[shoaib shah]

Hi,

I am a Windows Phone user looking into the BB passport as possibly my next device. Not been back to BB since having BB curve back in 2009 as very first smartphone then went to Android for 3 years now with Windows Phone and liking the OS. I was waiting for Blackberry to tempt me back to their OS. I think the Passport is maybe what I'm liking for but before I make the plunge I have questions for all of your current Passport owners:

What is the device like as a primary pdf reader and apps like Kindle as I have big library of pdf books on my current device and also I like reading articles on Wikipedia and app of Britannica Encyclopedia is the passport optimized for heavy readers like me and is the experience good enough on landscape as well as portrait mode?

I write alot of articles and edit them and use Microsoft Office on my phone alot is the Passport a capable enough productivity for these tasks especially with the unorthodox 3 row qwerty keyboard rather than traditional 4.

I did look at the BB Classic but its not the powerhouse the Passport seems.

Thanks in advance for your replies and I appreciate real user experience as Ive read loads of reviews so far.

Hope to part of BB community soon 😊

[shoaib shah]

Anyone willing to help me thanks

[colorwatch2000]

Coming from the z10, I also had a bold before that, I find the passport really good at writing the keyboard feels really different from the past BlackBerry but not hard to use. As for the screen it is awesome for reading spreadsheet and MS word documents. I would say go ahead and get the passport.

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[dusdal]

The Passport is going to beat the Classic with the reading tasks you mentioned. I say this mainly because the wide screen makes it a pleasure to read pretty well anything. Also, being able to scroll documents and pages without having to touch the screen makes it even better.

I haven't used the Classic but I've heard it's a more traditional typing experience.

To use MS Office you will need to load up either SNAP or Google Play or otherwise have the .apk for Office sent to you on your Passport as it isn't in BlackBerry World or Amazon App Store as of now.

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[shoaib shah]

The Passport is going to beat the Classic with the reading tasks you mentioned. I say this mainly because the wide screen makes it a pleasure to read pretty well anything. Also, being able to scroll documents and pages without having to touch the screen makes it even better.

I haven't used the Classic but I've heard it's a more traditional typing experience.

To use MS Office you will need to load up either SNAP or Google Play or otherwise have the .apk for Office sent to you on your Passport as it isn't in BlackBerry World or Amazon App Store as of now.

Posted via CB10

What alternatives are then for writing up articles on the go. Any native apps like ive heard Docs to go. How rich and and powerful are the editing tools in them?

[shoaib shah]

Thanks dusdal what native apps are the that are as powerful and rich for writing articles on the Passport

[ZedMacahan]

The experience in landscape and portrait mode is almost same as it has a 1:1 screen. I said almost because you have the option to scroll text swiping over the keyboard a little different when in landscape mode. If you get a BB10 device there's a Wikipedia app (free) built for Blackberry that integrates into the universal search function, it's pretty neat.

[shoaib shah]

The experience in landscape and portrait mode is almost same as it has a 1:1 screen. I said almost because you have the option to scroll text swiping over the keyboard a little different when in landscape mode. If you get a BB10 device there's a Wikipedia app (free) built for Blackberry that integrates into the universal search function, it's pretty neat.

Thanks Zed in pdf files does the text become bigger or smaller in landscape mode or the same because of the 1:1 ratio. How is reading experience of books downloaded in pdf format?

[ZedMacahan]

Thanks Zed in pdf files does the text become bigger or smaller in landscape mode or the same because of the 1:1 ratio. How is reading experience of books downloaded in pdf format?

The text stays at the same size, but scrolling using the keyboard in landscape mode is a lot better in my opinion. Unfortunately I haven't read any books in pdf or any other format on my PP(I use my kindle for reading). I however read news articles in the browser sometimes and the reader mode available is really good I think. Hopefully someone else can enlighten you about their book reading experience on the PP.

[scootnyinzer]

I am an auto body repair tech and I use my passport as a small computer. I take pictures of supplemental damage, to document prior unrelated damage, download and read tech bulletins and do Google searches such as "How do I remove the rear door handle on a 2013 Dodge Dart?" My boss, who has an iPhone had to agree that for my use, it is an ideal device.

I also download and read the occasional Kindle book and it is excellent for that use, but of course a tablet or e-reader would be more ideal if you are a voracious reader.

Docs to Go is adequate for my needs. It is roughly equal to Google Docs in terms of richness of features. Of course, most Passport owners have a few apps we MUST have that can only be had on Amazon or Snap. For me, Waze is that app. Saves me at least an hour a week in commute time.

The 3 row keyboard is a learning curve to be honest. If I am typing alpha character only, I can type blind. When numbers and symbols are added to the mix, (where you tap rather than type), things slow down. You have to look at the screen. This is a weird thing to get used to.

PURELY for touch typing, the classic is better. But the Passport is more of a Swiss Army Knife. The keyboard is inferior to the Classic, but better than virtual. For one tool that can be a decent e-reader, computer, tablet, phone replacement, while doing none of these things quite as well as a purpose dedicated device, the Passport is tough to beat.

But as a side note, if the Passport could do word prediction as well as my Z10, then it would be perfect in my eyes


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[ZedMacahan]

Here's a screen shot from the Kindle app (installed using Snap) I enlarged the font for my old eyes Off course it's actually on a 4.5" screen. May appear bigger on a pc with less dpi.

[KenV54]

I would have written what Scootnyinzer wrote above about the Passport. Other than the keyboard's limitations as compared to the Classic, the PP equals or beats any other smartphone on the market, as far as I'm concerned. And I use it for Kindle, as well--it's clearer than a real Kindle, although a smaller screen. And if the keyboard is the only issue, you can use a USB external keyboard for prolonged word processing.

[shoaib shah]

Here's a screen shot from the Kindle app (installed using Snap) I enlarged the font for my old eyes Off course it's actually on a 4.5" screen. May appear bigger on a pc with less dpi.

Cool 😎 the Passport aspect ratio for reading is on par with my Kindle paperwhite and it fits in many words on one line. Maybe it can replace my Kindle as well. Thanks again Zed.😊

[shoaib shah]

As I said I have alot of pdf books that I read is the Passport ideal for that use for long periods of time.

[ZedMacahan]

Your welcome :-) It hasn't replaced my kindle paperwhite. Just installed the app to see what it was like. I really like the e-ink screen for reading but perhaps it could work as a reasonable backup for me. Good luck with your decision.

[AnimalPak200]

I'd say the Passport's keyboard and physical attributes will definitely allow you to use it as a primary reading and writing device.

I've even used it to work on some html/js code in an app called Quoda.

Unfortunately I can't say the same about the native Docs 2 Go. While you will of course be able to type the text contents,.. you will ultimately need to rely on something else for formatting, inserting figures, tables, advanced formatting, etc.

So I guess it depends on what you expect from a mobile device that you call "primary writing device".

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[wingnut666]

coming from a q10 the biggest learning curve was teaching my thumbs where the spacebar is (or rather how small). and the lack of the alt key.
still, the keys have an awesome feel to them, once broken in.

if youre coming from a windows phone you'll be in bb heaven.

Posted via CB750

[ZedMacahan]

So I tested loading a pdf book. Using the standard pdf reader it can look like this:
(I enabled night mode, so default is to have black text on white background)
It's not as flexible as a kindle book, adjusting font size and having sentences reflow over the page is something I don't know how to do with a pdf.


(Oops , zoomed in a little cutting text on the sides)

[shoaib shah]

So I tested loading a pdf book. Using the standard pdf reader it can look like this:
(I enabled night mode, so default is to have black text on white background)
It's not as flexible as a kindle book, adjusting font size and having sentences reflow over the page is something I don't know how to do with a pdf.


(Oops , zoomed in a little cutting text on the sides)

Hmmm interesting if only I could test drive a demo unit unfortunately my local store only have dummy units Maybe 10 mins with device could make me sure 100% if I'm ready to take the plunge.

[ubizmo]

I've read quite a few Kindle books on the Passport, and the experience is very good. I consider it on par with my Kindle Paperwhite. For pdf reading, much depends on the document formatting. The Adobe pdf reader has a great text reflow mode that works with many, but not all, pdfs. Here's a sample:



Docs to Go gives you basic editing and writing tools; no fancy formatting capabilities. It's fine for getting a draft done, but to make it pretty you'll still need a laptop. The Android version of MS Office works too but I haven't used it extensively.

[ZedMacahan]

My bad. There is a text reflow option and font size adjustment for pdf files. But enabling those options slows it down a little and the night mode disappeared. For reading I don't think the performance hit should matter. Now the same pdf book looks like this:

[Peter Johnson4]

My Passport has pretty much replaced my iPad mini. I write shorter first and second drafts of material and just tweak it for window dressing in MS Word on my computer. Use the browser all the time to read articles. I have my Nook installed for reading e-books and Overdrive for renting the from the library.

The only thing I do not use my passport for is gaming. Too much time invested (wasted?) getting high scores in Angry Birds and Candy Crush. I do have some time wasters like Doodle Jump and Cut the Rope and they work well. iPad mini has really just become a gaming device.

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[lotuslanderz]

As mentioned above, I find the Kindle App works well. I use the Adobe Acrobat Reader for reading and annotating pdf files (in a pinch). These are files converted from word or powerpoint documents, or from journal/magazine articles. It isn't too bad, but the text re-flow is slow so for me it's faster to pinch to zoom in/out.

I use Docs to Go quite a bit to make notes at meetings (when I'm not using One Note on my tablet - with a stylus). I can generate reasonably formatted documents (bold, italics, underline, left/right justified, centred, a few bullets styles, indentations, spacing, a half-dozen or so fonts, superscript, subscript, strike out, highlight, find/replace, undo, re-do, word count, file info).
What I cannot do is comment or read comments or track changes.

[world traveler and former ceo]

Go for Passport.....

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[KenV54]

As mentioned above, I find the Kindle App works well. I use the Adobe Acrobat Reader for reading and annotating pdf files (in a pinch). These are files converted from word or powerpoint documents, or from journal/magazine articles. It isn't too bad, but the text re-flow is slow so for me it's faster to pinch to zoom in/out.

I use Docs to Go quite a bit to make notes at meetings (when I'm not using One Note on my tablet - with a stylus). I can generate reasonably formatted documents (bold, italics, underline, left/right justified, centred, a few bullets styles, indentations, spacing, a half-dozen or so fonts, superscript, subscript, strike out, highlight, find/replace, undo, re-do, word count, file info).
What I cannot do is comment or read comments or track changes.

This should probably go in another thread, but I wonder if there's any way to comment or track changes in Word documents on a Passport. Docs to Go won't do it. I have Microsoft Office Mobile, and I can't do it with that, either.