[hassanalusi]

Not really; it's an on screen button. Something that will make me stop typing while blind typing, look down at the screen to peck at, then continue typing. In fact I think blind typing on the Passport might not be truly be 100% possible. The comma isn't mapped to any hardware key, so you'll always have to look down to punctuate with a comma, every since comma.

Posted via CB10

Absolutely correct, the two things am worried about is that having to look down on the keyboard while walking and not "blindly typing" anymore like I do on my q10...the whole point of the physical keyboard is that you can feel the keys before you press them and if am not mistaken, a lot of physical keyboard people will slide their thumbs on the keyboard all the time...what if you want to go from the letter U to the letter N while typing fast? is that going to trigger the (alt)? And you can't switch that off cuz you need this gesture if you don't want to use the on screen keyboard, and if you do switch it off then you're losing functionality and speed, and what about the shift key? If I have to look at the screen or click anything on the screen to type any form of symbol or punctuation, then that ruins the whole idea of the physical keyboard for me. In Arabic most people would use what we call the (english-arabic) which is typing like this (mar7aba) dubai/uae is considered one of the best markets for the blackberry and taking those features away might affect that, here is a couple of examples on what the passport can't do (as fast, or blindly) as the Q10 "LoOoOoL, someone's password: gh2BHjss, or even ZeroBarrier" or simple emoticons ...I understand we all have these concerns but we'll have to wait and see, all we complain about is what we know so far which might not be the case..."unless someone knows for sure then plz do correct me"
The 2nd issue is the android 16:9 or even 4:3 compatibility...letterboxing or what? if it's the same as the Q10 then that's terrible news for anyone that wants to use android apps...
IMO this is a pretty good concept of what a qwerty device should be like...




Posted via CB10

[ZeroBarrier]

Absolutely correct, the two things am worried about is that having to look down on the keyboard while walking and not "blindly typing" anymore like I do on my q10...the whole point of the physical keyboard is that you can feel the keys before you press them and if am not mistaken, a lot of physical keyboard people will slide their thumbs on the keyboard all the time...what if you want to go from the letter U to the letter N while typing fast? is that going to trigger the (alt)? And you can't switch that off cuz you need this gesture if you don't want to use the on screen keyboard, and if you do switch it off then you're losing functionality and speed, and what about the shift key? If I have to look at the screen or click anything on the screen to type any form of symbol or punctuation, then that ruins the whole idea of the physical keyboard for me. In Arabic most people would use what we call the (english-arabic) which is typing like this (mar7aba) dubai/uae is considered one of the best markets for the blackberry and taking those features away might affect that, here is a couple of examples on what the passport can't do (as fast, or blindly) as the Q10 "LoOoOoL, someone's password: gh2BHjss, or even ZeroBarrier" or simple emoticons ...I understand we all have these concerns but we'll have to wait and see, all we complain about is what we know so far which might not be the case..."unless someone knows for sure then plz do correct me"
The 2nd issue is the android 16:9 or even 4:3 compatibility...letterboxing or what? if it's the same as the Q10 then that's terrible news for anyone that wants to use android apps...
IMO this is a pretty good concept of what a qwerty device should be like...




Posted via CB10

These concerns are valid, and it's just sad that they are being ignored and even bashed by members of this community. I share the same concerns; and as far as I can tell, users such as yourself and I will either have to keep using the Q10, upgrade to the Classic (arguably a joke of an upgrade) or deal with the Passports massive QWERTY shortcomings.

I had not even thought about how difficult secure passwords would be to input, thank you for bringing that up. Luckily for me all my secure passwords are stored in Password Keeper. The only difficulty I would have is to input my secure password into Password Keeper itself.

The Android apps don't cause me too much concern, as I know most Android apps are designed to stretch too each devices particular resolution and dimensions, and those that do not such as games designed to run only in landscape 16:9 will letterbox. I don't play games on my mobile, so the letterboxing for me would be very minimal.

Posted via CB10

[MarsupilamiX]

Lol. I don't praise the Passport at all and especially I don't see it as a big "savior" or "turnaround device", which was the original point. All I do is encountering all those stupid "nobody will buy it" and "DOA" claims.

I didn't accuse you of praising it, read again.

You said that you haven't seen anyone praising it like the second coming of the Christ. And I replied, that I have encountered you in threads where people were doing exactly that.
Nothing more, nothing less.
And I also don't think that it's DOA. I am rather optimistic.

It's pretty simple: BlackBerry has a hard stand. There's no way they can compete in the mass consumer market all other vendors are aiming at. So all they can do at this point is trying to get independent of hardware sales in the mid term. At the same time they should try to keep the devices business as hard they can. One way that won't work however is a mee too approach aiming at the mass market, we already saw how that panned out (Z10/Z30). So what's left? Seeking a small but viable market segment and serve it differentiated and best, working around the competition. Whether that viable niche does exist and whether it'll work out or not remains to be seen, but after all it's the only option that's left. I for one see them making the right decisions and do hope (just as they hope) it'll work out for them, that's all.

Wrong...
You shouldn't call the Z10 and the Z30 a try to please the mass consumer market.
Both were subpar offerings compared to the competition and tough sells in the market place.

BlackBerry hasn't even tried to compete in the mass market in a serious fashion. So saying that they currently shouldn't do it, is just wrong.
The Z3 already goes in that direction, the OS is finally pretty darn good with 10.3, mid-range components are finally so powerful and cost-efficient that BlackBerry could start to profit from their hardware/OS optimisations, etc, etc....

Nobody is saying that BlackBerry should stop going after their business niche. But not to try to compete in a market of 2 billion in size is just ridiculous.
Even more so, when consumer electronics have made their way into the enterprise sector.

I am pretty happy with the Passport specs, and even though I would have liked a full physical keyboard with alt and shift keys, I'll probably buy it.

Posted via CB10

[pp4e]

Hi, Are you able to download an Android app or game to check screen compatibility? Some members expressed concern that the current situation with Q10 screen compatibility had not been improved upon. With so much screen real estate it has been remarked that a 16:9 aspect ratio is easily achievable with either vertical or horizontal letterboxing. In essence, is a 16:9 conversion algorithm for applications and games baked in to 10.3 thus solving the "it's available on my Z but not on my Q"?


Z10STL100-2/10.2.1.3247 O2 UK

Sorry. I'm unable to download games on it for testing. I wish I could answer this question but I'm unable to do so at the moment.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

Can you keep the cursor on screen while you are typing?
Or is it that once you type, you then have to double-tap on the keyboard again, every single time?

And thx for answering the questions.
That the Vkeys are mapped to the Hkeys was very important for me.


Posted via CB10

The "cursor", if you're speaking to the magnifying glass + line you get from double tapping, goes away when you're typing I believe. I'll double check and get back to you on this.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

This will be my first blackberry phone. So I want to know, does this phone has text reflow? I have checked out Q10 and that phone doesn't have this feature. So with new software BB10.3 I guess it must have as its makes reading easier.

What is text reflow? There is a reader mode for webpages if that's what you're asking.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

My question to the OP is -how's the video quality of the device...also how about pic quality- can you post a pic that's been taken by it? Thanks.

Also can you add a shortcut gestures on the keyboard -for example if you create a circle with your finger = opens up the weather app or something like that ? Maybe a square for the calculator etc?

Also can you try and run a few apps -maybe a game like Temple Run or something that'll take some power going just to test if the device's heating up under heavy usage ?

Also what about the back -how would you describe the new material ? Do you leave fingerprints on it or it's fingerprints free ? Thanks in advance.

I can't comment on video or picture quality because I can't upload either to a place where I can make any sorts of real judgment. Answering this question based on what I see on the phone itself wouldn't have much weight.

I've tried making shapes and other gestures but it doesn't seem to activate anything.

The back of it feels like a nexus 5. Sweaty hands will leave some prints, but feel-wise, it feels fantastic.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[MarsupilamiX]

The "cursor", if you're speaking to the magnifying glass + line you get from double tapping, goes away when you're typing I believe. I'll double check and get back to you on this.

Posted via CrackBerry App

Thanks for the Answer

What is text reflow? There is a reader mode for webpages if that's what you're asking.

Posted via CrackBerry App

Well, text reflow is a feature that works like reader mode, but without needing reader mode, as it just works directly in the Browser/PDF/Word doc.

Posted via CB10

[pp4e]

Is there any way to use the keyboard as a sort of mouse pointer? There was a video from the help setup showing a yellow circle on the screen that acted as a sort of cursor controlled by the keyboard. Is there any way to use this to control the device, say in the Web browser or docs to go? If you don't have a text field open and you double tap the keyboard does anything happen?

I am really hoping for this feature, on legacy devices you could use the scroll pad as a mouse cursor while browsing and this would be great for navigating links on webpages, particularly those not optimised for mobile.

Posted via CB10

I tried to test this and it doesn't work. Double tapping on web browser does nothing. But my personal opinion is that the capacitive webpage scrolling is super responsive, scrolls much faster and way more precisely than I ever have with touch phones. The screen is large enough that a cursor wouldn't make much sense. You can just tap with your thumb for anything without any problems.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

can you give it another shot and see if the mouse pointer can trigger the drop down menu in a web page?

No cursor from what I can see.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

Here's ,a quick question.
How "noisy " is the key board?
I often bang out emails in bed much to the annoyance of my lovely wife.
If this thing is "clicky", and loud, my wife certainly won't be happy....

Z30 user and lover.

Not clicky :P It's a very muted press (in my opinion)

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

Thanks for the Q&A!

I would also prefer a dedicated comma key because I do punctuate my sentences, where appropriate (struggling with the hidden comma on iOS at the moment). Do you find that reaching up for the screen to enter commas breaks your typing rhythm?

Posted via CB10 on Z10

At first it did because I didn't know where it was. Having reach up for it requires a slight learning curve for sure, but luckily it's close to the keyboard so over time I don't see it being a problem. I use commas quite frequently in my sentences as well.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[m1kr0]

What is text reflow? There is a reader mode for webpages if that's what you're asking.

Posted via CrackBerry App

Text reflow is the term that describes the ability of text to wrap, or adjust, itself to an allotted space. Text will either expand as the container expands or move down when the horizontal space decreases, thus requiring more vertical space. Text reflow also causes text to flow around objects, such as images, as it adjusts to space confinements.

Read more :*http://www.ehow.com/info_12206498_text-reflow.html

Z10 STL100-1, OS 10.2.1.3253

[pp4e]

I took you seriously up until you mentioned the ability to type without pressing the keys. If you do not want a keyboard, do not purchase a device with a keyboard. The gestures wouldn't make sense if you could type without pressing the keys. The point of a keyboard is to feel the real thing.

It's very apparent you haven't owned a Blackberry.

Sincerely

A proud Q10 user.

I did state in the very first post that I have never used a Blackberry before. I would love this feature. What's wrong with a capacitive keyboard that doesn't require full press? I think it would be really cool, and again, make transitioning to keyboard for non Blackberry users a little easier.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

It doesn't "clutter" the screen. You're getting a single virtual row of keys on the screen. The big keyboard doesn't come unless you hit 123Sym button.

Can confirm, does not clutter screen at all. It's quite smart actually.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

Uhmm...

Numbers (from screenshots) are mapped to the physical keyboard as well. Now what happens if you press and hold the SHIFT key? I think it will activate caps lock and you're able to type strings of numbers with the mapped hardware keyboard, no?

No, with capslock or holding the shift key, the alternate key mapping goes away after using it once. The only time you would need to type more than one symbol though is with numbers, and using the virtual keyboard is much faster than any other current blackberry keyboards though from my own testing.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

To me, the Passport has never been hideous, but I would have loved it had they rounded out those sharp corners. The device still looks like it'll wreck havoc if dropped on hardwood floors, and possibly even crack tiled flooring too.

Posted via CB10

I used to think it was ugly from pictures. First time laying eyes on it in real life, all I could think of was how beautiful it was. You really have to see it in your hands I think to understand it's beauty.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

You guys have butchered this thread.

Z30 user and lover.

I agree. Please debate elsewhere. I just want to answer questions, I don't really care for ten paragraph opinions.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

Absolutely correct, the two things am worried about is that having to look down on the keyboard while walking and not "blindly typing" anymore like I do on my q10...the whole point of the physical keyboard is that you can feel the keys before you press them and if am not mistaken, a lot of physical keyboard people will slide their thumbs on the keyboard all the time...what if you want to go from the letter U to the letter N while typing fast? is that going to trigger the (alt)? And you can't switch that off cuz you need this gesture if you don't want to use the on screen keyboard, and if you do switch it off then you're losing functionality and speed, and what about the shift key? If I have to look at the screen or click anything on the screen to type any form of symbol or punctuation, then that ruins the whole idea of the physical keyboard for me. In Arabic most people would use what we call the (english-arabic) which is typing like this (mar7aba) dubai/uae is considered one of the best markets for the blackberry and taking those features away might affect that, here is a couple of examples on what the passport can't do (as fast, or blindly) as the Q10 "LoOoOoL, someone's password: gh2BHjss, or even ZeroBarrier" or simple emoticons ...I understand we all have these concerns but we'll have to wait and see, all we complain about is what we know so far which might not be the case..."unless someone knows for sure then plz do correct me"
The 2nd issue is the android 16:9 or even 4:3 compatibility...letterboxing or what? if it's the same as the Q10 then that's terrible news for anyone that wants to use android apps...
IMO this is a pretty good concept of what a qwerty device should be like...




Posted via CB10

I never had that "accidental alt" happen to me. I think if you swipe down and end with a button press, it's smart enough to know that you don't need the alt window.

To the guy who uses numbers 50% of the time in his work; if this is true and you use numbers that often, I guarantee that this keyboard will boost your efficiency.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

Thanks for the Answer



Well, text reflow is a feature that works like reader mode, but without needing reader mode, as it just works directly in the Browser/PDF/Word doc.

Posted via CB10

I should comment that PDF files are absolutely stunning through the passport screen. PowerPoint presentation are also very very good. I've opened decks on the phone for viewing and was pleasantly impressed. I can safely say I feel comfortable using the Passport for both of these files, perhaps even prefer it, and I wouldn't be able to say that about any other phone I've used in the past.

Posted via CrackBerry App

[pp4e]

RE: VIRTUAL KEYS AND NUMBERS:

I guarantee you will type numbers faster with the passport than you ever will on any keyboard. It's the same difference in speed when you compare using a numpad vs using a row of numbers (think of your actual computer keyboard).

Posted via CrackBerry App

[MarsupilamiX]

No, with capslock or holding the shift key, the alternate key mapping goes away after using it once. The only time you would need to type more than one symbol though is with numbers, and using the virtual keyboard is much faster than any other current blackberry keyboards though from my own testing.

Posted via CrackBerry App

So that means that if I want to write a mathematical equation like:
0.04q+8=19-0.05q
0.09q=11
q= 11/0.09=122.222

I have to alternate between the virtual and physical keyboard?

Posted via CB10

[pp4e]

So that means that if I want to write a mathematical equation like:
0.04q+8=19-0.05q
0.09q=11
q= 11/0.09=122.222

I have to alternate between the virtual and physical keyboard?

Posted via CB10

From this equation, the only time you'd need to use the physical keyboard is for the letter "q".

Posted via CrackBerry App

[MarsupilamiX]

From this equation, the only time you'd need to use the physical keyboard is for the letter "q".

Posted via CrackBerry App

I hope you don't think that I am confused
It means that, when I stop using symbols, I press the alt/sym button to get the "q" and then press it again to get the numbers/symbols again.

When pressing the virtual alt/sym key, I either switch to the virtual keyboard on top, or to the physical one on the bottom (for the scenario of the equation).

So if I would introduce more letters, I would have to make that dance more often, but I get compensated by a far quicker typing experience when it comes down to symbols?
Did I get that right?

Sorry for asking such a strange question, but I do write quite a lot of equations, and that's why I wonder if it's not a downgrade for that particular use case, coming from an all-touch device...
Since it's your first BlackBerry, what would you say?

Edit: I could use the physical keyboard for the last number/symbol before needing a letter, and wouldn't have to press the alt/sym key like that...
Might have a certain learning curve to it, but could be faster overall...?

Posted via CB10

[pp4e]

I hope you don't think that I am confused
It means that, when I stop using symbols, I press the alt/sym button to get the "q" and then press it again to get the numbers/symbols again.

When pressing the virtual alt/sym key, I either switch to the virtual keyboard on top, or to the physical one on the bottom (for the scenario of the equation).

So if I would introduce more letters, I would have to make that dance more often, but I get compensated by a far quicker typing experience when it comes down to symbols?
Did I get that right?

Sorry for asking such a strange question, but I do write quite a lot of equations, and that's why I wonder if it's not a downgrade for that particular use case, coming from an all-touch device...
Since it's your first BlackBerry, what would you say?

Posted via CB10

Apologies in advance if I'm misinterpreting your question.

Your alt/symbol key doesn't bring the lettered keyboard to the top, so you'd have to use the physical keyboard for any letters (I'm not sure if this was something you were implying).

As you introduce more characters, you will have to do the dance more as you would also do on a virtual keyboard. I type super fast on a touchscreen phone, probably faster than anyone else I know, and I can type that formula faster on the Passport than on a touch screen, and I'm not even used to keyboards yet, so I'll only get faster at it.

Not sure if I answered you question though.

Posted via CrackBerry App