[Adam Matlock]

I am creating this thread to answer questions for anyone who is thinking about buying the classic but is on the fence. Hopefully I can offer some insight for prospective buyers. I've been using it for the last two and a half weeks. My thoughts --- I love it.

Posted via CB10

[Alain_A]

glad to read

[BLAZEDv3]

Are you coming from a 9900? I so far dislike the "hold key for shortcuts" on 10.3.1.
I was hoping they would implement a similar system used in BBOS7 where most keys had instant shortcut capabilities when pressed and holding them down would complete a speedial. For universal search you simply press "S" and then start typing instantly to perform your quick action.

Having to hold down a key for 2 seconds is time consuming and disrupts the flow of this amazing OS. I hope BlackBerry brings the true classic capabilities back in a future update or at least third party apps like Shortcutme or Quicklaunch make it to BB10.

Posted via CB10

[evodevo69]

How does it compare to the q10 size wise? Are you finding it a bit cumbersome to take out with you on social outings?



Posted via CB10

[AmritD]

Are you coming from a 9900? I so far dislike the "hold key for shortcuts" on 10.3.1.
I was hoping they would implement a similar system used in BBOS7 where most keys had instant shortcut capabilities when pressed and holding them down would complete a speedial. For universal search you simply press "S" and then start typing instantly to perform your quick action.

Having to hold down a key for 2 seconds is time consuming and disrupts the flow of this amazing OS. I hope BlackBerry brings the true classic capabilities back in a future update or at least third party apps like Shortcutme or Quicklaunch make it to BB10.

Posted via CB10

Yes u had the option to choose between universal search and instant actions in BBOS. Unfortunately most people prefer this. It's like u get the best of universal search and instant actions. U can just start typing to bring up the search and hold down keys for speed dials or commands that u have set. People used universal search more that instant actions so for most of them typing S and then to start searching would have killed the flow. But adding that option wouldn't hurt I am sure. Hopefully in a future update they add it back. It's always better if you let the user choose

Q5 SQR100-3/10.2.1.3442

[Adam Matlock]

I never actually used the 9900. I had several older generation Blackberries, my last being the Pearl, then BB10. I have owned the Q10, Z10, Z30, Passport and now the Classic. I agree. The hold time is too long to be an effective shortcut key. It should be instantaneous. Maybe this would be good feedback for BlackBerry to try and make it better for future software updates. It's a nice feature but in the time it takes for the shortcut, I can pretty much swipe and tap the icon anyway.

Posted via CB10

[Adam Matlock]

How does it compare to the q10 size wise? Are you finding it a bit cumbersome to take out with you on social outings?



Posted via CB10

The size comparison actually isn't that bad. The Q10 is definitely compact and slightly lighter. I might would notice a size difference if I wasn't moving to the Classic from the Passport. It definitely doesn't feel cumbersome compared to that. The keyboard is better than the Q10. It's snappier and has more of a "click" to it. The increased screen size and brighter display definitely make it a more enjoyable experience than the Q10, especially with 10.3.1.

Posted via CB10

[Heinz Katchup]

Can you disable the keyboard back light?

Posted with X10 via CB10

[Alain_A]

Can you disable the keyboard back light?

Posted with X10 via CB10

I checked and it seems that you cannot

[BBUniq01]

The size comparison actually isn't that bad. The Q10 is definitely compact and slightly lighter. I might would notice a size difference if I wasn't moving to the Classic from the Passport. It definitely doesn't feel cumbersome compared to that. The keyboard is better than the Q10. It's snappier and has more of a "click" to it. The increased screen size and brighter display definitely make it a more enjoyable experience than the Q10, especially with 10.3.1.

Posted via CB10

Ur reasons are what drove me to ordering the Classic. I want a Bold like feel with the OS10.

Posted via Q10 with 1154

[gqmovement]

Yo,

looking to move back to blackberry. Been with 9000, 9780, 9900, Q10 then a few andoriods atm. Really craving the phone, but need a few items cleared.

How are some of the non-native apps run? (Instagram, snapchat, soundhound,)
Also, I want to run a lot more of the productivity apps (evernote, documents2go)
Also, with bb taking down Flash player on the new OS, does this impact a lot of the apps/websites?? How does it run?

Much helps, thanks.

[blueyestm]

Are you coming from a 9900? I so far dislike the "hold key for shortcuts" on 10.3.1.
I was hoping they would implement a similar system used in BBOS7 where most keys had instant shortcut capabilities when pressed and holding them down would complete a speedial. For universal search you simply press "S" and then start typing instantly to perform your quick action.

Having to hold down a key for 2 seconds is time consuming and disrupts the flow of this amazing OS. I hope BlackBerry brings the true classic capabilities back in a future update or at least third party apps like Shortcutme or Quicklaunch make it to BB10.

Posted via CB10

I'm betting they implemented this because there is no way to turn off assistant - had that been an option we wouldn't have to hold the keys down.

[VeryBumpy]

I'm betting they implemented this because there is no way to turn off assistant - had that been an option we wouldn't have to hold the keys down.

Doubt that. BB Assistant is launched with the mute and microphone key shortcuts already, no reason they can't use the S key and remove the 'hold' part.

[blueyestm]

The whole point of assistant though is you start typing and it starts to search like on BBOS but on BBOS you had the option to turn that off on the keyboard.

[Adam Matlock]

I will try to answer this as best as I can.

Non-Native Apps - I have never used SnapChat, Evernote or Soundhound before, but I decided to download them so I could give you an answer.
SoundHound - I tested it for audio playback and for finding songs. I fired up a song or two on youtube and it picked it up no problem. The interface works well. The only issue is getting the songs to play. I am no expert but when I tried to click on the "play" button on songs, it was giving me issues: either wouldn't play, or would play but was choppy and sounded like crap. Typically, the first song I clicked on the front page would work no problem.
-SnapChat - I tried this out once on my Z30 a long time ago and it always gives you "this app requires google services" window when you open it, buy you just have to tap off to the side. I installed it on the Classic today and it seems to work, the only concern I had previously was that it wasn't so great at trying to add captions to photos, but you can send/receive photos with no problem.
-Instagram - I downloaded it just so I could give you a review... Instagram seems to work REALLY well. I tried it before on my Q10 and Z30 when running an older version of BB10 and it was laggy/choppy, and slow. It seems to run very quick and fluid now. The only thing that you will have an issue with is that the screen is not big, so you will have to scroll up and down to see the entire picture. Other than that, works great!

Productivity -

- Evernote - There is a native Evernote app and it seems to work well. It comes preinstalled with 10.3.1, but I have always deleted it. I just finally fired it up and it seems to work with no issues.

- Docs2Go - It works well enough but it's no office suite. You can open and create XLS and DOC files seamlessly, as well as editing them. It's better than the experience on the q10 because of the added screen size. However, I don't ever use it so I can't offer more than "it works well and it is a good substitute for the real thing."

Flash - Personally, I am pissed off that they do not support flash player any longer because I felt like it was one of the great features that BB10 had to offer that other phone platforms didn't. Not that HTML5 isn't better... it doesn't do anything for me right now. However, in practicality, I almost never run into an issue with this and if I do, I just hop on the computer. So, personally - irritating, operationally - not a big draw back.


Hopefully this helps!

[Christian Brunette]

Hi my name is Christian, and I have plenty of questions? But first off I'd like to thank you giving us the opportunity to reply. My questions are very intuitive regarding this device the blackberry classic, and if you can answer in the next 12hrs I would greatly appreciate it.

1) coming from a Samsung Galaxy s4, LG G2, blackberry Z10 blackberry curve storm storm2 and so on. Does this phone truly feel like a heavy premium phone?

2) do the materials used look and feel premium

3) can you tell me if the blackberry classic comes with or has a Gorilla Glass 3 screen?

4) how is the charging and battery in this phone over moderate use? And does it charge fast?

5) last question? Is the screen at 720x720 under 294PPI pixaly or choppy hard to read in anyway, considering it's not even a 720P hi def resolution display.

[Adam Matlock]

Hi my name is Christian, and I have plenty of questions? But first off I'd like to thank you giving us the opportunity to reply. My questions are very intuitive regarding this device the blackberry classic, and if you can answer in the next 12hrs I would greatly appreciate it.

1) coming from a Samsung Galaxy s4, LG G2, blackberry Z10 blackberry curve storm storm2 and so on. Does this phone truly feel like a heavy premium phone?

2) do the materials used look and feel premium

3) can you tell me if the blackberry classic comes with or has a Gorilla Glass 3 screen?

4) how is the charging and battery in this phone over moderate use? And does it charge fast?

5) last question? Is the screen at 720x720 under 294PPI pixaly or choppy hard to read in anyway, considering it's not even a 720P hi def resolution display.

1. Yes, the phone definitely feels like a heavy, premium phone. I like the weight, others have commented that it is "too" heavy, but I don't think I have heard a single person say that it doesn't feel/look quality. My impressions are that it looks professional, sleek, and definitely gives the look and feel of a quality built device.

2. Yes. It's made very well and has heavy, quality materials in it.

3. It comes with Gorilla Glass 3.

4. The charging and the battery are excellent. It is better than all of the devices that you listed with the exception of the G2. It's probably on par with that. I had a G2 before and it would get me from 5am - 11pm and have about 17-20% battery left at the end of the day. The Classic, gets me from 5am - 11pm with about 40% left, which is good. However, I am not a multimedia fiend and I don't really play games. I use mine for texting, crackberry, email, and browsing the internet.

5. The resolution and screen is great! I had my concerns with the 294ppi, but you can't tell at all. With the 1-to-1 aspect ratio, everything looks sharp and crisp, and especially bright! If you used the Q10 or the Z30 before with the super amoled screen, then this is light years better (in my opinion). I always hated that even with the brightness turned all the way up that it still looked dark and dull. To me, this is probably the best screen to-date on a Blackberry and I love it! Not one ounce of graininess or blur; sharp and great presentation!

Hopefully I answered all of your questions. Please feel free to let me know if you have any more questions.

[VeryBumpy]

1) coming from a Samsung Galaxy s4, LG G2, blackberry Z10 blackberry curve storm storm2 and so on. Does this phone truly feel like a heavy premium phone?

2) do the materials used look and feel premium

3) can you tell me if the blackberry classic comes with or has a Gorilla Glass 3 screen?

4) how is the charging and battery in this phone over moderate use? And does it charge fast?

5) last question? Is the screen at 720x720 under 294PPI pixaly or choppy hard to read in anyway, considering it's not even a 720P hi def resolution display.

1+2, yes looks and feels very premium
3 yes
4 battery last 14-16 hrs for my 150 email, 6 phone call day; fully charges in ~3.5 hrs or less
5 I find the screen outstanding but then I'm coming from a Curve

[MFBB2012]

This was just the thread I was looking for! I've had the 9900 and the Q10 and loved both for the keyboard. I have been watching reviews and reading through forums because I don't know if I should buy the classic or the passport. Both devices seem good in their own way, and each device has its pro's and con's.
To me the look of the classic is more appealing, but I've read so much more positive things about the passport than the classic. I have no idea which one to choose. Anything special I should consider prior to purchase?

[Adam Matlock]

This was just the thread I was looking for! I've had the 9900 and the Q10 and loved both for the keyboard. I have been watching reviews and reading through forums because I don't know if I should buy the classic or the passport. Both devices seem good in their own way, and each device has its pro's and con's.
To me the look of the classic is more appealing, but I've read so much more positive things about the passport than the classic. I have no idea which one to choose. Anything special I should consider prior to purchase?

Honestly, it all depends on what you're looking far. I can tell you this much, since I own both of them, that the BB10 experience works just as well on both of them. Personally, I hardly use any android apps or play games so the specs don't matter at all. Even when I have downloaded android apps through amazon or snap, they both work pretty much the same. Here are the highlights for me for both phones:

Passport:
Love the 13mp camera
Love the speakers/sound
Keyboard - nice, but more gimmicky than useful. Only swipe for text prediction
Battery Life = insane
Native BB10 experience - more buggy and less optimized but overall good
Bugs - lots of bugs, OS version and support felt rushed. However, it has gotten slightly better since release.
Hardware Build - excellent and quality build. The back of the phone will leave you curious as to the lack of design, but it belongs in a case so no big deal.
Wow Factor - this will definitely get attention and have people asking questions
Daily Use - demands 2 handed operation for almost everything. Large for pockets.

Classic:
8mp camera is more than adequate. Not as good as Passport though
Speakers/sounds - definitely not high end, but puts out lots of volume and works well.
Battery - more than enough to get you through an entire day. Much better than Z10 and Q10. Not as good as passport or Z30, but still a great battery!
Keyboard - Best BlackBerry keyboard ever, IMO
Native BB10 experience - Best yet! Feels like this phone was made for BB10, and vice versa. No bugs or issues. Snappy and very impressive, especially for the specs
Hardware Build - solid, quality build. Looks great! Unexpectedly heavy for the size of the phone but not necessarily bad. Feels like made well. Looks professional.
Wow Factor - none really because it looks so much like the bold that people won't even realize it's new.
Daily Use - easy to hold and use one-handed. OS is surprisingly quick and snappy!

All in all, if you want to live large and have a great conversation piece for your phone with a new, hybrid keyboard and an excellent phone for Internet, media and communication, passport is your phone. If you want the "classic" blackberry experience that will allow you to browse the Web, multi-task like a champ with added efficiency because of the tool belt and enjoy youtube and be able to handle social media and play a few games every once in a while, go Classic. They can both do the same things, they are just geared slightly in different directions. You just need to evaluate what you want in a phone and decide whether you want a huge screen with top-of-the-line specs or a "blackberry" screen with business specs.



Posted via CB10

[gqmovement]

I will try to answer this as best as I can.

Non-Native Apps - I have never used SnapChat, Evernote or Soundhound before, but I decided to download them so I could give you an answer.
SoundHound - I tested it for audio playback and for finding songs. I fired up a song or two on youtube and it picked it up no problem. The interface works well. The only issue is getting the songs to play. I am no expert but when I tried to click on the "play" button on songs, it was giving me issues: either wouldn't play, or would play but was choppy and sounded like crap. Typically, the first song I clicked on the front page would work no problem.
-SnapChat - I tried this out once on my Z30 a long time ago and it always gives you "this app requires google services" window when you open it, buy you just have to tap off to the side. I installed it on the Classic today and it seems to work, the only concern I had previously was that it wasn't so great at trying to add captions to photos, but you can send/receive photos with no problem.
-Instagram - I downloaded it just so I could give you a review... Instagram seems to work REALLY well. I tried it before on my Q10 and Z30 when running an older version of BB10 and it was laggy/choppy, and slow. It seems to run very quick and fluid now. The only thing that you will have an issue with is that the screen is not big, so you will have to scroll up and down to see the entire picture. Other than that, works great!

Productivity -

- Evernote - There is a native Evernote app and it seems to work well. It comes preinstalled with 10.3.1, but I have always deleted it. I just finally fired it up and it seems to work with no issues.

- Docs2Go - It works well enough but it's no office suite. You can open and create XLS and DOC files seamlessly, as well as editing them. It's better than the experience on the q10 because of the added screen size. However, I don't ever use it so I can't offer more than "it works well and it is a good substitute for the real thing."

Flash - Personally, I am pissed off that they do not support flash player any longer because I felt like it was one of the great features that BB10 had to offer that other phone platforms didn't. Not that HTML5 isn't better... it doesn't do anything for me right now. However, in practicality, I almost never run into an issue with this and if I do, I just hop on the computer. So, personally - irritating, operationally - not a big draw back.


Hopefully this helps!

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH.

All sounds perfect. As for Soundhound, i never hit the play, just want the tracks ahah.
But as for SNapchat & Instagram that sounds good. I know i had issues when running in before on the Q10, but I guess they really stepped it up since you can now do the APK and all.

Again, thank you very much for trying them out.

[MFBB2012]

Honestly, it all depends on what you're looking far. I can tell you this much, since I own both of them, that the BB10 experience works just as well on both of them. Personally, I hardly use any android apps or play games so the specs don't matter at all. Even when I have downloaded android apps through amazon or snap, they both work pretty much the same. Here are the highlights for me for both phones:

Passport:
Love the 13mp camera
Love the speakers/sound
Keyboard - nice, but more gimmicky than useful. Only swipe for text prediction
Battery Life = insane
Native BB10 experience - more buggy and less optimized but overall good
Bugs - lots of bugs, OS version and support felt rushed. However, it has gotten slightly better since release.
Hardware Build - excellent and quality build. The back of the phone will leave you curious as to the lack of design, but it belongs in a case so no big deal.
Wow Factor - this will definitely get attention and have people asking questions
Daily Use - demands 2 handed operation for almost everything. Large for pockets.

Classic:
8mp camera is more than adequate. Not as good as Passport though
Speakers/sounds - definitely not high end, but puts out lots of volume and works well.
Battery - more than enough to get you through an entire day. Much better than Z10 and Q10. Not as good as passport or Z30, but still a great battery!
Keyboard - Best BlackBerry keyboard ever, IMO
Native BB10 experience - Best yet! Feels like this phone was made for BB10, and vice versa. No bugs or issues. Snappy and very impressive, especially for the specs
Hardware Build - solid, quality build. Looks great! Unexpectedly heavy for the size of the phone but not necessarily bad. Feels like made well. Looks professional.
Wow Factor - none really because it looks so much like the bold that people won't even realize it's new.
Daily Use - easy to hold and use one-handed. OS is surprisingly quick and snappy!

All in all, if you want to live large and have a great conversation piece for your phone with a new, hybrid keyboard and an excellent phone for Internet, media and communication, passport is your phone. If you want the "classic" blackberry experience that will allow you to browse the Web, multi-task like a champ with added efficiency because of the tool belt and enjoy youtube and be able to handle social media and play a few games every once in a while, go Classic. They can both do the same things, they are just geared slightly in different directions. You just need to evaluate what you want in a phone and decide whether you want a huge screen with top-of-the-line specs or a "blackberry" screen with business specs.



Posted via CB10

Thank you for explaining the difference between the two devices.

when I bought the Q10 it felt a bit like I was going back in time. If that makes sense? It felt like an old phone, but I loved the keyboard.

I now have the 6plus and note 4, but I feel like something is missing. To me, a keyboard makes such a big difference as I use my phones for texting, what's app, viber etc. And let's be honest, Apple and Samsung can not compete with blackberry when it comes to email. So those two are the main reasons to why I want to go back to BB.

I have not seen the classic or the passport in real life, so I've only googled them to try to compare the two but it is difficult to decide, especially when it comes to the passport and it's size.

If the passport had the classic keyboard it would have been a simple choice because of the specs that comes with it. Is the keyboard something that you get used over time? to me it looks a bit odd.

[Adam Matlock]

Thank you for explaining the difference between the two devices.

when I bought the Q10 it felt a bit like I was going back in time. If that makes sense? It felt like an old phone, but I loved the keyboard.

I now have the 6plus and note 4, but I feel like something is missing. To me, a keyboard makes such a big difference as I use my phones for texting, what's app, viber etc. And let's be honest, Apple and Samsung can not compete with blackberry when it comes to email. So those two are the main reasons to why I want to go back to BB.

I have not seen the classic or the passport in real life, so I've only googled them to try to compare the two but it is difficult to decide, especially when it comes to the passport and it's size.

If the passport had the classic keyboard it would have been a simple choice because of the specs that comes with it. Is the keyboard something that you get used over time? to me it looks a bit odd.

Yeah, you definitely get used to the keyboard over time. You have what I like to call "phantom alt-key syndrome" for a while, because you always want to hit the alt-key for symbols, and switching from pressing the physical keys to the touchscreen while typing takes some getting used to (different pressures and such). It took me several days to really start getting comfortable with it and it takes much more force to press the keys down than the Q10 or the Classic. After about a 3-4 week break in period, it feels much more natural and the keyboard gets broken in. All in all you will get pretty fast at it but the 4-row on the Classic, is still faster and more enjoyable. It feels much more natural to me. Not to downplay the Passport keyboard, because it is excellent, I just favor the Classic keyboard better.

Posted via CB10

[slagman5]

I will try to answer this as best as I can.

Non-Native Apps - I have never used SnapChat, Evernote or Soundhound before, but I decided to download them so I could give you an answer.
SoundHound - I tested it for audio playback and for finding songs. I fired up a song or two on youtube and it picked it up no problem. The interface works well. The only issue is getting the songs to play. I am no expert but when I tried to click on the "play" button on songs, it was giving me issues: either wouldn't play, or would play but was choppy and sounded like crap. Typically, the first song I clicked on the front page would work no problem.
-SnapChat - I tried this out once on my Z30 a long time ago and it always gives you "this app requires google services" window when you open it, buy you just have to tap off to the side. I installed it on the Classic today and it seems to work, the only concern I had previously was that it wasn't so great at trying to add captions to photos, but you can send/receive photos with no problem.
-Instagram - I downloaded it just so I could give you a review... Instagram seems to work REALLY well. I tried it before on my Q10 and Z30 when running an older version of BB10 and it was laggy/choppy, and slow. It seems to run very quick and fluid now. The only thing that you will have an issue with is that the screen is not big, so you will have to scroll up and down to see the entire picture. Other than that, works great!

Productivity -

- Evernote - There is a native Evernote app and it seems to work well. It comes preinstalled with 10.3.1, but I have always deleted it. I just finally fired it up and it seems to work with no issues.

- Docs2Go - It works well enough but it's no office suite. You can open and create XLS and DOC files seamlessly, as well as editing them. It's better than the experience on the q10 because of the added screen size. However, I don't ever use it so I can't offer more than "it works well and it is a good substitute for the real thing."

Flash - Personally, I am pissed off that they do not support flash player any longer because I felt like it was one of the great features that BB10 had to offer that other phone platforms didn't. Not that HTML5 isn't better... it doesn't do anything for me right now. However, in practicality, I almost never run into an issue with this and if I do, I just hop on the computer. So, personally - irritating, operationally - not a big draw back.


Hopefully this helps!

Hey, you know there is a native soundhound app for BB10 right?

Posted without the aid of AutoCorrect with my physical keyboard via CB10

[Adam Matlock]

Hey, you know there is a native soundhound app for BB10 right?

Posted without the aid of AutoCorrect with my physical keyboard via CB10

I do, yes. That is the one I was referencing. I just accidentally put it under the wrong header. Thanks!




Posted via CB10