[James Falconer]

Full disclosure, KEYone owner here. Simply wondering what the first impressions have been from any Motion owners out there. Like many of us around here, I need to have one of everything, so am considering picking up a Motion.

Any feedback or first impressions you have, would appreciate it!!

[FishhPoohh]

I am pleasantly surprised on how well the build quality of my BlackBerry Motion is. I was expecting it to feel cheaply made. Instead it has this premium build quality. Phone feels good in my hands.

I've been extra careful with it since I'm still waiting on the clear case and my wood grain skin to arrive. It has a glass screen protector on it but it doesn't cover the whole screen. I think I'll have Ghost Armor applied to it this weekend

[jackcarr]

I've had it for several weeks. I like it. It's solid and gets the job done. Battery life for my usage is fantastic. I no longer have a need to have a charger with me wherever I go. It's sufficiently fast, although, I did speed it up a tad by turning on developer options and reducing the animations to .5 from 1. That was a trick I used on my Priv. I got a thin black hard case which makes the whole package a black slab with a BlackBerry logo at the bottom.

[melhiore]

In my case it is simple. SHOCKED!! In the good way. I was however using Moto G4 Plus so far so really Motion is much, much better in everything... Build quality is fantastic, screen is amazing. Sound quality for me is OK however I would not call myself audiophile. Phone is fast and does what I need. Looks great, feels great, it is just great. I'm in love actually... It is good to be back on Blackberry...

[Elky64]

Owned mine since mid-November. Can't seem to put it down and use it tons more than any phone I've had since early 2000s.

Pros:
- Battery
- Fingerprint scanner (best I've ever experienced)
- BB Software
- Call quality
- Build (adorned w/film screen protector and Incipio DUALPRO case)

Cons:
- Convenience key/power button locations (still getting used to them)
- "The Chin" (I'm use to it now but some will find it off-putting)
- Camera**

**In the beginning wasn't overly impressed with day-shots (fully anticipated poor night time pics), then about 3-weeks ago we noticed most pictures taken during the day or well lit areas were considerably better. Since nothing changed in how we took pictures, nor did we alter setting (99.9% auto), finding the improvements seen unexplained yet welcomed. Still not a great camera but now appears to do an acceptable job on a more consistent basis - for me it does.

When it comes to performance finding it does the job just fine, haven't been inundated with stutter or lag - have a few phones that rival so can compare. I'm no gamer and usually keep up on the maintenance end of things which surely helps. So far hasn't missed a beat and we're lovin' it.

[MPdeH]

I have it since release. absolutely awesome device. feels very premium. battery life is unparalleled. I sometimes miss the physical keyboard

[Pistooli]

I have it since release. absolutely awesome device. feels very premium. battery life is unparalleled. I sometimes miss the physical keyboard

Interesting... I am back to BB after almost two years and got the K1 because the pkb. After a day I wish I went for the Motion.

[outoftheice]

I'm on day 1 with the motion after having traded in my PRIV. The thing that shocked me is that the 'swipe up and right from the home button' gesture that was used to access the hub from any app on the PRIV is not available on the motion. You have to physically press the home button and then press the hub icon. What a huge step backwards this is in term of productivity. I might as well be using an iPhone. I'm shocked that this hasn't been a more controversial move with reviews from Crackberry raising big red flags over it. Honestly having a big session of buyers remorse right now over the loss of that one feature alone. It feels like every "upgrade" I've made from my Blackberry 10 phone has been a step back in terms of productivity.
Okay, phew, rant over

[MPdeH]

Interesting... I am back to BB after almost two years and got the K1 because the pkb. After a day I wish I went for the Motion.

Funny. I went from PRIV to Motion because I did not want to sacrifice screen estate for a pkb. But while I truly love the Motion, I am really missing that authentic BlackBerry feel of a keyboard. I think I will wait for the KEYtwo

[Pistooli]

Funny. I went from PRIV to Motion because I did not want to sacrifice screen estate for a pkb. But while I truly love the Motion, I am really missing that authentic BlackBerry feel of a keyboard. I think I will wait for the KEYtwo

Since you mentioned... after a day I am also thinking about going the same route, namely change it to the Motion. But will try the KeyOne for week first.

[Niallac]

Got my GSM Motion, on Vodafone UK (LTE) about a week ago. First Android phone since a 2011 Sony Ericsson unit. I have come to Motion via Z10, Z30, Passport, Classic and Q10.

First impression is that it is good, very good. The specification is just about right for a productivity phone, which is what I need. The interface and keyboard are not as polished as BB10, but given the additional capabilities of full Android, the great camera, and the good battery life (1.5 days heavy use, 3 days very light use), I am impressed. The speaker is disappointing next to the BB10 devices, but that is probably due to water/dust-proofing.

For anyone thinking of coming to Android from BB10, Android devices have come a long way since 2013. The interface is decent, the Hub works OK. Probably the only viable option for ex BB10 folks, I have recent iOS experience and I find the messaging there is still fragmented and difficult to manage.

[AdamQwert]

The first impression unfortunately not really good. And the main reason for it is Android.
Android - horrible, non intuitive OS.

[Elky64]

The first impression unfortunately not really good. And the main reason for it is Android.
Android - horrible, non intuitive OS.

Understandable if you've never used it before or came from another platform, has a learning curve for sure. Back when I started using Droid felt similar but not so now and find it very intuitive. So much tweak-ability that it can be customized for ones needs. It's definitely for those wanting more self-control over their OS.

[AdamQwert]

Understandable if you've never used it before or came from another platform, has a learning curve for sure. Back when I started using Droid felt similar but not so now and find it very intuitive. So much tweak-ability that it can be customized for ones needs. It's definitely for those wanting more self-control over their OS.

Well..yes, and no )
Actually if you know, for example about CMS WordPress - this is very similar to Android.
You have the extreme mass schiza about this CMS, but in fact this is just a "barn" and it would take an impressive amount of resources to make from it something more then just a "barn".. if you understand )

[melhiore]

Well..yes, and no )
Actually if you know, for example about CMS WordPress - this is very similar to Android.
You have the extreme mass schiza about this CMS, but in fact this is just a "barn" and it would take an impressive amount of resources to make from it something more then just a "barn".. if you understand )

I don't get your analogy. I know about CMS. But Android is as good as any operating system. It is different to you've used but is very decent piece of code...

[scrannel]

So, been sorting and setting up for three or four days. It wasn't love at first sights, as going from the elegant Z30 to this slab was disappointing. But liking more and more each day. With the help of the BBerry inspired Android.

[Bearcatrp]

Coming from the iPhone 6 Plus, the motion is a very well made phone. Reminds me of my old iPhone 4. Built strong. Last android I had was the Evo so it’s been awhile. Apple screwed the pooch with iOS 11 and still expect folks to believe their BS story, not me. Was praying the motion would come to the USA, Am dam glad it did. I don’t need the fastest phone out there, I want a smooth functioning phone all around and solid hardware. Only 4 days with mine but will say this, this is a solid phone. Very smooth with apps. Don’t have stuttering like with my iPhone 6 which was due to iOS 11. Android may not be the most secure OS but I don’t like my hands tied because apple doesn’t think you need it. Android gives you more control than apple. Will take me awhile to get back into android but well worth it. So far, am loving every minute with my motion. Got mine unlocked so don’t have a carriers BS add ons to drag the phone down. Have owned one B.B. before. Am glad I’m back.

[ntrev_cb]

Finding the Motion very frustrating, having used a BlackBerry since they were pretty much pagers and latterly BB10. This is the best of a bad job, and is nowhere near as good as the logical, intuitive BB10 OS. It's just a sticking plaster on top of a disjointed mish mash of Android apps. There's a huge way to go to catch up to BB10, BlackBerry powered by Android is a poor substitute. I'm looking at Windows at the moment, which I was forced to use for Work for a while, but would never consider iPhone given Apple's arrogant disregard for it's customers.

[Bearcatrp]

Your still stuck on the past. Yes, BB rocked back in the day. It’s a new B.B. with android and nothing can be done to change it. Just have to learn the new way or move on to something else.

[Bee Gee]

Coming from the iPhone 6 Plus, the motion is a very well made phone. Reminds me of my old iPhone 4. Built strong. Last android I had was the Evo so it’s been awhile. Apple screwed the pooch with iOS 11 and still expect folks to believe their BS story, not me. Was praying the motion would come to the USA, Am dam glad it did. I don’t need the fastest phone out there, I want a smooth functioning phone all around and solid hardware. Only 4 days with mine but will say this, this is a solid phone. Very smooth with apps. Don’t have stuttering like with my iPhone 6 which was due to iOS 11. Android may not be the most secure OS but I don’t like my hands tied because apple doesn’t think you need it. Android gives you more control than apple. Will take me awhile to get back into android but well worth it. So far, am loving every minute with my motion. Got mine unlocked so don’t have a carriers BS add ons to drag the phone down. Have owned one B.B. before. Am glad I’m back.

The iPhone 6 Plus is almost 4 years old. Did you try replacing the battery? I’m sure you’ve heard about the throttling issue with iOS 10.2.1 and newer with older batteries.

You’re comparing apples to oranges, no pun intended. Comparing a 2014 phone to a 2017 one isn’t fair. The iPhone 8 or X will wipe the floor with the Motion in just about every aspect of a smartphone, except maybe battery life. Even the 6+ with a new battery would likely do the same.

[the_boon]

The iPhone 8 or X will wipe the floor with the Motion in just about every aspect of a smartphone, except maybe battery life.

Well, battery IS the first thing a smartphone needs, as it makes everything tick.

The Motion wipes the floor with the iPhone X in terms of battery. So at least it's got that going for it. Oh and if someone really wants a FP scanner instead of face ID. Other than that, of course almost any iPhone with A9 chip or newer is superior.

[quizm]

I'm on day 1 with the motion after having traded in my PRIV. The thing that shocked me is that the 'swipe up and right from the home button' gesture that was used to access the hub from any app on the PRIV is not available on the motion. You have to physically press the home button and then press the hub icon. What a huge step backwards this is in term of productivity. I might as well be using an iPhone. I'm shocked that this hasn't been a more controversial move with reviews from Crackberry raising big red flags over it. Honestly having a big session of buyers remorse right now over the loss of that one feature alone. It feels like every "upgrade" I've made from my Blackberry 10 phone has been a step back in terms of productivity.
Okay, phew, rant over

I completely agree with you. The Blackberry launcher on the priv and also on DTEK series is a second best launcher when compared to bb10 hub, but it works well. A home button on a BlackBerry seems out of place.

[Bearcatrp]

Why should I have to replace my battery, at my cost, for apples mistake? iOS 11 screwed millions of iPhones. There is a reason that android doesn’t keep updating older phones to the latest os. But they do still take care of security updates. You want the latest security updates for iPhone, you have to upgrade to the next update. Apple does not update just security updates on older phones. They push you to the next OS. The processor in the latest phones are mediocre at best compared to other phones. As I stated, I don’t care for a speed deacon cell phone. I want smooth operation. Not shuddering, hiccups, or crashes, which iOS 11 brought to millions of iPhones. Instead of fixing iOS 11, apple wants the owners to pay for a battery to possibly fix their mistake. From what I have read from other iPhone 6 owners, a new battery gave it only a little better fix. Your welcome to keep drinking the apple coolaide and fund a business that just screwed over millions of users. I moved on. When all these lawsuits come to trial, you will see apple get put in their place and pay the price for screwing over the customers. Now if apple would have given me the option to revert back to prior os before 11, could have stayed on to see how it played out. But no, apple refuses to allow that.

[sgt_sid]

Been using BB for ages. I had the Curve, Bold, Torch, Playbook, Z10, Z30, Priv and now Motion. Was not really expecting much from the Motion because I know it's a mid-range phone but I was pleasantly surprised. I have it for three weeks now.

What I like:
-> BAAATTTTEERRRYY - I only have to charge it every other day. I use a lot of social media apps, no games, e-mails, a lot of video streaming, online radio app runs for about 6hrs a day
-> IP67 rating
-> built is really solid
-> fingerprint scanner (this is my first phone with FS and it felt like I've missed out a lot)
-> type C usb port
-> 'boost mode' when charging (just takes 1.5 hr to charge to full power)
-> smooth OS experience
-> convenience key (I set this to open Hub)
-> blackberry apps and security features

What I don't like that much:
-> camera. it could be improved. I really like the rear camera of my Priv
-> the placement of the side buttons. SERIOUSLY.
-> the chin
-> no built-in FM radio (however it's mentioned in their website)
-> the back cover is ok but would have preferred if it's the same as keyone's
-> sometimes the screen could be too reflective
-> the shape of the phone looks weird at first but you'll get used to it
-> home button makes it look unique but could be more functional. I wish I could use it as a proper trackpad just like Priv's PKB.

0verall I'm happy with this phone. BlackBerry for life!

[outoftheice]

I'm on day 1 with the motion after having traded in my PRIV. The thing that shocked me is that the 'swipe up and right from the home button' gesture that was used to access the hub from any app on the PRIV is not available on the motion. You have to physically press the home button and then press the hub icon. What a huge step backwards this is in term of productivity. I might as well be using an iPhone. I'm shocked that this hasn't been a more controversial move with reviews from Crackberry raising big red flags over it. Honestly having a big session of buyers remorse right now over the loss of that one feature alone. It feels like every "upgrade" I've made from my Blackberry 10 phone has been a step back in terms of productivity.
Okay, phew, rant over

After two weeks with my Motion, I felt it only fair to provide an update on my initial rant because I have come to really enjoy the phone and would encourage anyone who is on the fence about getting this phone to take the plunge and do it.

The Incredible:

As has been mentioned on here by others, the battery life is incredible. Honestly, the battery life alone should be reason enough for people to switch to the Blackberry Motion. I never realized how much charging my phone controlled my behaviour day to day until I was freed from worrying about it.

I use my phone mainly for communication.... emails, texts, social media and surfing the web. My typical one hour morning routine of going through all of my accounts, reading the paper online and checking in on various websites etc... would typically drain the battery on my Priv to around 80%. The same routine on the Motion takes me down to 94%.

Usually I take my phone off the charger at 8am and get through an entire day, an entire night and then a second before having to stick it on the charger around 6pm (and even then, only if I'm planning to go out for the evening and return sometime after 11pm). This has also been with me purposely doing more with my Motion than I usually would (such as playing games for an hour over lunch and streaming music to blue tooth speakers) just to try and test the battery life.

In comparison, my Priv would have to be back on the charger by 6pm the same day if I was planning on going out again for the evening because otherwise it wouldn't last much past 8pm (about 12 hours off the charger). There is honestly something strangely exhilarating about going to bed without having to plug in your phone and knowing that the next morning you'll wake up and still get a full day's use out of it at the office, regardless of what your day throws at you.

On top of the battery life, something else that has been mentioned before is the great quick charging capabilities of the USB-C so that even if you need to top up your battery, you can be back up to 50% in around 30 minutes and again, thanks to the amazing battery life of the Motion that may last you around 12 hours.

Honestly, if you're using a z10, z30, dtek or Priv (and you're not attached to the physical keyboard) and use your phone as a productivity tool/communication device and are thinking about upgrading to the Motion or waiting to see if a future all-touch Blackberry comes out, upgrade to the Motion because of battery life alone. I don't think you'll regret it (and who knows when, if ever, we'll see another all touch BlackBerry device).

Based on my recommendation, a friend of mine traded in his iPhone 6 for a BlackBerry Motion (his first BlackBerry since he owned a z10) and he loves it because of the battery life and having the Hub (he grumbles about Android, but I can't blame him, so do I).

The Good:

Personally, I really like the look and the feel of the Motion. It feels like the typical quality device I've come to expect from a BlackBerry (and I was especially pleased since this is my first TCL BlackBerry). I really like the quality of the display. One bonus from having such an amazing battery.... to try and stretch the battery life of my Priv, my screen was always turned down to about 1/3 brightness. It meant that although the phone had an incredible display, I never really took full advantage of it and if I pulled my phone out in bright sunlight, I could barely see what was on the screen. With the Motion, I'm able to keep screen set at 2/3 brightness which means it always looks visually pleasing, even in bright sunlight. Reviewers may nitpick over the quality of phone displays but the Motion is the first phone I've had since my Torch where I can keep the screen bright all the time and it honestly makes a huge difference in the perception of display quality.

I've also come to appreciate the specs on this phone. A word of warning, I'm not a big gamer and the ones I do play tend to be ones that don't require heavy duty lifting from a phone's specs. That being said, my Priv had the tendency to stutter or hang when using/loading certain Apps. Google Play Music would crash on a regular basis. I've had absolutely none of those issues with the Motion and it has been a pleasant change. The only thing I've seen that comes close to the issue I had with my Priv was when I was streaming a TV episode from an aircraft's onboard entertainment system and the audio lagged slightly and the images occasionally jumped. This easily could have been an issue with the entertainment system itself, no clue. All in all the phone's upgraded internal specs over the Priv has made for a noticeably smoother experience.

The Motion also comes with a built in File Manager and honestly it's been nice to have. I don't use it much, but it was something I missed on my Priv. I'm happy they kept the multi-colour LED notification light (although purple and cyan won't display for whatever reason and Android makes it a bit more difficult to choose unique colours for different notifications ie: SnapChat will always flash yellow unless you download a third party app to over-ride it). The fingerprint scanner works well too. Great for security minded folks. The forward facing camera (with the ability for a 'flash') is also a nice improvement over the one on my Priv, especially in low light. Improvements have also been made to some of the BlackBerry apps which are welcome such as a much easier way to link the same contact from different accounts. (although this may be available on all Android powered BlackBerry's through updates and I just haven't noticed). Last but not least, the set of headphones that come with the Motion are great quality which was a pleasant surprise.

The Just Okay:

There are two areas of weakness with this phone that I hope will be improved in the next generation of BlackBerry but honestly aren't deal breakers for me. The first is the rear facing camera. The reviews are accurate, it's not great in low light situations. I would definitely say a step down from my Priv in that regard. However as I already mentioned, the forward facing camera is a step up. I guess it depends on what you use your phone for. For my social media snaps and the occasional selfie, it works great and is not a deal breaker. I would also say that just like the display, having an amazing battery life boosts the value of the camera. On a day out playing tourist with my Priv I would also keep an eye on the battery when it came to taking pictures and begin to do mental calculations between how much longer I would be out before I had a chance to charge my phone and how desperately I wanted to take multiple pictures. With the Motion I just snap away which has resulted in me using my phone more for photos even though those photos my be a slightly worse quality.

The second area of weakness is the phone's speaker. Volume is no issue (my wife was frequently telling me to turn it down because it was distractingly loud even though she was in another room on the opposite side of our condo) that being said the mid-range of the speaker when it comes to playing music or watching movies seems weak. One review I read described the sound as a bit 'tinny' and I think that kind of sums it up well. Again not a deal breaker (especially for those who tend to use headphones or blue tooth speakers) but the external speakers on my Priv had a noticeably better sound quality.

In all honesty, I'm okay with having mid-range specs in order to get superior battery life but I feel that having a slightly better quality camera and external speaker would have a marginal impact on battery life but would bring this phone to as close to a 10/10 as possible even if it did add a little bit to the cost of the phone (I got my for free by renewing on a 2 year plan anyways so cost isn't as much of a factor for me as it may be for others).

The Bad:

In terms of the bad, this gets back to my initial rant. I miss the swipe gesture to access the Hub but after two weeks with the phone I've adapted to accessing the Hub in a different way and don't notice it as much. I think the worst part of the phone is that it just has ways of reminding me just how amazing BlackBerry 10 was in terms of a productive operating system and how BlackBerry 10 features that were dumped on by reviewers several years ago are now being adopted into iOS and Android in a slightly less elegant fashion and being heralded as amazing features by those same reviewers.

I know BlackBerry 10 is dead and gone but the worst part of owning a BlackBerry Motion is the nostalgia I feel for what was arguably the best operating system I've ever used. That being said, the world runs on apps now and the benefit of having access to the apps of Google Play far outweighs the nostalgia I feel for the days of BlackBerry gone by.

One final grumble as well. I really like the appearance of the back of the phone however the material is a bit slippery when holding the phone. Speaking to the salesperson at the carrier store when I got my Motion he said the week before a customer had also gotten the Motion and it slipped out of his hand and went flying across the store the first time he picked it up off the counter. Thankfully in a testament to the quality of the phone, there was absolutely zero damage but the slippery back has made me a bit more paranoid holding my phone (I've never used a case and I don't plan to start now).

Final Thoughts:

So in summary, if you're an all touch BlackBerry user who has been thinking of upgrading to the Motion, I encourage you to do it. If you're an Android or iOS power user when it comes to communication/productivity I would also encourage you to try out the Motion based on battery life alone. The power of the Hub as a universal inbox is also an amazing bonus to boot but I recognize this is also available to Android users with other phones. It really is an amazing feeling to do two hours of live tweeting from a public hearing and see everyone else in the room run for a wall plug to charge up their phones the second the hearing is done while you slip your phone back in your pocket and go on your merry way with another day's worth of battery life remaining.