[slagman5]

Hey guys, sorry, been super busy these last few days, but just wanted to pop in and report some potentially disappointing things about the KEYone hands-on while trying to get some things answered. But remember that the units we got to try at these meet-ups are actually older than the ones at Barcelona, and they have confirmed another hardware revision before it's final.

So first, everyone was wondering about the stereo sound. Now it was loud in there but I tried to listen as well as I could. Here is what I found out, sound only comes out of the right grill, like the Classic... I even tried turning it landscape to see if the earphone part becomes the left speaker in stereo, and didn't hear anything. Now before we all groan, they have said, outright and in writing, that it will have stereo speakers. Now I don't think they are willing to outright lie, so there's a chance that the final retail units would not be the same... So for that reason, I'll have to say stereo speakers are unconfirmed. Won't say for sure they won't be there and won't say for sure they will.

Another thing asked was the FCC ID. I think because these are preproduction units never intended to be used as a personal device, I looked where it usually would say it and it didn't have it at all...

And last disappointing discovery, a lot of people asked about the front flash, and the specs say that it does, but the wording in the full specs got me worried. They called it a front "LCD" flash... Hm... usually the flash on phones are LED, not LCD, so I had the sneaking suspicion they were merely talking about it using the screen as a flash. Tried it at the meet-up, and my suspicion was confirmed. "LCD flash" simply means the screen lights up and illuminates you. Now, personally I couldn't care less about taking selfies, but obviously the majority of people do not feel the same way so this is an important feature. Obviously a LED flash would have been better, but that screen honestly gets pretty darn bright when it is used as a flash. Worked when we tried it at the meet-up which didn't have the best lighting. And the 8MP camera helped as well. I think it should be fine.

Now, I only focused on the few disappointing things I found in this thread, there are plenty of positive things I've already mentioned. And also keep in mind the hardware isn't final so some of these things might change. But just to end it on a high note, I tried out the clickiness of the keyboard side-by-side with my Classic (before I didn't do it directly back and forth so couldn't say more than "it felt good" when asked about that) and I can say it was pretty much identical to my Classic in clickiness, which is great BTW. :-)

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

[Carjackd]

Thanks for clearing this up Slag, none of the above concerns are not really a deciding factor for me.


Regardless , let's see what the final product brings

[thurask]

Another thing asked was the FCC ID. I think because these are preproduction units never intended to be used as a personal device, I looked where it usually would say it and it didn't have it at all...

https://blackberrymobile.us/compliance/

The BBB100-1 is 2ACCJN016 and the BBB100-3 is 2ACCJN017. I'm assuming that makes the BBB100-2 the non-North America model. Also, note that the FCC identifier is 2ACCJ (TCL) and not L6A (BlackBerry).

[DroidBerryGuy]

Thanks for your honesty. It is refreshing.

[slagman5]

https://blackberrymobile.us/compliance/

The BBB100-1 is 2ACCJN016 and the BBB100-3 is 2ACCJN017. I'm assuming that makes the BBB100-2 the non-North America model. Also, note that the FCC identifier is 2ACCJ (TCL) and not L6A (BlackBerry).

Awesome, thanks, ToniCapri(sp?) and I think one other person wanted me to check on the phone itself during the meet-up.

[slagman5]

Thanks for your honesty. It is refreshing.

Well, there were a few people who have recently claimed that I am one of those "BB can do no wrong" people, but I'm not. I'm just genuinely excited about the KEYone. There definitely are some bad things about it, the front flash thing I kind of saw coming, but luckily it's not one of my priorities. The stereo sound thing would be a major bummer if the final phone doesn't have it and I'll be the first one here asking how they could advertise it as such. But we'll wait and see about that. I also have mentioned that I would have liked the overall keyboard height to have been slightly taller, a few millimeters in total phone height wouldn't make much of a difference. But the keyboard is still very good despite this. I've also expressed that I think 4GB of RAM would have been much better to have, but oh well...

[DroidBerryGuy]

I agree. There are downsides. That's why I keep asking for more information and detail on the camera. It has been ominously left out of most of the marketing for whatever reason. Just hope we aren't in for a let down.

[BB-JAM215]

Slagman, thanks for clearing up some of the information about the K1 and pointing out that these meet-up units are not the same build as those shown in Barcelona.

Let's hope TCL can get the final version done and get at least some of the carrier support they need in place by the end of April.

[keyboardweeb]

and I can say it was pretty much identical to my Classic in clickiness, which is great BTW

Sold. Again.

[TheBirdDog]

Thanks Slagman!

I hope it has better stereo speakers but, if they are both on the bottom (which, by the look of the design, I think is a safe assumption), I don't know that it would make that much difference. As long as it has a decently loud and clear sounding speaker, it won't make too big of a difference. The best sounding device ever was the Z30 with the stereo coming from the top and bottom of the device. Perhaps the DTEKs rival that but with both speakers on the bottom, it's not possible, I think. The way I see it is that it's mostly used for speakerphone and communications anyway. Media (music or movies) is going to sound better through a headset or bluetooth speakers regardless.

Anyway... this wouldn't be a deal breaker if it didn't; just a nice bonus if it did.

[mrfreeze]

Thanks Slagman.

The only part that would be annoying for me is the stereo speakers.

[europolska00]

Hey guys, sorry, been super busy these last few days, but just wanted to pop in and report some potentially disappointing things about the KEYone hands-on while trying to get some things answered. But remember that the units we got to try at these meet-ups are actually older than the ones at Barcelona, and they have confirmed another hardware revision before it's final.

So first, everyone was wondering about the stereo sound. Now it was loud in there but I tried to listen as well as I could. Here is what I found out, sound only comes out of the right grill, like the Classic... I even tried turning it landscape to see if the earphone part becomes the left speaker in stereo, and didn't hear anything. Now before we all groan, they have said, outright and in writing, that it will have stereo speakers. Now I don't think they are willing to outright lie, so there's a chance that the final retail units would not be the same... So for that reason, I'll have to say stereo speakers are unconfirmed. Won't say for sure they won't be there and won't say for sure they will.

Another thing asked was the FCC ID. I think because these are preproduction units never intended to be used as a personal device, I looked where it usually would say it and it didn't have it at all...

And last disappointing discovery, a lot of people asked about the front flash, and the specs say that it does, but the wording in the full specs got me worried. They called it a front "LCD" flash... Hm... usually the flash on phones are LED, not LCD, so I had the sneaking suspicion they were merely talking about it using the screen as a flash. Tried it at the meet-up, and my suspicion was confirmed. "LCD flash" simply means the screen lights up and illuminates you. Now, personally I couldn't care less about taking selfies, but obviously the majority of people do not feel the same way so this is an important feature. Obviously a LED flash would have been better, but that screen honestly gets pretty darn bright when it is used as a flash. Worked when we tried it at the meet-up which didn't have the best lighting. And the 8MP camera helped as well. I think it should be fine.

Now, I only focused on the few disappointing things I found in this thread, there are plenty of positive things I've already mentioned. And also keep in mind the hardware isn't final so some of these things might change. But just to end it on a high note, I tried out the clickiness of the keyboard side-by-side with my Classic (before I didn't do it directly back and forth so couldn't say more than "it felt good" when asked about that) and I can say it was pretty much identical to my Classic in clickiness, which is great BTW. :-)

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

Thank you for the post. I had noticed the LCD flash and right sided speaker at the Toronto meet up. I was a bit disappointed as I was hoping for speakers like my old Passport or Z30. Both devices had excellent speakers.

I was hoping that this was the case with the speakers because they were pre-production devices. I've noticed GSM Arena lists stereo speakers. Where did TCL say in writing that KEYone would have stereo speakers?

[ray689]

Thanks Slagman.

The only part that would be annoying for me is the stereo speakers.

Agreed to a degree but as someone mentioned a bluetooth speaker will beat any phone speaker anyways.

[mrfreeze]

Agreed to a degree but as someone mentioned a bluetooth speaker will beat any phone speaker anyways.

Well yeah, but I'm not always carrying my Bluetooth speaker around.

[slagman5]

Agreed to a degree but as someone mentioned a bluetooth speaker will beat any phone speaker anyways.

Well, duh, and any HDTV you can connect your phone to would be better than any phone's screen but you still want your phone to have a nice screen... :-P

[ray689]

Well yeah, but I'm not always carrying my Bluetooth speaker around.

Yes that's true. I guess there would be situation where no other options exist beyond the phone.

[JAS0NB0URNE]

Thanks Slagman.

The only part that would be annoying for me is the stereo speakers.

Ditto.

Posted with my  Classic

[gebco]

None of what you're reporting dampens my enthusiasm for the phone. These are minor points.

[ray689]

Well, duh, and any HDTV you can connect your phone to would be better than any phone's screen but you still want your phone to have a nice screen... :-P

I'm just saying if you want good sound, a phone is never the best. And just as your example with an HDTV, no matter how good a phone screen is I would prefer to watch a movie on the TV. So a not so perfect phone screen is still manageable just as not so perfect stereo sound on a phone.

[sling]

Thanks Slagman.

The only part that would be annoying for me is the stereo speakers.

I use a LG V20 for work, it's considered a Premium phone, but it only has one speaker on the bottom. Not a deal breaker for me.

[mrfreeze]

I use a LG V20 for work, it's considered a Premium phone, but it only has one speaker on the bottom. Not a deal breaker for me.

Yep. Not a deal breaker for me, just slightly annoying.

[slagman5]

I'm just saying if you want good sound, a phone is never the best. And just as your example with an HDTV, no matter how good a phone screen is I would prefer to watch a movie on the TV. So a not so perfect phone screen is still manageable just as not so perfect stereo sound on a phone.

I never said it's a deal breaker, but just said that it would be nice to have...

[BigBadWulf]

I'm more concerned with volume, and if the final production mimics the Barcelona hardware, then we're there. While my Z30 had amazing sound out of it, you still couldn't get a true stereo effect, with the speakers so close.

Front flash being LCD also is quite acceptable for me. If I was truly concerned about selfies in the dark, well I'd probably have a camera man, and make a lot more quid.

[ray689]

I never said it's a deal breaker, but just said that it would be nice to have...

I know. I agreed.

[BB-JAM215]

... I've noticed GSM Arena lists stereo speakers. Where did TCL say in writing that KEYone would have stereo speakers?

There's nothing about speakers or stereo in the specifications on the BlackBerry Mobile site.