[mryan55]

I would wait and see what is announced at CES. I like the DTEK60 but also enjoy a physical keyboard, so I may upgrade to the keyboard device if it is announced at CES.

[AnimalPak200]

I would actually be ok with the mid level processor and good battery life, if they threw in a decent camera.

Not holding my breath though... : /

Posted via CB10

[bbafdad]

I know this thread is a bit older now, but if you still haven't decided, I'd wait to see what's coming in a short while at CES 2017. I've never owned the Priv but everyone says it's got serious problems with overheating. If it wasn't for that, I'd probably own one.

There's some cool stuff coming soon for BlackBerry hardware. Maybe wait and see.

Posted via CB10

Drenegade, I've still not decided...confirmations are coming out about the Mercury's CPU being a Snap Dragon 625 which is discouraging because I was really hoping BB would put better specs in their so-called last pkb.

[bbafdad]

I know this thread is a bit older now, but if you still haven't decided, I'd wait to see what's coming in a short while at CES 2017. I've never owned the Priv but everyone says it's got serious problems with overheating. If it wasn't for that, I'd probably own one.

There's some cool stuff coming soon for BlackBerry hardware. Maybe wait and see.

Posted via CB10

Drenegade, I'd be interested to know what other devices have you heard about besides the Mercury at CES 2017??

[mryan55]

I already have a DTEK60, but I am kind of torn as to whether or not I should consider the Mercury. I will probably snag one out of sentimentality if nothing else... but if the specs are midrange at best, I'm not sure how much mileage I will get out of it.

But, let's wait and see what happens at CES I suppose...

[tickerguy]

At this point I would wait for CES, since it's days away now.

However, the 625 CPU makes perfect sense for a device of this sort. It has a materially lower power consumption profile than the 8xx series CPUs, and while it is slower by a fair bit in terms of ultimate processing power that's not all that important unless you game on your phone.

What will matter is that you'll get better battery life out of the handset, assuming they get a decently-beefy battery in there.

I will probably not buy a Mercury, but we'll see. If it's got the same (or better) camera setup and sufficient RAM in it, however, it's going to be quite enticing -- depending on exactly where it prices. I still think I'll prefer the DTEK60, much as I really liked the Z10 and Z30 -- although my Passport was an awesome device......

If I didn't already have a DTEK60 it would be a much, much more difficult decision.

[mryan55]

I'm thinking I will give the Mercury a purchase, especially if it looks like some of the leaks. I do enjoy a good physical keyboard but wasn't too fond of the Priv's keyboard.

Since I've got my DTEK60 on T-Mobile I may toss my AT&T SIM in the Mercury when it comes out, especially since it's questionable as to whether or not the Mercury will support T-Mobile's extended range LTE, and WiFi calling since it's not like there will be a close sibling on the network. So I'd say there's a chance this one might be a no-go for T-Mobile users, but we will see!

As for battery life, the DTEK60 is surprisingly good considering the battery size and processor. If I had a medium usage day I could probably sneak two days of use, although in pratice I have been doing 4 to 5 hours of voice calls per day, so one day is realistic, but even on the heaviest use days I get through the day.

[tickerguy]

I will be quite surprised if T-Mobile Band12 and WFC is not present on the Mercury, particularly given that there are rumors there's a Verizon-specific version coming. That (rather strongly) implies that TCL "as a manufacturer" is doing whatever they have to behind the scenes.

HOWEVER, I would not expect AT&T WFC and VoLTE to work, just as it doesn't for "unbranded" handsets for ANYONE on AT&Ts network. That's going to be the "new front" in this war for 2017 and beyond because AT&T is going to start turning down their GSM/EDGE network and reallocating the spectrum to LTE, and as they do so if you don't have VoLTE on THEIR network you're going to run into the same "black hole" problem you currently have with T-Mobile and Band12.

I have been banging on this drum for a few years now and urging people to DEMAND action politically on this issue. The response has often been "well it's just T-Mobile." Not for long it's not -- you can count on that.

[evodevo69]

I'd wait for the Mercury to see how it turns out, the dtek60 should see a price cut very soon - you'd be a fool not to wait a little longer.

[Mark Mutz]

Mark, I look at it the same as I do when someone is ill and needs to see a doctor...The doctor is more than likely a stranger, but they have experience and expertise that the ill person needs in order to be healthy again. Or what about taking your car to the mechanic when it has a problem...? These are just two examples of when someone needs help/advise and goes somewhere to get it. This is the same thing...I wanted to make an informed decision which I view as an important one so I sought some advise from an informed comm unity.

I hear you. But we aren't talking about a life threatening illness or a broken phone needing repairs. Boils down to the keyboards. Do you like physical keyboards? Then Merc is the way to go. Do you prefer virtual keyboards? Then the 60 is the way to go. That was not a tough decision.


Posted via CB10

[stanfordprof]

I have been using the DTEK60 and I'm very pleased. That said, I must resend corrected emails and texts to clarify misspellings and miscorrected words. This is not a rare occurrence, and that's not even counting messages that I didn't see the mistakes.

Bottom line - I will consider the Mercury if and only if the pkb is very good. By my definition, it must be far superior to the pkb of the Priv, which was terrible, with its tiny keys causing innumerable errors that were as or more frequent than those with the vkb!!

[bbafdad]

I hear you. But we aren't talking about a life threatening illness or a broken phone needing repairs. Boils down to the keyboards. Do you like physical keyboards? Then Merc is the way to go. Do you prefer virtual keyboards? Then the 60 is the way to go. That was not a tough decision.


Posted via CB10

It's obvious we have different decision-making matrices when it comes to buying tech but I do appreciate yours and everyone else's input on this thread. If I didn't then there wouldn't be any point in posting such a thread. As a final note, I will say it goes a little further then simply whether I prefer pkbs or not.

[LoveMyLBZ]

It's obvious we have different decision-making matrices when it comes to buying tech but I do appreciate yours and everyone else's input on this thread. If I didn't then there wouldn't be any point in posting such a thread. As a final note, I will say it goes a little further then simply whether I prefer pkbs or not.

Get the Argon! It is amazing!

[evodevo69]

Maybe wait until the mercury releases and the dtek60 gets a price cut.

I still don't think the BlackBerry offerings are worth their msrp.

The dtek60 feels premium in so far as you compare it to the dtek50 and priv.

Compared to other highend phones it still feels a tier below them. Both in heft and the material. Don't think just because it's glass that it is the same type of glass.

I felt the dtek60 in person and it's nice, but people who think it's comparable to the high end offerings from apple or Samsung are extremely naive or unusually optimistic.

[audifox2016]

Maybe wait until the mercury releases and the dtek60 gets a price cut.

I still don't think the BlackBerry offerings are worth their msrp.

The dtek60 feels premium in so far as you compare it to the dtek50 and priv.

Compared to other highend phones it still feels a tier below them. Both in heft and the material. Don't think just because it's glass that it is the same type of glass.

I felt the dtek60 in person and it's nice, but people who think it's comparable to the high end offerings from apple or Samsung are extremely naive or unusually optimistic.

I really don't see how the Samsung or iPhone 7 being any higher end at all when I hold and feel those devices. Maybe you think that because they cost $1000 vs $650, surely they aren't worth their msrp and are priced that way because in the driver's seat and people will buy regardless of price. Market driven

Posted via CB10

[evodevo69]

I really don't see how the Samsung or iPhone 7 being any higher end at all when I hold and feel those devices. Maybe you think that because they cost $1000 vs $650, surely they aren't worth their msrp and are priced that way because in the driver's seat and people will buy regardless of price. Market driven

Posted via CB10

I guess it is subjective.

I never said they were worth their msrp either loll. But they feel more premium to me. That's a key concept, to me.

Most of the in house BlackBerry designs had a premium feel as well. From their bold line to the PRIV. Assuming all things being perfect. For example the PlayBook felt great.
The iPad air felt great, the iPad mini felt cheap.

The Galaxy phones feel great from the s6 onward, prior to that, Samsung phones felt cheap.

The LG phones feel cheap.

Get my reasoning?

The tcl phones for the idol line, feel what they are meant to be. Nothing more and nothing less.

Like the metal on the frame is metal, but to any astute person one can feel it is not the same quality metal used on other high end phone's like the iPhone for example.

Then again, I've read people say their dtek50 and priv took photos that were just as good as the iPhones...and thus had equivalent cameras lolll

[jamesbondOO7]

Priv is still a good option for PKV lovers.
DTEK60 is the latest best.
Both runs on Android.
You decide what suits you.

Priv's PKB is so bad I switched to DTEK 60. Waiting to hear about the Mercury specs. DTEK 60 is very swift and does not heat up.

[bbafdad]

Valid points made by all I feel. Like many of you, I am still awaiting the release of the Mercury which was supposed to be in Jan. But instead of an actual release BlackBerry gave us a VERY limited sneak peek saying they'll actually release on 25 Feb. So another month with my iPhone 6s unfortunately...

Like many of you diehard fans, I would've liked to see BlackBerry go in so many different directions then they ended up...BUT even though they didn't do all the things I had hoped...redesign and improve the playbook, design a passport 3, keep BB10 alive and marketable/relevant to app dev's, not gut BlackBerry World and go to Amazon App Store, and of course the most recent "nail in the coffin" - shutting down the hardware Dept...I'm still stoked that there are still BlackBerry phones being produced and a plan in place to keep doing so because for a long time a lot of analysts predicted much worse for BlackBerry. At the end of the day, DroidBerry isn't as "BlackBerry" as BB10 BUT at least it's a BlackBerry and still maintains some of that BlackBerry style which is still a better option, imo, than full on android or iOS.

I really wish I had the $$ to drop on a DTEK 60 to be testdriving it until the Mercury was released so I could do a comparison. I had been a diehard pkb user but I've been using a touchscreen so long...