[dbollman423]

Great article from the New York Times. Personally, I would not have expected this from them. Also, I would not expect this for a device that has the same specs, by and large, to the Z10. They trash the camera but laud the device.

Note: I hope that this is acceptable to Bla1ze.

Begin article:

BlackBerry has had its share of missteps over the last few years, but with the just-released BlackBerry Classic, the company may finally be returning to solid footing.

It is a little odd to hear BlackBerry talk about how the Classic would feel like a familiar upgrade for users of the BlackBerry Bold 9900, a phone that came out in 2011.

However, that phone was so popular with its fans that the company moved back in that direction in 2014. It is as though BlackBerry tried to pretend that the all-touch-screen Z10 and quirky half-and-half device, the Q10, never happened at all.

With the BlackBerry Classic, the company goes straight back to its power-user roots. Physical navigation buttons return to the row above the keyboard, including a home key, and the trackpad offers the precise navigation and scrolling that it always did.

The Classic is a noticeably bigger device than the Bold 9900, as long as we�re comparing those two, although it�s not big by phablet standards. It�s just over 5 inches tall by 2.8 inches wide and its screen, relatively speaking, is tiny at 3.5 inches. The phone is a little heavy, thanks in part to the stylish stainless steel band that encircles it, but it�s easy to operate one-handed and its compact heft is reassuring.

The display is nothing to write home about. It�s a fairly low-resolution touch-screen LCD that�s fine for a short YouTube video, but you wouldn�t use it to watch movies on a plane or even look at many photos.

But that�s not really the point of the BlackBerry Classic. It�s for people who are working, plain and simple.

And for getting work done, especially if that work involves typing long emails or even documents, the BlackBerry Classic is the right tool for the job. The keyboard is simply wonderful.

Touch screens have come a long way, to be sure, and typing on a virtual keyboard can be fast and seamless. But after a few days of getting used to the physical keyboard, you can just fly. And it�s oddly satisfying to use � � the BlackBerry projects a sense of productivity and even status.

The Classic includes many useful shortcuts and power tricks that longtime users will appreciate, as will new users. You can, for example, customize specific keys on the keyboard to perform certain actions � something as specific as holding down the J key, say, to launch a new email, address it to a frequently emailed family member or co-worker, and even include some standard text like, �I�m on my way now.�

You can change the color of the LED notification light for specific contacts, and many shortcuts are already preprogrammed, but can be edited. The settings menu allows endless amounts of customization. You can truly turn the BlackBerry Classic into a personalized weapon of work. And although it takes a little getting used to, the BlackBerry Hub � a screen that displays every single message from every account you�ve loaded onto the phone, including emails, tweets, Facebook messages, calls, BBM notes and text messages � becomes indispensable after regular use.

Its battery life is also impressive. The company claims 22 hours of heavy use, and I found that if I forgot to charge it overnight, I didn�t need to panic until well into the next afternoon.

That�s not the say the Classic is a slam-dunk. Its software has come a long way, as I noted when I reviewed the BlackBerry Passport, but it still has some odd quirks and inefficiencies. For example, the keyboard shortcuts won�t launch an action unless the phone is powered on and the screen is unlocked � whether or not you have a security code set.

The BlackBerry has only middling voice recognition, so dictating text messages and emails or even using the BlackBerry Assistant can be a chore. The touch screen isn�t particularly sensitive, especially when you�re trying to swipe upward to unlock the device.

And BlackBerry 10 now allows you to run some Android apps that you can get through the Amazon app store or through BlackBerry World, the built-in BlackBerry app store. Google�s app store is not installed, so you can�t get Google apps like Maps or Gmail unless you�re willing to do some extra work.

The same is true for a few apps, namely those that are iOS only, of course, and the occasional Android app. I found most of the ones I use often, with the biggest omission being Instagram (though there are viewing clients available).

Another big drawback: the BlackBerry camera is atrocious. It has an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera. Despite the decent-sounding megapixels, the rear camera is slow to focus and produces dark, blurry images indoors and overexposed or overly contrasting images outdoors.

The BlackBerry Classic isn�t a great consumer smartphone. But it doesn�t need to be. It�s not uncommon for people to carry two phones- � one for work and one for personal use � and the BlackBerry Classic is a perfect work phone.

BlackBerry�s security has always been top-notch and it includes useful features that tech managers will like, such as the stand-alone BlackBerry Blend software that lets you open a walled-off window on any computer or even a tablet that shows your BlackBerry communications without letting them bleed into the rest of your data.

So, if your company decided to return to BlackBerry after seeing the Classic, don�t be dismayed if it�s the device you get on the corporate budget. It�s efficient, pleasant to use and powerful. Just remember that it�s all business, and you�ll get along fine.

Source: NYT

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[trsbbs]

Thanks for posting...

BlackBerry hates America!

[BBPandy]

Thx, that was a refreshing review from someone who got what the purpose of the phone is. It annoys me to read Classic reviews complaining how it's not a good gaming phone

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[oneinfiniteloop]

Did they review this on an older build of 10.3.1? The camera on 10.3.1.1154 are very good and it also focuses very quickly - one other thing I observed is that you don't need to wait until it focuses on the object, you can go ahead and click it - the photo correctly captures the sharper and focused image.

Instagram missing? I guess they are referring to a free version of Instagram missing!

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[Bbnivende]

Another fairly good review:
[http://www.cnet.com/products/blackberry-classic/

I did not know about the app resizing feature.

"The BlackBerry Classic runs BlackBerry 10.3.1, and the experience here is pretty much identical to the one we saw on the BlackBerry Passport. Software remains the platform's weakness, and while it does support Android apps, you're largely limited to whatever's available on the Amazon Appstore. If you happen to have an APK file for the app you want to install, you can load that up too. There's also the BlackBerry World app store: BlackBerry says that the general expectation is that you'll get secure, enterprise level apps from BlackBerry World, while turning to the Amazon app store for your entertainment needs.

The limited app selection is a bit bummer, but the square aspect ratio is going to be a bigger problem, as a lot of Android apps just look odd in a square format. There's a fix of sorts: if you swipe down from the top of the screen in BlackBerry 10.3.1, you'll call up an app's menu. When you're running Android apps, you'll see a prompt for "Size" -- tap it, and you'll be able to choose from three different screen ratio presets, which might help things a tad."


BUT - I wish more users knew about the APK extractor available on the Google Play store. If you have an android tablet or an old android phone lying around you can easily move an APK over to your BlackBerry. Instagram via the APK extractor - no problem.

[Gajja]

Excellent :-)

[jsmall999]

Or just install SNAP and pull directly from Google play.




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[Bbnivende]

Not many enterprise and consumers will be installing Snap. I agree though that Snap is a good solution but if Snap was a well known solution generally adopted Google would shut it down.

[THBW]

I actually thought the NYT article was a bit too glowing. I get the impression they are trying to make up for their bone headed review of the passport. I think they read the advertising material this time.

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[Prem WatsApp]

...

BUT - I wish more users knew about the APK extractor available on the Google Play store. If you have an android tablet or an old android phone lying around you can easily move an APK over to your BlackBerry. Instagram via the APK extractor - no problem.

Yes, I'm using a similar app called APK Share, which does the same. And there are many more...

�   Zzzzwipetypetapped from The Maskport - Zzzzmoqin'....   �