How well would Passport handle my heavy task load?
- Hello all,
I am a very longtime member of Crackberry (my username got changed when everything was combined) and I have a few general questions about the Passport. I figured this was the best place to ask.
For Background, I have had every Blackberry device back to the Curve, had my own small business BES, etc. I still have my 9900 but the keyboard recently went crazy (again) and I am tired of replacing it. I had a Q10 but I didn't like it because it just took too much effort to do my main tasks and the apps weren't mature (headless issues, API issues, etc.). A few years ago I got away from it (lured by iPhone then Android). Latest two phones are Note II and Note III. I use my phone for business all day, every day--it is my main phone. I have read every review and comment on the internet I can find about the Passport. I am on AT&T (since before it was AT&T), but I pay for my phones outright because I don't like all of the tricks AT&T uses to fleece me. I have five lines. I have so many chargers, batteries,cases, holders, stands, etc. it is ridiculous.
So, here is what I do with my Note III:
Calls. Maybe 3 hours a day. I use a Bluetooth headset for most (Plantronics Edge).
Email. Check throughout the day. Type maybe 15 emails a day on phone. Phone linked to computer with Pushbullet, so some emails are composed from computer screen.
SMS. Maybe 80 a day.
IM. Maybe 100 a day. I do not use BBM because most of my correspondents don't, but I LOVE it.
Apps:
Calls and texts are backed up to cloud (google apps domain)
Calls are recorded ad hoc
View PDF's
Save files to Microsoft Onedrive (paid account)
Email; documents and files as attachments
Read news (mainly in browser)
Occasionally check/respond to facebook
At night, I sometimes use it to control Roku streaming stick
I don't play games or watch movies on my phone.
Battery life is a big deal. I have a huge battery on my phone now (three batteries combined... zerolemon). I pay attention to the amperage of all chargers.
Storage on the phone is a big deal.
I occasionally use the pen. It is a useful feature for getting numbers and taking notes. Maybe twice a week.
I rarely get on youtube for how-to's. Maybe once every two weeks.
I take pictures and upload, then use the link in forum posts
I read twitter in app.
I have to open Word and Excel documents... rarely I have to update them.
ONEDRIVE IS VERY IMPORTANT.
Very rarely I type whole documents (full page, single spaced) and then print them for signature.
And finally, I print to a Bluetooth printer from my phone (HP100).
What I HATE about Android:
Bogs down. Requires task killer. This is all done automatically
Too many steps to make a call or find a contact
Sometimes lags and goes haywire processing gestures and touches
Note 3 has marginal reception, IMHO
Protecting my privacy requires root, which destroy's the ability to upgrade in the normal manner
My AT&T phone is LOCKED. I don't really need it unlocked, but it irritates me that it is
I am SICK of embarrassing typos, even with a really good keyboard (swiftkey)
What I didn't like about the Q10, coming from my 9900, was that I (I may be misremembering) couldn't work as quickly with the keyboard (shortcuts) and there was no app that would log my calls and texts to my calendar. I was also steeped in paid google services at the time. It seemed like it took a lot of steps to make a call (as compared with BBOS7).
Anyone, the purpose of all of this is that since I am basically married to my full price device for a couple of years, would someone take pity and let me know whether my uses (above) can easily be replicated on the Passport. The screen size, clarity, and brightness are good for my failing eyes. I am leery of the three row keyboard but I am sure I can adapt.
Any takers?
Thanks in advance,
Charlie V01-14-15 11:21 AMLike 0 - pttptpptHello PatrickYou can do all that and more with the Passport reception and battery life are excellent.
Only problems so far that you'll notice is that taking a pic takes a bit long.
Also, I'm not sure if you can connect to your printer. Maybe with an Android app?
Posted via CB1001-14-15 12:20 PMLike 0 - I think you would get 14-16 hours a day out of it before having to charge. I don't necessarily do the exact same stuff but I do the same volume of device usage and the stuff would consume the same amount or screen usage, network usage and processor usage.
Posted via CB1001-14-15 12:28 PMLike 0 - 14 hours would work because I usually have my phone plugged in anyway and always charge overnight. Not having to worry about chargers in the car and office is nice but I understand that blackberry is moving away from swappable batteries. I have seven batteries for my 9900. Once the passport hits zero or starts beeping is the recharge an all day/night affair?
I really did appreciate your comments. Most reviewers, even the good ones, give little information for real world use.
I do use an android app. The printer was pretty expensive so I'll do some more investigation there.
And may I ask of you have found any major shortcomings of the passport?
Also, has anyone purchased from Amazon? I pay full price so I am always looking for a bargain and I note that amazon warehouse sells them in damaged packaging for about 470. They are noted "used like new. " I used to fix my own phones but the parts and expertise to do so today comes very dear. Anyone have experience with the squaretrade warranty service? And do I even need that of the phone has be never been registered?
Thanks again.
Posted via the CrackBerry App for Androidtorco3 likes this.01-14-15 01:40 PMLike 1 - I think you should be ok. Onedrive is available now but I have not set it up since I use dropbox, though I also have onedrive on my laptop.
Battery life is great. I can get 20 hours on mine.
Almost all Android apps work very well but you need snap installed to get the most apps
As for Amazon, go for it. I was about to get a warehouse deal when I found one on ebay for $420.
Posted via CB1001-14-15 02:40 PMLike 0 - MODERATOR:
Sorry about that... I just discovered my old login information...
Charlie V (Charles van Cleef)Chris Chin likes this.01-14-15 07:54 PMLike 1 - I remember seeing that avatar before!
I absolutely love the Passport. I've been from some old a$$ BlackBerry through another one to a curve, to a torch, to a bold 9900 to a Z10 to a Q10 to a Passport.
For me, battery life is a big deal. My bold 9900 was OK for me. It would last most of the day. The Z10 was terrible for me and would run out of juice by about 6PM. The Q10 was better, but not great. With my Passport, I can easily last more than a day. In the end, I charge at night, but I have never been in a situation where I'm going on low battery by the end of the day.
Also, call quality is important and the Passport does that for me. It is by far the best call quality I've ever had.
OneDrive connects just fine, so that shouldn't be a problem.
The camera is pretty good and is better in 10.3.1 than it was in 10.3.
I don't know about Roku or the printer set-up you have, though.
For pushbullet, you might consider using BlackBerry Blend. I find it to be a great solution.
For me, personally, I think it's a great fit for me. That's all the advice I can give.01-14-15 08:51 PMLike 0 -
Otherwise, I'll close the new one if not.
Btw, putting "moderator" in a post doesn't invoke our presence. If you need help from Mods/Admin, please just Report your own post and state your issue in the report. Thanks!PonyCrazyKid likes this.01-14-15 08:55 PMLike 1 - Calls. Maybe 3 hours a day. I use a Bluetooth headset for most (Plantronics Edge).
Email. Check throughout the day. Type maybe 15 emails a day on phone. Phone linked to computer with Pushbullet, so some emails are composed from computer screen.
SMS. Maybe 80 a day.
IM. Maybe 100 a day. I do not use BBM because most of my correspondents don't, but I LOVE it.
Apps:
Calls and texts are backed up to cloud (google apps domain)
Calls are recorded ad hoc
View PDF's
Save files to Microsoft Onedrive (paid account)
Email; documents and files as attachments
Read news (mainly in browser)
Occasionally check/respond to facebook
At night, I sometimes use it to control Roku streaming stick
I don't play games or watch movies on my phone.
PDF's are no problem... OneDrive is beautifully integrated into the native File Manager.
Documents and files as attachments are excellent in the Hub - as there is a button to press to look at all attachments, rather than hunting for the sender first, or searching for a date range you think you received that one email attachment from that guy. Just hit the button and bam, there's all your recent attachments - whether received or ones you sent! Awe-some!
Battery life is a big deal. I have a huge battery on my phone now (three batteries combined... zerolemon). I pay attention to the amperage of all chargers.
Storage on the phone is a big deal.
I occasionally use the pen. It is a useful feature for getting numbers and taking notes. Maybe twice a week.
I rarely get on youtube for how-to's. Maybe once every two weeks.
I take pictures and upload, then use the link in forum posts
I read twitter in app.
I have to open Word and Excel documents... rarely I have to update them.
ONEDRIVE IS VERY IMPORTANT.
Very rarely I type whole documents (full page, single spaced) and then print them for signature.
And finally, I print to a Bluetooth printer from my phone (HP100).
What I HATE about Android:
Bogs down. Requires task killer. This is all done automatically
Too many steps to make a call or find a contact
Sometimes lags and goes haywire processing gestures and touches
Note 3 has marginal reception, IMHO
Protecting my privacy requires root, which destroy's the ability to upgrade in the normal manner
My AT&T phone is LOCKED. I don't really need it unlocked, but it irritates me that it is
I am SICK of embarrassing typos, even with a really good keyboard (swiftkey)
I hear you on the typo's - and it isn't so much typo's, as in spelling mistakes - but AutoCorrect errors, right? You spell things fine, as AutoCorrect catches them for you - but you end up using completely incorrect words out of context! I have found in going to the Passport, I have stopped re-reading my responses in IM, BBM, SMS, E-mail.... because I trust what I am typing. I could type incredibly fast on my Z30, though would end up with out of context words via AutoCorrect (love instead of live, if instead of... of, etc), often enough that I would feel the need to re-read a paragraph or sentence before sending it, which in effect slows down my response time. I LOVE the Passport for how it has improved my mobile toying experience. That being said, the unique keyboard layout takes patience, and practice before you feel comfort with it. More on that below...
What I didn't like about the Q10, coming from my 9900, was that I (I may be misremembering) couldn't work as quickly with the keyboard (shortcuts) and there was no app that would log my calls and texts to my calendar. I was also steeped in paid google services at the time. It seemed like it took a lot of steps to make a call (as compared with BBOS7).
Anyone, the purpose of all of this is that since I am basically married to my full price device for a couple of years, would someone take pity and let me know whether my uses (above) can easily be replicated on the Passport. The screen size, clarity, and brightness are good for my failing eyes. I am leery of the three row keyboard but I am sure I can adapt.
If you have any other questions - let us know.
There's downsides to the device, but it is by far... BY FAR, my favorite BlackBerry ever.
Posted via CB1001-14-15 09:38 PMLike 6 - Reception: note 3 Im on emergency on passport three bars.
Call quality even on low reception sounds like they are next to you I almost turned around first time I used it.
Remember that you can use those same android apps for call recording and backing up sms no problem.
Other than that everything else is good.
Probably 14-18hrs I get 4 1/2 days but Im just special use case.01-14-15 10:16 PMLike 0 - Best phone on the market. Love it. Really majestic hardware. Investing in this device is worth every penny.
Posted via CB1001-15-15 03:17 AMLike 0 - Lots of points have been answered already. You state a very specific user case, and I feel the Passport will be good for you.
Take note that keyboard shortcuts are coming back more and more, so you will quickly feel as comfortable with that as on you 9900.
Blend can be AMAZING for you, I find it very useful and despite the fact that it's an early build of the software, it is already very capable.
I have Parrot Pro for recording, I don't habitually record phonecalls and haven't tried if I can start recording after I've picked up or started the call. Perhaps somebody else can elaborate? What it absolutely CAN do is run headless and record every call (may be wise to put a .nomedia file in that folder to keep the music app from picking up the recordings as music).
I am not intimately familiair with Android settings menu, but I do find the BB10 settings very quick and handy, with quick settings pull down (two finger pull down will work in any app, 1 finger is enough from home screen or hub). That will also help you a lot in saving battery; quickly toggle on/off on Bluetooth, Wifi or Blend (it does, I feel, use some battery).
In short: I think you can work the way you want to, and then some.
Enjoy, and let us know how you are doing!01-15-15 04:47 AMLike 0 - One feature am sure you'd like is the Blend. You can send e-mails, SMS, and even BBM using a tablet or your PC.
You mentioned you use IM. What messenging do you use? Gtalk? YM? Viber?
Offhand, most of your tasks can be done by the Passport and in fact you can do it much better. The S Pen though has no equivalent in the passport.
The capacitive physical keyboard is a whole new experience and for me it makes the phone very productive. And since I am a heavy email and messaging user then this phone suits me. Based on your first post, this may also make it useful for you.
You mentioned you use the camera and attach it to posts or emails. I assume this is for business use. If so are you snapping pictures of products? Document? Or are you snapping pictures of moving objects? If it is moving objects then sadly the Passport camera will under perform.
All other things, the passport can do well. Hope this helps.
Posted via CB1001-15-15 07:04 AMLike 0 - For this task - you'll enjoy Reader Mode for news articles in the Browser, which parses text, eliminating ads, etc. It has a dark/night mode for inverse colors (black background and white text) which can be easier on the eyes. As well as enlarging font size on the fly to your liking... to larger or smaller fonts.
Turning the Passport in Landscape orientation for Reader mode, and then using the touch keyboard as a vertical scroller is great. This is especially nice for long articles, keeping your fingers off the screen.
Posted via CB1001-15-15 07:37 AMLike 0 - For wireless printing, download Print To Go
Check out Print To Go in BlackBerry World! You can find it at http://appworld.blackberry.com/webst...ntent/37259888
Idk if it will solve your issue, maybe someone here can give you more info about this app.
Posted via Q1001-15-15 08:00 AMLike 0 -
Posted via CB1001-15-15 11:17 AMLike 0 - For wireless printing, download Print To Go
Check out Print To Go in BlackBerry World! You can find it at http://appworld.blackberry.com/webst...ntent/37259888
Idk if it will solve your issue, maybe someone here can give you more info about this app.
Posted via Q10
Posted via CB10jevinzac likes this.01-15-15 06:17 PMLike 1 - BATTERY LIFE
This is most impacted by my experience by SCREEN ON and ANDROID apps, and the LTE/3G switching.
With about 40% screen on time, and using some android apps, I get 8-10h:
I didn't find a workaround, when this huge high ppi screen is on, juice is flowing out.
The battery takes 2h40min to charge for me.
CALL RECORDING
For call recording, a general issue I see in BlackBerry world reviews is that the volume of the recording is very low.
I bought Phone Call Recorder Pro and I'm disappointed, I can barely hear the conversation. Call rec apps also make a huge beep. And it runs in an active frame, so you need to keep it open. And in the forum here, they said still this is the best app, as other apps need speakermode, and the beep is hearable for the callers.
I would really test this first!
I haven't found an app to link calls into the calendar yet.
MULTITASKING
The second limitation that you need to verify, is that 8 apps are the max, including those that you keep open for 'widget' information. I find myself spending a lot of time scrolling the home screen re-opening my apps, as they keep closed down, like calendar, contacts, text messaging, the browser, it's just annoying that they close down.
TYPING
I had to turn off autocorrect and word suggestion, my text was full of stupid words, I had to re read everything. With my own typing only, it is much better.
Swype is great when typing on several languages.
On the Passport the limit is three languages, and switching is a slow process. I type messages on four languages, and it is a pain, I need to go to settings all the time.
There are a lot of places in the world where four languages or more are in daily use, like, Benelux countries, Morocco, Singapore, China, India.
Also note that comma, semicolon, question mark, numbers are on a virtual row, not the keyboard. Entering numbers breaks the flow, as first you need to pop up the number keyboard, like on swype.
CAMERA
The camera is slow to focus, and the shutter speed is slow (anything with people, pets, moving object ends up blurry). Still shots outside can look great, though. A bug fix on the focus is expected by Feb 2015.
People here gave very enthousiastic reviews here, but I myself have a very mixed feeling after more then a month. A few things are superb, and many things of the basics category are not done right.
I would really try it for a week or so, like with amazon return guarantee.
Watch these reviews:
I recommend you to watch the review by PhoneDog here, at least his summary after the 30 day challenge, and AgentJucey.
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...ou-buy-989729/
Posted via CB1001-15-15 10:33 PMLike 0 - I've actually just come from that phone myself (Note 3). At first, I thought the Note 3 was a much more capable phone, and it actually still might be, but what I like about the passport is that what it does, it does well (except outside apps and camera).
I didn't realise at the time how glitchy the Note 3 was, and I was always accidentally deleting widgets and icons from my home screen. You get none of that with the Passport, little things like copy and pasting work flawlessly whereas before I always struggled doing that on my Note 3. The Hub is brilliant, I think people think it's just the same as a notification panel but it's completely different, it's really good for efficiency and being productive.
For IM I too don't use BBM, however whatsapp works fine.
A couple of other things worth noting, I'm from the UK and there wasn't an internet banking app for my bank. A couple of other apps that I used often on my last phone were absent (national rail app), which makes the Passport less efficient. However if they brought those apps out, and fixed the camera (!), it would be a perfect device. Although I do miss the S pen and its functions! Also there's no small apps/floating apps which was so handy on android devices. My dream device would be the passport with full apps, S pen (and all its functions) and Note 3 camera.xkalibur2k likes this.01-16-15 01:14 AMLike 1 -
Huh?
I use print to go on my passport daily. What the app actually does is connects to a WIFI printer thats on the same network, and allows you to print directly from your device. Not sure what you mean about it only printing documents from your PC to your BB.
EDIT:
Not sure if its actually available for the PP. I got it from amazon when it was the free app of the day, and have just carried it over from my z10 to my PP. Still says available on my amazon acc. when I go into it.01-16-15 06:03 AMLike 0 - Huh?
I use print to go on my passport daily. What the app actually does is connects to a WIFI printer thats on the same network, and allows you to print directly from your device. Not sure what you mean about it only printing documents from your PC to your BB.
EDIT:
Not sure if its actually available for the PP. I got it from amazon when it was the free app of the day, and have just carried it over from my z10 to my PP. Still says available on my amazon acc. when I go into it.
Posted via CB1001-16-15 09:59 AMLike 0
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How well would Passport handle my heavy task load?
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