[Razius]

So Todd with Technobuffalo has given his review of the Passport. What do you guys think of it? He seems to remain somewhat positive, but there are several things, such as his goof with sideloading a random apk for Netflix and his issue with the OS being "sluggish" and "buggy". I feel as if he started out nice, but started to fall back into his "This isn't an iPhone therefore it isn't good" routine.

What are you thoughts?

BlackBerry Passport Review - Enough to Keep Fans Hanging On? | TechnoBuffalo

[Ecm]

One thing jumped out at me -- criticizing the lack of removable battery. I don't recall him making that point in his iPhone reviews...

[chansen16]

Just read the review.

It seems fair, the issues he mainly had were with software and the keyboard which he did not get use to. I think it is a different device and some people love it and some people it will not work for, it didn't resonate with this reviewer but he did see some huge benefits to this OS. His major positive was Blend, which really is undersold right now.

I do think BB10 has some issues that we are all aware of but they have been continue to be corrected; maybe slower than some people like but they are. The value of BB is the messaging capabilities of BB, web browsing experience and the overall flow of the OS. That is why I choose BB. Apps are not a selling factor to me, core OS is what is important.

[chansen16]

Seems like he is saying it is a negative for "Blackberry" users as it is unfamiliar. Also he mentions not being able to reset with a battery pull, which does not do anything in BB10. A misunderstanding of the OS maybe?

[CarGuy1368]

I was under the impression that Jon was going to do a full video review on YouTube... now I'm disappointed

I've always liked Jon's reviews.

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[Overlake]

Apps are VERY important. Native apps. That work like a native app should. Akin to having an awesome laptop that doesn't have broadband connectivity. A crappy or peg-legged app ecosystem is like using 2G.

[Bla1ze]

Weird about the Netflix issue..

[AnimalPak200]

Apps are VERY important. Native apps. That work like a native app should. Akin to having an awesome laptop that doesn't have broadband connectivity. A crappy or peg-legged app ecosystem is like using 2G.

Not really. Apps are only as important as the lack of good native functionality in the device makes them. A BlackBerry user can have a very good productive and fully functional experience with almost no apps other than the system ones.

I'm not saying apps don't have a place, and I'm not making excuses for BlackBerry, but your comparison is not commensurate. A BlackBerry without apps is still a very useful tool. Just look at how many Android and iOS devices are running the Gmail app. Do you really think many BlackBerry users feel the need to load the gmail app? No.

But maybe we don't share the same priorities.

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[chansen16]

Apps are VERY important. Native apps. That work like a native app should. Akin to having an awesome laptop that doesn't have broadband connectivity. A crappy or peg-legged app ecosystem is like using 2G.

Apps are important to some people. I have done a unofficial survey among friends and everyone says they use the core apps (whats app, face book, etc but beside that they rarely use apps). Maybe its my demographic (mid-30's, married with kids) so we are old now! But I don't feel like I am missing anything by using BB10 opposed to IOS or Android. Maybe this is a minority view.

[jchavealot]

Could care less about Tech Buffalo!

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[jchavealot]

Or itech Buffalo


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[henry007]

Why would the reviewer ever want to pull out the battery for a soft reset. I find it disconcerting that he claims to have used the device well enough and still makes mention of the need to pull the battery for any reason much less a soft reset.

Posted via BlackBerry Z3

[outsider]

The majority of my time on any smartphone is spent using the core apps for the most part such as a great browser, email client and messaging app.

There are certain additional apps that I use that just make my life on mobile easier such as file storage apps. navigation apps among others. These are a convenience I have gotten used to and honestly shouldn't have to be "optional". If the BB app store were richer, we would all benefit from it, regardless of how much of a core app user you are (IMO). The benefits may not be direct, but it could indirectly improve your experience by having more folks on the platform therefor having BB make more devices, etc.

[Mirk]

Why would the reviewer ever want to pull out the battery for a soft reset. I find it disconcerting that he claims to have used the device well enough and still makes mention of the need to pull the battery for any reason much less a soft reset.

It appears the reviewer doesn't know he can hold down the volume keys. Also, having to reset the phone 3 times over the course of his review seems rather odd. I've had it for 3 weeks and have only actually needed to reset it once due to video tearing. That was this morning. He probably also doesn't know you can reset the hub and force close an app. The phone really doesn't actually need to be reset very often, the OS its self is very stable.

So, just tips and tricks you need to learn. It's not BBOS.

[SeanSolo]

The "apps don't matter" line is ridiculous in 2014. If you want this company to succeed - and I think you do, stop saying that.

We don't need 100 million apps or whatever Apple has but you've got to have essentials (native versions of top 20 or so apps). Your average Joe doesn't want to sideload Snap and all that goes with it (half the apps incompatible anyway).

The Passport is fabulous but my girlfriend would never use a phone with iGrann as her Instagram client. She asked me why all my apps are "hokey" knockoffs. She's an exec that fought to the bitter end to keep a physical keyboard but no chance of getting her back (and others like her) without substantial improvement in this area.

[Overlake]

Not really. Apps are only as important as the lack of good native functionality in the device makes them. A BlackBerry user can have a very good productive and fully functional experience with almost no apps other than the system ones.

I'm not saying apps don't have a place, and I'm not making excuses for BlackBerry, but your comparison is not commensurate. A BlackBerry without apps is still a very useful tool. Just look at how many Android and iOS devices are running the Gmail app. Do you really think many BlackBerry users feel the need to load the gmail app? No.

But maybe we don't share the same priorities.

Posted via CB10

slice and dice all you want but having to not think about whether uber, tinder, instagram, your home temp control company app, google maps, waze, plus thousands of other apps work brainlessly with complete peace of mind is a major advantage to iOS/android and a major setback that'll continue to make bb a bit player in the mobile market. the ability to think "wtf was this company thinking not making an app available for my device" is golden.

the facts are in the figures buddy. the people have spoken loudly, clearly, w/ their wallet and i'm amazed at people like u who continue to choose to sit in the dark.

obdurate, obstinate lol get with it!

[Detective M Downs]

I was under the impression that Jon was going to do a full video review on YouTube... now I'm disappointed

I've always liked Jon's reviews.

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Yeah, I thought Jon Rettinger was doing the review too, since he did the initial hands-on....

[Detective M Downs]

"One gripe with the hardware: you can’t remove the battery. That might not seem like a big deal since the BlackBerry Passport includes a beefy 3,450mAh battery, but if you’ve used a BlackBerry before you know the problem here. One of the easiest ways to soft reset a BlackBerry when it hits a bug is to pull the battery, and you can’t do that here. I ran into at least three situations where I needed to reset the phone, and I usually had to manually plug it into my computer to do so." I guess he doesn't know you can hold the power button down to restart the devices.....

[dalinxz]

"One gripe with the hardware: you can�t remove the battery. That might not seem like a big deal since the BlackBerry Passport includes a beefy 3,450mAh battery, but if you�ve used a BlackBerry before you know the problem here. One of the easiest ways to soft reset a BlackBerry when it hits a bug is to pull the battery, and you can�t do that here. I ran into at least three situations where I needed to reset the phone, and I usually had to manually plug it into my computer to do so." I guess he doesn't know you can hold the power button down to restart the devices.....

Just hold the power button down or hold the up and down volume key for a few seconds works just the same, less chance of hardware damage this way too.

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