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Since the news surfaced that Blackberry may be making an Android device, I found myself excited about a device with a physical keyboard. Reminiscing about the old Motorola Droid and how fast and accurate I was able to type on a slider, I was happy to welcome Blackberry to the dark side. And now that it is here in my hands, let's discuss my very first ever Blackberry device (how ironic that I passed up the Storm 2 for the Droid 6 years ago and now I stand with a Blackberry that is running a clean version of Android).
- Keyboard: Let's start with why I purchased this device in the first place, the physical keyboard. The raised keys look and feel good in the hands (or thumbs to speak) but unfortunately that is just it. You are tapping on crowded keys with your thumbs, and as much as I imagined the old Droid keyboard I was quickly reminded that not only is this not a Droid, but I am making more errors typing on the physical keyboard than I did with a touch screen. I have spent so much time with a touch screen kb that it would take time to get use to the cramped keys on the Priv. If you are coming from Blackberry then the keyboard will feel native but if you were one who begged for an Android slider, having used a touchscreen for awhile, you may find yourself struggling to go backwards. Overall I give the physical keyboard a pass but it may not be for the masses. Also if you decide to go with the Priv, you may find it better to turn off the keyboard gestures. I found the gestures to be buggy and in the way.
- Camera: The camera was really good. I was impressed with the photos it took and the software that BB used to process the photos. The camera app loaded quick and smooth every time and taking photos was almost instant. I have to rate the camera experience as being one of the top features of this phone and Blackberry deserves kudos for it.
- UI and Performance: Blackberry choosing the 808 really hurt the experience. Despite the 3 GB of ram, the phone stuttered, especially when scrolling up and down a page. No matter if it was a website or scrolling through Tapatalk, I could not get past the choppiness felt when navigating even when turning off animations (developer options).
- Android UI: Another plus for this device, I really loved that Blackberry decided to leave the UI to Google versus making their own. Though I preferred to use the Google Now Launcher, I was impressed with how clean the BB home launcher was. They added a few minor UI tweaks, i.e., the recent apps, but nothing that was overbearing. @bkdodger did comment on how busy the notification icons looked in the drop down menu, but that would not be a make or break for most. Also, kudos to Blackberry for not going crazy with the Blackberry apps. For those that were curious, yes Android Pay works with the Blackberry Priv.
- Signal Strength and Call Quality: Compared to my Nexus 6, which has been very good with signal strength, the Priv has been up to par with my Nexus. I did not have any issues with signal drop offs or a slow connection. Considered an Enhanced 4G LTE device, the Blackberry Priv makes HD calls on AT&T's network.
- Who would I recommend this device for: As happy as I am to welcome Blackberry to Android, I hate that this device may not find a niche. Being priced as a high end smartphone, it does not offer anything that would set itself apart from the devices on the market. The (custom) apps they offer are not anything special; in fact, I would argue that they are long in the tooth. I just can not see where the Blackberry apps added to what I did not already have. For exchange emails I use Mailwise, which looks identical to the Blackberry email app, and if I want a combined email experience (which I don't) I have gmail. No one uses BBM anymore (at least the people in my circles), and Marshmallow offers a great deal of security to where I am not searching for a more secured Android device. As I told an AT&T rep, if I was being graded on returns and I were dealing with business customers looking at the Priv, I would tell them to get the Note 5. The apps and features on the Note 5 are designed to keep up with forward moving businesses whereas, the business apps on the Priv are nothing special.
Blackberry says they went all in with this device and it shows, but unfortunately, it is not enough as they left a little on the table. Despite that, I think that BB could learn and improve upon this device to possibly offer a more competitive device next year. But if this is truly it for Blackberry (sadly) I don't think they will be missed. The Priv was just 3 to 4 years too late.
Ill post pics in the next several posts.
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