I have probably owned about 40 different phones to more over the past 10 years because I am such a gadget hound. I was always into jailbreaking or rooting phones, putting on customized firmware and getting rid of it. In the past 2 months I switched service providers from being gouged with fees for data. I switched to wind and was rocking the Huawei Ascend Mate on Wind....loved the phone (it's huge) and quickly got rid of my tablet because it replaced both. The Huawei was in dire need of a firmware upgrade that they kept stalling on releasing so I ended up buying the Huawei Ascend Mate 2.....fabulous phone.....does EVERYTHING. But even using Swype, I still missed a physical keyboard. I had the Q10 last summer and was very disappointed by the app selection as I am a nurse and really needed some of my nursing apps I had on Android. So that brings us to yesterday where I was surfing on Crackberry....catching up on all that I missed and read up on Snap. Got excited and found someone on Kijiji selling a brand new still in box, pink Q5 for $70??!! Of course I bought it. Prior to transaction though, I went to Walmart (I live in Hamilton, ON) looking for a memory card and case. Asked the staff if they have any Q5 cases and they laughed at me. They said "Walmart has recalled anything Blackberry. We won't be selling any of their stuff anymore. They're going down!" I was shocked at the poor customer service and defamation of the brand. No help to direct me to where I could get one, just mocked. Lucky for me, the seller of the Q5 sold me a new gel case for $10 extra. I love the Q5. I side loaded Snap, and now have my fav. nursing apps installed. It seems weird to go from a 6" pone screen to the Q5, but I love the feel of it....and having the physical keyboard, I am able to type faster and more accurately than I could with an onscreen keyboard. As for my Ascend Mate 2? it has incredible battery life that the Q5 can't beat. I think I will be using that as a tablet/back up phone while the Q5 will be my primary.
The Q5 is a fantastic device! Loved it from the first moment. I use it more than my Z10 which does have a bigger screen and up-sized battery. Just keep coming back to the Q5 as it works so well for everything I do. As for cases, don't forget ebay; they have a ton of them!
I am shocked that the q5 is such an over looked device. It runs the os as good as my q10. They keys on q5 are awesome for me doing short messages, long winded messages I do prefer my worn in (out) q10 keyboard.
This is a great story! Such a pity not that many people try exploring the limits of BB10. I am sure there could have been a lot more such positive experiences and surprises! Now I wonder whether with the Passport coming out soon and having a way larger screen, you will be able to put your Ascend Mate 2 completely into the drawer or not..