BLACKBERRY PASSPORT review - Size does matter !

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Hi rosadosc


Very nice review and thank you for sharing your thoughts.

One day we might see the likes of these fantastic blackberry devices being supplied by O2 again. 😄

[MI5]

Awesome, thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts.
I must say it does look very nice

[Cleoriff]

Lovely personal review @Anonymous 

I could feel how excited you were when you opened the magic box.... .....

So....now then...?  This phone is bigger than you expected but you have obviously got used to the way it handles?

Well done you. Your first review. A pleasure to read....:smileywink:

[Anonymous]

right, just for the record, no i was not drunk when I wrote this.

Something happened with the copy and paste!!! after the sounded like a plan most of it is mixed and some of it is scrambled!! I pressed send when i was leaving and didnt go back to read it and now just came to have a look and nearly had an Issy fit! And it doesn't let me edit or delete!!

[Cleoriff]

Hi @Anonymous 

After 60 mins the edit button times out. if you want to change it you have to PM @Toby  and he will open it again for you to edit...

I actually enjoyed it as it was.

Sometimes though the Copy and paste function needs to be previewed before posting.....

[Anonymous]

you have no idea how annoyed i am! the best bits are all missing I actually reviewed all the apps and its all gone!

[Anonymous]

at least its not gone...i still have it at work, i wrote the original in a word document because it was done slowly... gutted 

[Cleoriff]

I haven't actually done a review but I have used a number of articles copied in one post...Once I had the same thing happen. I presumed inadvertently I had pressed a delete button. Fortunately I read it as it was posted and was able to go back in and add the stuff that was missing...

[Cleoriff]

OK...panic not. Just PM @Toby or @Anonymous  and ask them to re-open your review, They will do it for you....

I think from these comments now people will realise you want to amend it