictures when taking a break? No problem, the 13 mp camera is really good.And after doing all this there's no need to recharge it...the battery will last you quite a long time.
12-11-2014 23:41 - edited 12-11-2014 23:43
@aldaweb ,I agree with you, the corners are a bit pointy but because I bought a hard shell It's not an issue anymore. I was tempted to wait for the classic but after seeing the specs decided to go for the passport, and I'm just amazed by the phone. It will take months to learn all it can do.
Every day I find something new.
on 13-11-2014 13:33
on 13-11-2014 13:33
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on 13-11-2014 20:38
thanks!
on 17-03-2015 21:18
on 17-03-2015 21:18
Please I just acquired a BB passport . How will I install the My O2 app
on 17-03-2015 21:25
on 17-03-2015 21:25
17-03-2015 21:30 - edited 17-03-2015 21:31
Hi @Anonymous
Trough the app store, just search myo2.
Edit : great taste in phones
on 17-03-2015 21:38
on 17-03-2015 21:38