[harvland]

I had a Classic for about 12 months before "upgrading" to the KeyOne. Recently, I'd been flip flopping between my KeyOne and my trusty old Classic. After much consideration, I finally made a permanent switch back to the Classic. Why? Because I finally managed to "square" away all of the necessary workarounds needed to use BB10 as my daily driver in 2018. Hopefully this post inspires others to do the same. Keep in mind that this is not an Android vs BB10 sort of thing. The Classic to me is just as close to perfect as a phone can get. Your mileage may vary.

MY KEYONE EXPERIENCE
My first KeyOne lasted a couple months before the screen popped off. The second one, I've used ever since. It's a great phone. It's faster than the Classic, has a better camera, no app-gap, a terrific battery, and is currently supported with updates. All of that is great, but with all that goodness comes a cost. it was larger than the Classic and awkward to type on. I would have thumb cramps and pinky pain from balancing this top heavy phone. Sounds weird, right? It is.

The KeyOne would also occasionally freeze-up and have to be reset. Sometimes an app would update and then that app wouldn't work anymore. Or the updates would get stuck in an update cycle and I would have to flush the Google Play Store cache. The most recent bug my K1 had was that the screen would not turn off entirely. It would go black, but the backlight would come back on along with the keyboard backlight. It was frustrating.

In all honesty, I wanted a simpler experience. I was tired of having my day interrupted with YouTube ads and notifications from apps. Toward the end, the only notifications that would alert me were for phone calls, emails, and texts. Everything else was turned off. And on top of all that, the KeyOne was missing the simplicity and efficiency of my beloved BB10 Classic. Simply put, the Classic just GSD.

CLASSIC APP-GAP WORKAROUNDS
So, now that you've read the motivations behind the mobile rollback, you may be inspired to dust off your BB10 device. For that reason, here is a not-so-short list of my app-gap workarounds:
* For Facebook, Twitter, banking, credit cards, PayPal, eBay, Etsy, and DropBox, I use the built-in Browser app. IT's slow at times, but it's livable.
* For navigation, I use either the built in Maps app or sometimes NavFree.
* For YouTube, I use New Pipe (Android apk). No ads and I can play it in the background with the screen off. Love it!
* For weather updates, I use Umbrella (a fantastic app) * Amazon app ( the pre-installed Android app works just fine)
* For creating PDF's, I use ScanWritrPro. It's not perfect, but it works.
* For wireless printing, I use PrintHand. If I need to print an email, I use Save Email first.
* I never cared for Blend, so I would use either Box or just plug in my phone as a USB Storage Device.
* Other BB apps used include: My Expenses, Headless Torch, Clipman, Uncompressor, Dream Sounds for sleep sounds, SoundHound, and sometimes rad.io.
* To save backups of my Classic, I use BlackBerry Link. Although it isn't supported anymore, and won't install on my 2017 Macbook Pro with High Sierra, I am able to run it through a BootCamp install running Windows 10.

LOVE FOR THE CLASSIC
I truly love my Classic. BB10 OS is fast and smooth. I am more productive and more efficient with my classic than I ever was with my iPhone+ fablet or KeyOne. I also don't have to worry about the K1's thumb cramps or pinky pains from balancing a top heavy phone.

The Classic's keyboard fits perfectly in my hand(s), the optical track mouse nubbie thingy, the hip-to-be-square screen, the built-in alerts, the pocketability, and all the BB10 gestures. The suite of apps that come with BB10 are super. I love the Clock/Alarm/Timer, the Hub, the Calendar, the File Manager with Blend, and Remember/Notes. For Remember and Notes to work, I had to switch my email account from IMAP emails over to MS Exchange to take advantage of ActiveSync. Now, everything syncs to my Outlook 365 account and desktop Outlook.

Sure there are a few things I wish it did better. I'd love a better low-light camera, a stronger GPS signal indoors, a few more native apps to supplement my sometimes slow browser, a Hub dark theme, and maybe BB11... ! Why not? It's a wish list.

Just wanted to share some love for the Classic. I am looking at picking up a backup Classic just-in-case this one has a whoopsie. I want this party to never end. I also want a diet built on cheesecake and craft beers that actually makes me more fit. :/ Well, hears to wishing.

For now, I'll keep right on clicking on this beautiful BlackBerry beast. Long live EOL devices! BB10 and prosper! Thanks for reading!

[BerryRipe]

Love it and I couldn't agree more! I'm using my trusty Q10 but I have a Classic and a PPSE as well that I switch out regularly when I get bored. Thank for the inspiration to keep using BB10, it's hard to not get caught up in the Key2 craze but I do admit I've found myself looking at the Key2.

Posted via CB10

[harvland]

The temptation for the Key2 is sooooo real. Especially when a lot of reviewers compare the keyboard to the Q10 and Classic. That's part of the reason I had to post this now. I have to keep reminding myself of all the reasons I went back. LOL!

Just curious, how would you rank the three phones you have - Q10, Classic and PPSE? It's totally subjective and personal and blah blah blah, but what's your fav?

[Emaderton3]

Isn't the out of date browser a security risk?

[BerryRipe]

Sure it's subjective but the Q10 holds a very special place in my heart, the ultra-compactness and the ability to swap batteries if needed makes it my go-to phone when away from a power source. The PPSE is in a league of it's own but boy o' boy is it BIG, besides I dropped it in water and certain functions don't work 100%. I have thought about selling it to for parts, there's a few threads where people were asking about spare parts for the PPSE. The Classic is a very solid phone, had it been an amoled screen with stereo speakers I would be using it non-stop probably.

Posted via CB10

[harvland]

That's a good ranking. I've lusted over the PP, but never could pull the trigger. My pockets literally might not be deep enough. Regarding the Q10, I used to battery swap with the Curve back in the day. Very handy for traveling. The Q10 looks like a solid device. You've got me searching for Q10 info now. LOL! Cheers for that!

[BerryRipe]

LoL I'll tell you what, I had my original Q10 with verizon and then I lusted for the PPSE and ended up switching to AT&T just to use the Passport. I ended up reading some forum threads here about the Q10 so I searched for the Q10 (GSM) because I missed it so much. I have two Q10 phones in my possession, I figure the CDMA version can be used for parts. Win-win!

Posted via CB10

[BerryRipe]

By the way I paid $600 for the first Q10 and $40 for the second. Maybe I should buy a third.

Posted via CB10

[the_boon]

By the way I paid $600 for the first Q10 and $40 for the second. Maybe I should buy a third.

Posted via CB10

Wtf? Q10 costs $600 when it came out?? As in 600 USD?

[BerryRipe]

Wtf? Q10 costs $600 when it came out?? As in 600 USD?

Yes $600 US dollars +tax. I know...I know, crazy right! To this date that's the most I've paid for a phone ever, I got the PPSE for $300 when BlackBerry had it on sale which is the second highest amount I've spent on a phone.

Posted via CB10

[johnb_xp]

Isn't the out of date browser a security risk?

Most exploits are discovered for the other, more popular browsers.
Safety in (tiny) numbers!

Posted via CB10

[the_boon]

Yes $600 US dollars +tax. I know...I know, crazy right! To this date that's the most I've paid for a phone ever, I got the PPSE for $300 when BlackBerry had it on sale which is the second highest amount I've spent on a phone.

Posted via CB10

And people are complaining about the KEY2 launch price when it packs a hell of alot more features than the Q10 did?? Where was the complaining back then?

[BerryRipe]

And people are complaining about the KEY2 launch price when it packs a hell of alot more features than the Q10 did?? Where was the complaining back then?

Lmao, exactly! People were old school then, now we are just a bunch of complainers. On a more serious note I think BlackBerry folks were just excited about BB10, I would like to hear Kevin's or Bla1ze's opinion about this subject but they will probably not even want to discuss BB10.

Posted via CB10

[Emaderton3]

Most exploits are discovered for the other, more popular browsers.
Safety in (tiny) numbers!

Posted via CB10

Not necessarily the browser but how it communicates and sends info if it is using old protocols.

[m3ach]

Yes $600 US dollars +tax. I know...I know, crazy right! To this date that's the most I've paid for a phone ever, I got the PPSE for $300 when BlackBerry had it on sale which is the second highest amount I've spent on a phone.

Posted via CB10

And BlackBerry wondered why the phones didn't sell well!

Unknown and untested new OS at a vastly inflated price, not to mention the shortage of apps.

Posted via CB10 using my P9982 running 10.3.3.3216

[Ulferini Schusterotti]

I'm even worse. Classic >> KEYone >> Classic >> KEY2 >> Classic.

I wanted to love the KEY2, but the signal strength is a joke. I had the Classic and the KEY2 laying side by side, I couldn't even receive a call on the KEY2 while the Classic was PERFECT.

I am really disappointed that no ******* manufacturer is able to build a phone that's good in making calls. I don't care about ******* Instagram. I want to make CALLS!!! Frustrating.

[elfabio80]

I'm even worse. Classic >> KEYone >> Classic >> KEY2 >> Classic.

I wanted to love the KEY2, but the signal strength is a joke. I had the Classic and the KEY2 laying side by side, I couldn't even receive a call on the KEY2 while the Classic was PERFECT.

I am really disappointed that no ******* manufacturer is able to build a phone that's good in making calls. I don't care about ******* Instagram. I want to make CALLS!!! Frustrating.

Whaaaaaat? You really? I remember till some days ago your pointing to the people who where critic towards the Key2....and now are you back home to BB10? Well...welcome back home!
I am sorry BTW to hear you had signal problem.

The old BB are still super with reference to signal. My iphone SE has sometimes much less signal than my Passport, Leaps and Classic...and I am living in a big German city...not in the countryside...

Posted via CB10

[harvland]

Wow! That's a lot of time setting up devices. I love that the Classic still came out on top. That's awesome!

Since you are one of the few to date that have had hands-on experiences with those three devices, how does the KEY2's keyboard feel in comparison to the Classic and KEYone? Is it better?

* Posted from my beloved BlackBerry Classic

[ezubeBB2013]

I had a Classic for about 12 months before "upgrading" to the KeyOne. Recently, I'd been flip flopping between my KeyOne and my trusty old Classic. After much consideration, I finally made a permanent switch back to the Classic. Why? Because I finally managed to "square" away all of the necessary workarounds needed to use BB10 as my daily driver in 2018. Hopefully this post inspires others to do the same. Keep in mind that this is not an Android vs BB10 sort of thing. The Classic to me is just as close to perfect as a phone can get. Your mileage may vary.

MY KEYONE EXPERIENCE
My first KeyOne lasted a couple months before the screen popped off. The second one, I've used ever since. It's a great phone. It's faster than the Classic, has a better camera, no app-gap, a terrific battery, and is currently supported with updates. All of that is great, but with all that goodness comes a cost. it was larger than the Classic and awkward to type on. I would have thumb cramps and pink pain from balancing this top heavy phone. Sounds weird, right? It is.

The KeyOne would also occasionally freeze-up and have to be reset. Sometimes an app would update and then that app wouldn't work anymore. Or the updates would get stuck in an update cycle and I would have to flush the Google Play Store cache. The most recent bug my K1 had was that the screen would not turn off entirely. It would go black, but the backlight would come back on along with the keyboard backlight. It was frustrating.

In all honesty, I wanted a simpler experience. I was tired of having my day interrupted with YouTube ads and notifications from apps. Toward the end, the only notifications that would alert me were for phone calls, emails, and texts. Everything else was turned off. And on top of all that, the KeyOne was missing the simplicity and efficiency of my beloved BB10 Classic. Simply put, the Classic just GSD.

CLASSIC APP-GAP WORKAROUNDS
So, now that you've read the motivations behind the mobile rollback, you may be inspired to dust off your BB10 device. For that reason, here is a not-so-short list of my app-gap workarounds:
* For Facebook, Twitter, banking, credit cards, PayPal, eBay, Etsy, and DropBox, I use the built-in Browser app. IT's slow at times, but it's livable.
* For navigation, I use either the built in Maps app or sometimes NavFree.
* For YouTube, I use SuperTube. No ads and I can play it in the background with the screen off. Love it!
* For weather updates, I use Umbrella (a fantastic app) * Amazon app ( the pre-installed Android app works just fine)
* For creating PDF's, I use ScanWritrPro. It's not perfect, but it works.
* For wireless printing, I use PrintHand. If I need to print an email, I use Save Email first.
* I never cared for Blend, so I would use either Box or just plug in my phone as a USB Storage Device.
* Other BB apps used include: My Expenses, Headless Torch, Clipman, Browsie Browser, Uncompressor, Dream Sounds for sleep sounds, SoundHound, and sometimes rad.io.
* To save backups of my Classic, I use BlackBerry Link. Although it isn't supported anymore, and won't install on my 2017 Macbook Pro with High Sierra, I am able to run it through a BootCamp install running Windows 10.

LOVE FOR THE CLASSIC
I truly love my Classic. BB10 OS is fast and smooth. I am more productive and more efficient with my classic than I ever was with my iPhone+ fablet or KeyOne. I also don't have to worry about the K1's thumb cramps or pinky pains from balancing a top heavy phone.

The Classic's keyboard fits perfectly in my hand(s), the optical track mouse nubbie thingy, the hip-to-be-square screen, the built-in alerts, the pocketability, and all the BB10 gestures. The suite of apps that come with BB10 are super. I love the Clock/Alarm/Timer, the Hub, the Calendar, the File Manager with Blend, and Remember/Notes. For Remember and Notes to work, I had to switch my email account from IMAP emails over to MS Exchange to take advantage of ActiveSync. Now, everything syncs to my Outlook 365 account and desktop Outlook.

Sure there are a few things I wish it did better. I'd love a better low-light camera, a stronger GPS signal indoors, a few more native apps to supplement my sometimes slow browser, a Hub dark theme, and maybe BB11... ! Why not? It's a wish list.

Just wanted to share some love for the Classic. I am looking at picking up a backup Classic just-in-case this one has a whoopsie. I want this party to never end. I also want a diet built on cheesecake and craft beers that actually makes me more fit. :/ Well, hears to wishing.

For now, I'll keep right on clicking on this beautiful BlackBerry beast. Long live EOL devices! BB10 and prosper! Thanks for reading!

Love to see this passion for BB10 still and if the phone still works for you in 2018 why change!

Posted via BlackBerry Passport

[NikNow]

Hello CEOs, can't you see you got the perfect product with the Classic? Maybe marketing could be done better, but the Classic is still the best experience I ever had. I also switched back from the keyone for all the reasons stated above.
And there is one big plus: the maps app talks to me in english, but pronunses all the street names in the correct pronunciation (i.e. german or italian). Just the way I love it!!!

[s.hasan546]

How did you transfer your texts from your ketone back to the classic?

[harvland]

How did you transfer your texts from your ketone back to the classic?

Yeah...about that...um, I didn't. I was using Pulse on the KEYone. That's a great app with cloud backup and browser access. Unfortunately, it isn't BB10 compatibility. So, they are all still there.

Does anyone know of a way to transfer text messages from Android to BB10?

* Posted from my beloved BlackBerry Classic

[Laramie50]

Loved your post. Just got the KEY2 AND a brand new Classic for 60€ for memory's sake. I had one for quite a while.

[Sammy Singh2]

Loved your post. Just got the KEY2 AND a brand new Classic for 60€ for memory's sake. I had one for quite a while.

I picked a classic up today for 40 Canadian. Beautiful device will always be one of my fav BlackBerry phones

[Jvaf]

I picked a classic up today for 40 Canadian. Beautiful device will always be one of my fav BlackBerry phones

How do I load what's app without the playstore