We tested BlackBerry’s odd-shaped smartphone

Jan 17, 2015 16:01 GMT  ·  By

They say that BlackBerry stands absolutely no chance of competing with Android, iOS and even Windows Phone, and some think that the company could go bankrupt any minute now just because its devices are bringing nothing new to a crowded industry that’s already saturated with cheap and high-end smartphones running any of the aforementioned platforms.

In reality, however, things are exactly the opposite. BlackBerry might not be doing very well right now, but its devices provide a level of productivity that often seems to be out of this world and can’t be found on any other mobile OS. For those of you who want to be productive on the go, there’s no better choice than BlackBerry, and there’s a new kid in town that’s ready to prove you that we’re not wrong.

Called Passport, BlackBerry’s new odd-shaped smartphone definitely has the wow factor and it’s easy to see why. It’s wider than all the other phones on the market, but that’s happening for a reason, so read on to find why everything actually makes a lot of sense.

BlackBerry launched the Passport in September 2014 and the company said from the very beginning that, while it might be unconventional, it was the device supposed to win the hearts of customers looking for a big screen and a QWERTY keyboard. And it did. The BlackBerry Passport was sold out in less than 10 hours and no less than 200,000 units were ordered in the first day of availability.

BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen himself admitted that he was surprised with the early success of the Passport, and because the they initially ordered a few units, the company worked hard to bring more phones in stores. And it did. More than 5 months after launch, the Passport is still selling impressively well, so let’s see what makes this phone so special.

Design – how unusual is very unusual?

The design of the phone is probably what shocks most people when having the first visual encounter with the Passport. Some say that it’s a brick, some say that you could play ping pong with it, but many say that it’s beautiful. They do admit that it looks odd, but they still think that it’s beautiful, which proves that building an odd-shaped gadget is not a risky thing if you play your cards right.

The Passport’s name wasn’t picked out of the blue. The phone actually has the exact same dimensions as a Canadian passport, and you can see in the photos below that it’s very similar to European ones as well.

The Passport is proof of excellent craftsmanship and the keyboard makes you feel that you hold a remarkable mix of classic features and modern design.

As far as dimensions are concerned, it measures 128.0 x 90.3 x 9.3 mm and weighs in only 194.4 grams, battery included. That’s pretty impressive, given the fact that it also has a QWERTY keyboard.

Speaking of the keyboard, this is the thing that makes the Passport a true BlackBerry. A fabulous one. It’s a well-known fact that most BlackBerry fans love the QWERTY keyboard, and since many come from OS 5.0, 6.0, or 7.0 (when the Torch 9810 won a lot of hearts), it’s no surprise that such an element is critical for them. But on Passport, you won’t get just a regular QWERTY keyboard. You get a box full of surprises.

The physical keyboard obviously improves accuracy when typing, but in most cases, it eats up too much space on the device to also offer a large display, so manufacturers must choose a compromise: small display and QWERTY, or large display and no QWERTY. That was the case with BlackBerry Q10, which itself was a great device, but the 3.1-inch display doesn’t seem to be just appropriate for those who spend most of their time online.

The design of the keyboard shows that it was created to be ergonomic
The design of the keyboard shows that it was created to be ergonomic

So, the Passport offers the best of two worlds, with both a large screen and a QWERTY. And the keyboard is not only physical but also touch-enabled, which means that you can perform some tasks with gestures, without even pressing the keys (i.e. sliding left removes a typed word, sliding up and down lets you scroll on webpages).

The design of the keyboard was specifically created to make typing feel natural, so your hands won’t get tired when using it. It’s not a one-hand phone, but with some effort, you can actually type with just a hand. But obviously, it must be used with both hands for optimum results.

The keyboard doesn’t feel as soft as the one on the Q10, and you might have to press a bit harder at first, but after a while, you get used to it and this unusual feeling goes away.

The three-row keyboard also comes with state-of-the-art auto-correction working in most languages and an advanced learning engine based on user input, next-word prediction, and gesture-based navigation.

One thing you might notice is the lack of numeric keys. In order to offer you both a large space and a keyboard, BlackBerry decided to remove the extra row of keys, so now when typing, all numbers along with extra symbols show up at the bottom of the screen, just above the keyboard. It could be a little bit weird to jump from physical to on-screen virtual buttons when typing, and it takes time to get used to it, but it’s a little compromise that in the end helps make the aforementioned mix possible.

Overall, the keyboard is probably the thing that makes Passport so special. But don't expect to type blazing fast from the very beginning. It takes time to get used to it and approximately two weeks should be enough to start typing without any issue.

At first, it feels odd to type on such a wide device and after a few attempts, you might be even tempted to give it up. Just don't! Give it a chance and try harder because once you get used to the phone's dimensions and the keyboard, it all becomes very natural. After one week you shall already see the first improvements and in two weeks time, you could become a master.

Don’t trust the haters saying that it’s a brick. It’s not and it also fits in your pocket. If you wear jeans regularly, you shouldn’t have a problem to carry your Passport around, and if you’re a business man who wears a coat, it perfectly fits your inside chest pocket.

Display and camera – why do people think a square screen is awful?

The Passport comes with a 4.5 x 4.5-inch display with a 1:1 aspect ratio, a resolution of 1440 x 1440 pixels, and 24-bit color depth. It obviously has touch capabilities and features Gorilla Glass 3 for extra protection.

The back camera comes in the form of a 13-megapixel unit with LED flash and autofocus, as well as OIS (optical image stabilization), 5-element f2.0 lens, 5x digital zoom, and back side illumination. A 2.0-megapixel camera with 720p video recording is also offered on the front for selfies and video calls.

While the display might look a bit weird because it’s square, it certainly does its job and easily helps the Passport achieve its purpose. You can view desktop versions of websites, edit documents, including spreadsheets, manage emails, and edit graphs almost as you do these on your PC.

The image quality of the display is amazing and the Passport clearly features the best screen so far available on a BlackBerry.

As for the camera, the 13-megapixel camera is by all means the best one that BlackBerries have ever had until now. It shoots really impressive photos in optimum light and decent ones in low-light conditions, while the LED flash clearly comes in handy in such a scenario.

Due to the 1:1 display ratio, photos might look a bit weird on your PC, but there still are options when shooting to switch to 16:9 or 4:3.

BlackBerry Passport camera sample
BlackBerry Passport camera sample

Power and performance – a true pocket PC

The Passport comes equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 with 2.2GHz Quad-Core CPUs (MSM8974-AA) and Adreno 330, 450MHz GPU, as well as with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage space. A micro USB 2.0 port is also available for charging and file transfers, while the microSD slot supports cards of up to 128 GB.

It’s very clear from the very beginning that the Passport excels when it comes to performance, and the aforementioned specs confirm this by themselves.

Thanks to OS 10.3, which ships by default on all Passports, although at this point it’s not officially released for the other BlackBerries, the odd-shaped phone is blazing fast, no matter if you’re browsing the web, editing documents, playing games (yes, you can do that too), or chatting with someone.

And you can do all of these at the same time with little impact on performance. The Passport is the most powerful model in BlackBerry’s lineup right now, so it easily becomes a true workhorse for those looking to remain productive wherever they are.

Menu and software

BlackBerry fans shouldn’t be too surprised at OS 10, based on QNX and also running Android software, but there are several things that need to be taken into consideration in Passport’s case.

The Passport ships by default with OS 10.3, and while this version indeed comes with lots of goodies, everyone’s expecting 10.3.1, which should be released in February. At this point, OS 10.3 is only available on the Passport and BlackBerry Classic, so it’s not running on any other model, unless it’s a leaked copy of the OS.

In 10.3, icons are smaller and flatter and everything seems more refined, which is obviously a very good thing not only on the Passport but also on all the other models.

BlackBerry OS 10.3 home screen
BlackBerry OS 10.3 home screen

In terms of software, the Passport has pretty much everything you’d expect it to have, including a powerful browser, pre-installed social network apps (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), a weather app, and even Amazon’s Appstore to install Android apps.

The Hub continues to be the main key feature of a BlackBerry, and the wide screen of the Passport makes it even better. The quick settings toggle in the hub now allows you to perform actions such as file and delete even more easily, and we can honestly admit that this is the first time that these features actually make sense on a BlackBerry.

The best thing about Passport when it comes to software, however, is BlackBerry Blend. Currently working with Passport exclusively, but soon to become compatible with all 10.3.1 devices, Blend allows users to control their phones from their PCs, so you can chat with BBM contacts, send and receive emails or text messages and manage calendar entries without touching a phone.

Overall, Passport is not too different from the other BlackBerries running OS 10.3, but the wide screen certainly makes the experience better in some cases, such as when reading emails.

Battery – “I can’t believe I don’t have to recharge it every day”

The Passport comes with a 3450mAH integrated non-removable battery, which, according to BlackBerry’s own figures, should be able to provide 14 hours of GSM talk time, 14.5 days of standby time, 91 hours and 11 hours of audio and video playback, respectively.

These numbers indeed seem to be very impressive, and to be entirely honest, BlackBerry Passport doesn’t provide 14.5 days of standby time. Not if you configured at least one app to connect to the Internet or you use it for a few minutes every day.

First real smartphone whose battery lasts more than 24 hours for heavy users.

But the Passport is not the typical smartphone when it comes to battery. You won’t have to recharge it daily, as most people do right now, and if you’re a heavy user, you should get at least one day and a half per charge. On average, the Passport can last between 2 and 3 days, depending on how much you use your data connection.

The best we got was 2 days and 10 days with moderate usage. As far as heavy usage is concerned, our tests proved that the Passport can go anywhere between 26 hours to 32 hours per charge.

Connectivity and communications – Everything you want

BlackBerry didn’t miss a thing when developing the Passport, so the device comes with support for most network bands, including the following: FD-LTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 20 (2100 / 1900 / 1800 / 1700 / 850 / 2600 / 900 / 700 / 700 / 800 MHz), HSPA+ 1, 2, 4, 5/6, 8 (2100 / 1900 / 1700 / 850 / 900 MHz), and Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz).

At the same time, you also get Wi-Fi support, 4G, Wi-Fi Direct, Miracast, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC (which also works with other devices and comes with no limitation, as is the case of other phones).

The Passport lives up to the expectations and performs amazingly when it comes to audio and video quality, also thanks to the two available cameras and high-quality microphones.

The phone also features HD voice, which provides crystal-clear quality especially when talking to a contact also owning a BlackBerry. We experienced lower call quality with Windows Phones, despite the fact that both devices had HD voice, during a Passport – Lumia 930 call.


The Good

BlackBerry Passport is an excellent combination of productivity features, gigantic battery, a large screen, and a top-notch QWERTY keyboard, so it’s hard not to like it.

BlackBerry certainly did a terrific job of trying to bring back customers that were looking for the traditional QWERTY keyboard, and there’s no doubt that many actually love the Passport just because it comes with such a feature.

But there’s a lot more to love about the Passport, besides the keyboard. This device has almost any feature that you’d expect to find in a modern smartphone, such as a powerful camera capable of taking decent photos in any light conditions, a large high-quality screen, long battery life, and a fast and stable operating system whose only setback might be the lack of native apps.

The Bad

The QWERTY keyboard with touch support might be harder to use at first, and on average, a new Passport user needs up to 14 days to get used to it. Buttons are a little bit stiff and make a strong noise when pressed, but this could disappear as you use them.

The overall dimensions of the phone still make it difficult to use with one hand, and for those wearing skinny jeans, it could be a challenge to carry it around without a purse.

The square display could also create additional problems with a number of apps that aren’t optimized for a 1:1 aspect ratio, no matter if they’re built for BlackBerry or come from Android.

Conclusion

Overall, Passport owners have every reason to be proud of this phone. This is an impressive cocktail of old and new, traditional and modern, familiar and innovate features, all packed in a design that stands out from the crowd and certainly catches everyone’s attention.

Don’t trust the haters and try not to become a skeptic: the Passport is a device that deserves a chance. And don’t be too critical at first. It might really be a challenge to get used to it, but after a few days, you could easily see that it’s a productivity workhorse that has almost everything.

BlackBerry Passport deserves these praises, and while it’s pretty clear that it’s not the kind of phone that’s right for everyone and only targets a small niche, it wouldn’t have a problem competing with iOS and Android devices for typical activities such as emailing, social network activity, or browsing.

And as we said, the Passport surely has the wow factor and easily catches the attention of anyone around you. Our colleagues at autoevolution, who recently attended the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, said that the Passport was quite a star at the auto show and some not only asked for more details and wanted to give it a shot but even promised to buy one. And yes, they were using an iPhone. So miracles do happen!

It seems that these guys not only deliver some of the best auto news but they also lead people along the right path!

BlackBerry is no longer what it used to be and after trying most of the flagships out there, including iPhone 6 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 4, and Lumia 1520, none performed so well in all the tests. Passport has what it takes to change people's perception on BlackBerry and while it requires some time to get used to it, there's no doubt that once you discover all its benefits, it's hard to go back to your previous smartphone.

With Passport, BlackBerry finally managed to create a phone that could convince other smartphone users jump ship and this is probably the biggest achievements of all. iPhone and Android users finally have an alternative which not only that looks great but which is also superior to their existing devices in many regards, including battery life and productivity.

As a conclusion, the Passport is nothing more than a love it or hate it device. And if you get past its unusual dimensions, there’s no way you can’t love this one.

Our Rating

looks 5
build 5
speed 5
battery 5
calls 5
camera 4
video 4
apps 2
screen 4
signal4

final rating 5

BlackBerry Passport (89 Images)

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