2 day impressions from a non BB/keyboard die hard

Originally Posted by yujinn

Most reviews are about KeyOne and itself- against itself, so it gives the impression of a glowingly positive review. For example, most of them imply that having such specs (625) is forgivable since the phone was meant for business stuff and not for media consumption and gaming and at the same time save battery life. But did they elaborate on how it actually performs in other tasks? Nope.

The 625 has been used in other phones. One of the prime examples is the Moto Z Play (and Play Droid). There are a number of high usage folks who use that phone as a "daily driver". A couple of reviews have even put the Z Play into comparison as to whether the roughly $100 gap between those two is worth it for the similar core internals.

I think most of the blog/journalist reviews have steered clear a bit of the performance issues because they have "pre preproduction" software. There are more a few reviews that noted that the performance substantively changed in the last 24-48 hours before the reviews came out. The software hasn't been fully baked for most of the period that these folks had the devices.

These initial end user reports are on the that first iteration of performance tuned release. The phone isn't for sale in the vast majority of the world. (maybe there is another tuning iteration coming? Probably).

the 625 is based on ARM's Cortext A53 design. Its primary design purpose is high efficiency. If you want 'fast' and battery dead by 7-8pm then the A53 isn't the right choice. Benchmarks aren't really needed to find that out. It is not a computational performance bragging device.

It sounded like they're apologizing for the phone since its the only one that has a PKB and the intended market was the business-types anyway.

it is primarily intended for people who want to get work and stuff done. There is no need to apologize for that.

@raqball: Wonderfull finding.... Haha :-D

So, I will skip this Review from a reviewer that is more focussed on try & Review. And others get his used devices then.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by Bostil1987

@raqball: Wonderfull finding.... Haha :-D

So, I will skip this Review from a reviewer that is more focussed on try & Review. And others get his used devices then.

More like try something you don't expect to like so you can at least get the satisfaction of posting a negative review.

Originally Posted by chain13

This kind of thread will always get more tomatoes. We all know that K1 is not S8, of course it stutters oftenly. It's just a midrange phone targetted for productivity. Because not everyone need flagship, some of them just need an ok phone with pkb and some blackberry suite apps (that are mostly free on playstore). But they don't mind buy it with flagship price.

Most midrange phones will not stutter tbh. Midrange phones 2-3 years ago would but nowadays they don't have this issue.

Whats your OS build OP? I think all but a few people have AAK build and that is sluggish compared to the AAL build which fixes some memory management issues.

You ought to return under warranty for a full refund makes more sense that putting it for sale if it's as bad as you say, why stick others with what might be another defective phone. If you sell it on line you'll pay seller fees and some postage for a loss.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by gilroyneil

Hi,

There are too many posts to comment /answer each... So here is some more detail which may be useful:


Battery life. 2 days isn't enough to know but I assume it's great. Standby drain seems excellent.

Camera. It might be good, unsure. The camera UI isn't the best but beyond that I cannot comment.

As for why I bought it.... I have owned lots of devices and was intrigued. I like the idea of a PKB more than I do the reality.

As for whether or not I have a defective unit. No I very much doubt that I do.

And if I had to list positives it would be a short list. For the money there are far better Android devices. The PKB is the only reason to consider the phone.

No doubt PKB+camera+battery life+form factor and BlackBerry name are the reasons.... So what aren't enough? You seems to be slab guy

Originally Posted by ltoncb

The 625 has been used in other phones. One of the prime examples is the Moto Z Play (and Play Droid). There are a number of high usage folks who use that phone as a "daily driver". A couple of reviews have even put the Z Play into comparison as to whether the roughly $100 gap between those two is worth it for the similar core internals.

I think most of the blog/journalist reviews have steered clear a bit of the performance issues because they have "pre preproduction" software. There are more a few reviews that noted that the performance substantively changed in the last 24-48 hours before the reviews came out. The software hasn't been fully baked for most of the period that these folks had the devices.

These initial end user reports are on the that first iteration of performance tuned release. The phone isn't for sale in the vast majority of the world. (maybe there is another tuning iteration coming? Probably).

the 625 is based on ARM's Cortext A53 design. Its primary design purpose is high efficiency. If you want 'fast' and battery dead by 7-8pm then the A53 isn't the right choice. Benchmarks aren't really needed to find that out. It is not a computational performance bragging device.




it is primarily intended for people who want to get work and stuff done. There is no need to apologize for that.

Just to clarify before people start making more asinine leaps of logic.

The reviews all state, including Fisher himself, the KEYone performance was not as snappy as the Moto Z, which uses the same 625.

The camera also is not the same nor is it close to the pixels, despite what people want to believe.

But hey, there are folks around here who kept trying to say the dtek50, arguably one of the cheapest and low end of the low end phone's, had a camera that was "slightly below" the iPhone 6...only in CB land.

Originally Posted by gilroyneil

Hi all, thanks for the (general) support. I am posting this here as this forum isnt only frequented by people with blind faith.

My reactions to the device are based on using lots of devices and not thinking that a PKB trumps all other aspects - especially for a £500 device. It's entirely possible that someone reading this will sacrifice some other aspects of the device in order to have a PKB - which is fine. If that's you, be happy. It's not a bad device at all - in fact it's actually quite decent but it doesn't exist in a vacuum. If you get time go and try a Pixel or a One Plus 3T or a Moto Z Play of even the latest Moto G with 3GB ram and tell me how the KeyOne performs.

In the Android world, specs matter. This isn't iOS sadly and CPUs, fast storage, more RAM all make tangible differences.

As for a few people incorrectly stating that all reviews have been positive... Really? I'd say this device got a very good set of reviews but there are lots which point out very valid issues. A few podcasts have mentioned that the performance was dreadful before the launch patch. If that's true... What has CBK been using all this time since MWC? I love the guy's passion but......

Seems you are questioning CBK credibility, he's definitely a BlackBerry diehard however he did move on like so many because apps for BB10 weren't available. If he said he's overall pleased with the KEYOne then I believe him. I think you've crossed the line Sir.

No real issues with unit being slow but then I've just used for email, calendar, WhatsApp, browsing, Google Maps and Uber. It's not as buttery smooth as the Pixel but I don't know any other Android phone that is as smooth as a Pixel (maybe Google can sprinkle some of their Pixel magic a little more widely?).

I have had a couple of points where the calendar kicks me out to main screen when I twist between vertical and horizontal a few times and change the view but assume this will get ironed out in the next few months as I assume it is slightly new software.

I haven't got the hang of using the keyboard as a "swiping" pad and still tend to poke at the screen. That said the swipe left to delete a whole word is very handy and addictive - a bit like when they introduced the scroll wheel on a mouse...

I agree that coming to Android from ios is a little different but after a while you kind of get used to it. It took me a few weeks of using Android to just used to it and now I understand why ios seems "boxed in" but also why ios is considered smoother etc. That said I had the most recent ios on an iPhone 6 and I found it considerably slower and it "stuttered" far more than any Android I have recently used (S6/S7/Pixel/Keyone).

Keyboard is lovely for me. It can be faster on a virtual keyboard but I personally find accuracy is lower and I personally hate having to keep an eye on what comes out and then correcting rather than just letting the thoughts stream and muscle memory do the rest. I would be very surprised if anyone would get bruised thumb tips from using a Blackberry and especially a Keyone. Keyboard is a little soft but not too soft and I am starting to appreciate it a lot more - I initially preferred the Classic keyboard but now am not so sure. A little more height would be nice/more comfortable but I guess a trade off for a decent sized screen. If they plugged the Classic keyboard onto the keyone "untouched" and I think it would be perfect for me.

I've also just typed all of the above on a KeyOne in bed. Not sure I could do that on any other phone without considerably more typing effort...

This is far out of the bell curve of reviews. I am skeptical. But wary of what to expect ...

OP, i thought you are bit harsh on CBK. you know what CB means? by default, he would be on crack side for the BB. You also know you are visiting and posting on HIS website? of course CB is a fan site for BB, like minded group together. As for your love for the other phone and spec, check this and tell me if she is the most beautiful of all? Not for me... I rest my case. Perfect Female Face - Business Insider

Originally Posted by BB_PP

this is the most hated review so far. what about Camera? battery life? voice quality? fingerprint scanner? compact design?

Posted by Passport SE killed by Whatsppp

Nothing to say here except that's not a compact phone. Phones are too big these days

Originally Posted by raqball

I give reviews like this one zero credibility...

I am all for fair reviews be they positive or negative but when someone has nothing good to say it raises eyebrows...

We have all had phones we didn't like but I assume could still find positive things to say about them. This review is heavily biased and negative which makes me wonder if the phone is really even in hand..

I did not like the iPhone 7 but along with the negatives, it did have things I liked. I do not generally like Samsung phones but again, there are some things on them I like..

This review is terrible and holds absolutely zero credibility in my opinion. Had it been a fair post that listed positives and negatives that would be a different story.

Meh, nothing to see here, moving on..

Since when is an impression being a review?

The OP basically just said that he's not impressed by KEYone. Maybe just because he does not really need that nice-looking PKB (I haven't​ tried it), which is actually the selling point of KEYone at the first place.

If you have another impression, just write it down in another thread. ;)

Originally Posted by donnation

These types of reviews should be posted more often. I plan on buying the phone, but the rave reviews in here like this phone is the second coming of all Android phones gets a little ridiculous. Yes this is a BlackBerry fan site, but there should be a little more balance in what people say about this phone. I don't have any doubts that there is going to be some stuttering with this phone. The Priv has better internals and still lags even with the updates they have issued to the Hub. Its just going to be something that you either choose to deal with or not.

Yep. I might get one. But it really comes down to how much I want a PKB. There's just no way with a mid range processor it's going to be quite as smooth as a pixel for example. But that's fine. It's not why one would get this phone.

Thanks OP.

Originally Posted by ltoncb

There are more a few reviews that noted that the performance substantively changed in the last 24-48 hours before the reviews came out. The software hasn't been fully baked for most of the period that these folks had the devices...

Yeah. This sort of seems familiar with BlackBerry. Always a race against the clock as the first adopters have software issues. I think nowadays will so many good phones which come out so polished, this kind of repeat behavior does not help BlackBerry.

It does not deter me. But lots of people just return something if they have any substantial startup issues.

Originally Posted by gilroyneil

1st impressions after 2 days. I have lots of Android/ios devices and have owned a Z10, Q10 and PRIV in recent years.

Slow. This is a mid range device and feels like it. During setup the lag was insane. Afterwards it's just a normal stuttering android experience circa 2015. The software update was applied soon after initial setup. Normally performance is just about "OK" but every so often it all stops for a few seconds. This isn't ideal at all and is miles off the experience on my Moto Z and my Pixel. It's not unusable nor is it terrible but don't kid yourself that this feels like a high end Android. It doesn't at all.

Keyboard. Hard to say much here. I owned a Pearl and a PRIV. I'm much slower on physical than virtual and 1 handled use is impossible with this thing. YMMV. Scrolling etc is OK in some apps and stutters in others. I also frequently hit the capacative home key which is too close to top of the keyboard. And the auto-correct suggestions are crazy.... Why does it sometimes insert a different word to the one I select?

Screen. Not great. Washed out look and slight blur when scrolling. Better screens don't do this. Most apps work/look fine on this resolution though.

Software. Hate the launcher and the Hub. Rest is fine.

Value for money. Really hard to be objective here and I assume that only die hard keyboard fans would consider this BUT it has barely OK performance now... I cannot imagine how this will perform in 2 years? For the money it should have better specs than this especially with the heavy BB apps and services that run.

I'm returning or selling mine. It's quite simply not a very good Android device. There are far better options if the keyboard isn't your primary concern. I shouldn't have bought it and I should have realized that before buying but maybe this post will be useful to someone else.

Ya I dunno what to make of your review.

Originally Posted by Moon_Man

When you don't like physical keyboards (and are slower typing with that), nor the Blackberry launcher and the hub, why did you buy it in the first place?
Right!
Sent from my  BlackBerry Passport™

Originally Posted by mod9

True. The fact that he has/ had other Android phones plus an iPhone does give his opinions/ experience validity in my opinion.

The problem is that he posted in a "BlackBerry" fan site. He was never going to please about 95 percent of the people.

Thank you for the review OP, I am glad I have gone with the S8+.

Posted via CB10

Actually the problem is that it is being compared to the s8 and Iphone. Those are top of the line flagships and the KeyOne is not that.
I too have an iPhone 7 and galaxy s8+ and of I'm expecting the KeyOne to be as snappy then I'm really setting myself up for dissapointment

Originally Posted by HabsSuck

How do you know it's an honest review?

It's human nature to question something when it's contradictory to the majority of the reviews heard to date

How do I know the majority is honest in their review?

Originally Posted by miketko

Actually the problem is that it is being compared to the s8 and Iphone. Those are top of the line flagships and the KeyOne is not that.

But the price is just..

Originally Posted by miketko

Actually the problem is that it is being compared to the s8 and Iphone. Those are top of the line flagships and the KeyOne is not that.
I too have an iPhone 7 and galaxy s8+ and of I'm expecting the KeyOne to be as snappy then I'm really setting myself up for dissapointment

Unfortunately any new device coming to the market will be judged against the top of the line Samsung devices and the iPhone. These are the new titans in the industry and that's just the way it is at the moment.

The Keyone was not marketed to compete against them and was geared towards the enterprise sector and the PKB faithful. I think at 549.00 US it's a good price and should appeal to the limited market it was designed for.

Myself, I have the funds already set aside and will buy one the day it becomes available here in the US. I am excited about getting the K1, putting it through its paces and posting my review on the CB forums.

Originally Posted by raqball

I give reviews like this one zero credibility...

I am all for fair reviews be they positive or negative but when someone has nothing good to say it raises eyebrows...

We have all had phones we didn't like but I assume could still find positive things to say about them. This review is heavily biased and negative which makes me wonder if the phone is really even in hand..

I did not like the iPhone 7 but along with the negatives, it did have things I liked. I do not generally like Samsung phones but again, there are some things on them I like..

This review is terrible and holds absolutely zero credibility in my opinion. Had it been a fair post that listed positives and negatives that would be a different story.

Meh, nothing to see here, moving on..

My thoughts exactly, not to mention I'm not a fan of posting your review after 2 days of use and still under a week of use.

I am slowly reading/watching the reviews CB posted and while they aren't all glowing they discuss the good and some of the bad instead of just bashing the device. I too am moving on from this thread.

This is interesting, I read a post by someone coming from another Android phone, first time BB user and his first comment was how fast it was amongst other positives, as usual, horses for courses!