[gnirkatto]

I'm writing this up mainly for myself, to figure out whether or not I'll keep the K2 that I received a week ago. Maybe helpful/of interest for others too, so I'm doing it here. I'll focus on the things that matter to me, and won't go over everything in a review-like fashion, as there is sufficient information out there already.

Like:

• significantly improved reception.Some may remember, I ran this thread on the K1 reception problems, where I tested 7 K1s, and all performed miserably under equal conditions: https://forums.crackberry.com/blackb...l#post13098191
• The K2, with the same sim, at the same location with still bad signal, performs way better than the K1. It is on par or even better than all other phones that I tried out. Good.
• I like the K2 being lighter & thinner than the K1, and the grippier back.
• I like the keys better, with the exception of the space key - see below.
• Speed much improved, no lag or stutter under normal (not overly challenging) conditions.
• Screen, loudspeaker ok-ish for day to day tasks, I'm not too demanding in that regard.

SW Bug?

• So far, I only found one, will update if I discover more. I always turn night mode on, from 5pm to 6am. I also have auto brightness on. Whenever night mode kicks in, screen brightness goes back to zero. I can manually move it back up to a level that I like, but this is kinda annoying.

Dislike

• Like many others have found, the space key is really wobbly, and not on par with the quality of the rest of the keys. So far, I have not experienced any problems, except very few times that pressing it did not register, but I think this might be the fault of my sloppy typing, rather than the wobbly key. Will have to keep a closer eye on this. Anyway, the wobbling is a concern. It does definitely not feel like the key will last very long...hope I'm wrong about that.
• The symbols (,;:. etc.) on the keys: oh my god. They were not printed in the same thickness as the letters, but got applied in a very tiny, see-through like fashion. Also, there seems to be no option to increase the backlight strength for the keys. So this works fine at daylight conditions, but beware of dim lit areas or night hours. OK my eyes might not be the best, but I compared with the Classic and with the 9900 that I still own: symbols were printed in the same manner as the letters, and are very well visible under absolutely all conditions. Some may say, I will get used to where the symbols are located. This might be true for , and . but for others, less frequently used, I won't, and will have to guess, or trial & error, or use the symbols on screen display (which cannot be the point of a PKB). I consider that as extremely non-ergonomical and user unfriendly. Why the h*** did they NOT design it in the proven to be good old BB way?
• I don't fully understand the excitement about volume, convenience & power keys being all on one side now. For me that is awful: I'm carrying my phones in my left hand, as I'm right-handed. So I'm constantly unintentionally pushing the power button, as my index or middle finger rest on it, which turns the screen on. So I very much preferred it to be on the left side, where it never ever got pressed without me wanting it. Also, my thumb easily found it. 3 keys on one side, is quite error-prone, because despite the power key being textured, and in order to be sure to press it rather than any other one, I have to kind of sense first, or look. Or just try, and sometimes hit the wrong one.

Basically, I want this to be a keeper. However, the invisible symbols drive me crazy. And, I'm very concerned about the space key. I usually replace my phones in a ~6 months interval, and sell the older one to achieve a good price. What if it gets wobblier or breaks? I'm still horrified about the support & service experience that I made with BBMo when I wanted to get some of their previous BB phones fixed: sometimes no communication at all, sheer ignorance, then MANY weeks of not having the phone, or long & pointless discussions about SW debugging attempts of incompetent agents when there was clearly a HW problem. Etc. I know, all phones may break, in case of the K2 I'm currently lacking confidence that it will last as long as nothing unusual happens, and I mistrust their service & support structures, based on bad experiences that I made.

I think I need more therapy to figure out what to do.

[Kraeutermann]

I mean that's partly the point of a physical keyboard that you don't have to look at the keyboard and touch type. The light sensor on my Passport is broken, so I cannot see the keyboard at all at night, haha.

Posted via CB10

[gnirkatto]

I mean that's partly the point of a physical keyboard that you don't have to look at the keyboard and touch type. The light sensor on my Passport is broken, so I cannot see the keyboard at all at night, haha.

Posted via CB10

So it's OK that you don't see what's printed on the keys? Why do all keyboards since typewriter times show their letters & symbols then?

[Kraeutermann]

So it's OK that you don't see what's printed on the keys? Why do all keyboards since typewriter times show their letters & symbols then?

So you can learn to touch type.

[mhw100]

So true about the invisible symbols and in general dimmly lit kb. It's a quandary this is where they wound up after using the 9900 as a reference.

Similarly it's incomprehensible how they thought users would be satisfied with that space bar.

In any event I'm forcing myself to ignore the $900 (including tax) device's inadequacies with the hope software can fix the fingerprint recognition and other issues. Overall I think its worth keeping.

I appreciate I'm going to have to listen to a loose space bar but have ordered 2 more units to pick the best of the litter.

Finally, I'm sticking with Rogers for now since I refuse to deal with substandard service from TCL as you outlined. Rogers will send me a new unit if the space bar falls off.

[Mike-Mike]

i also don't understand why everyone wants all the buttons on one side, i like them separated

[mvsalvino]

I'm of the same opinion regarding buttons, all on the same side seems dumb to me, but everyone keeps raving about how much better it is. I guess I'll have to see for myself in person.

I'm also curious about the symbols. Could you post a close-up picture of the keyboard?

[gnirkatto]

I'm of the same opinion regarding buttons, all on the same side seems dumb to me, but everyone keeps raving about how much better it is. I guess I'll have to see for myself in person.

I'm also curious about the symbols. Could you post a close-up picture of the keyboard?

I just tried to take a picture of the keyboard in a dark room - but it doesn't work to underline my point. The camera is more sensitive to dynamic ranges than the human eye. While I no longer see the symbols, every picture I take shows them clearly.

Now before someone blames me to being visually impaired: go try yourself, if you have a chance. Go to a dark room, and turn on the screen/KB lights. I bet many of you will find the symbols hard to see (not so the numbers, as they were printed much bigger). Now imagine a stressful & busy situation in a dim area: not being sure about which key is the right one to press might become annoying very quickly.

[gnirkatto]

Here is an attempt to show why I'm dissatisfied with the readability of the symbols on the K2's keyboard. Lights not turned on, because of the problem outlined in my previous post. But I think you'll get the point. Even the stone old Nokia E72 does it better!

[Mike-Mike]

all of those phones look supercool. why dont i remember that Nokia, what year was that?

[gnirkatto]

all of those phones look supercool. why dont i remember that Nokia, what year was that?

I think my E72 is ~10 years old, but I'm not sure!

[Resilience]

reception and WiFi signal are much better than the keyone

[Mike-Mike]

I think my E72 is ~10 years old, but I'm not sure!

October 2009 apparently:

https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e72-2831.php

trying to remember what I had back then, it must have been a Bold 9000:

https://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_bold_9000-2370.php

followed up by the Style:

https://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_style_9670-3326.php

and then the HTC Arrive as my final keyboard:

https://www.gsmarena.com/htc_arrive-3556.php

but to your point, I think they all had the symbols clearly readable, I do not have my Key2 yet, so I will have to wait until Friday until I can see if it is an issue for me