[Jamie Wooten]

Reception: while on the same network, the note failed to get above 2 bars while my passport had a full reception.

Posted via CB10[/QUOTE]

This is one of the reasons I switched from a Note 3 to BlackBerry in the first place. On my Note I'd miss calls all the time.


Posted via CB10

[StutterStep]

The note 4 is the best phablet in the market make no mistake about it. It is a serious competitor to the Passport. If you learn to take advantage of the S-pen you can be pretty productive with it. It has a great camera and probably the best screen. Build quality almost the same level as the Passport. Those who are writing it off have no idea what they are talking about. Also with android L coming out it's only going to get better performance wise as well as consistency wise on app appearance. Whatever bloatware there is can be disabled. Flashing to a stock android experience for speed alone at the cost of features is something I actually would not consider on the note series.

Hardware goes to the note 4. Higher resolution screen and higher pixel density , bigger screen, better camera, faster processor. Stainless steel is a plus for the passport but also makes it heavy. Passport has a brighter screen, one of the brightest I've ever used outdoors. The feel of the note 4 back is better to me but that's subjective.

Passport touts being able to select text easier with the trackpad keyboard and being able to see more. The note 4 with the s-pen makes text selection faster than the passport, easy point and drag. Without using the pen I'd say passport is easier to be more precise. Also when you're selecting using the trackpad it's faster to insert words since your thumbs are already on the keyboard.

The being able to see more advantage of the passport gets nullified by the note 4's screen size and resolution especially when the note 4 vertical resolution is 1440 which is the same as the passports screen dimension. Viewing websites with the note 4 is a better experience and combined with the s-pen tapping on the correct link is easy. The passport's LCD screen is better for reading black text on white background. The whites on Amoled displays just aren't as pure white as on LCD.

Then there's the scrolling feature on the passport's keyboard. It's a nifty feature but since the keyboard is low I don't find it to be very comfortable. Again because of the note 4 screen size, I'm not sure this is an advantage anymore.

Keyboard shortcuts on the passport speed things up for me for browsing. I can press p to go back,n to go forward and space to scroll. Since I do scroll on the keyboard, I don't have to reach for these buttons on the screen. You can quickly launch apps using the keyboard on the home screen and assign keys to compose a message to a specific person. You can lock the phone using a key and toggle between silent and normal notification modes.

Then there's the whole physical keyboard vs virtual debate. With a physical keyboard you can feel the key you want to type. With virtual keyboard you can use Swype to spell without lifting a finger. Some debate that physical keyboard is more accurate but also, considering auto correct does it or really matter that much? With better word prediction the advantage slowly starts to fade.

I'm not going to get into the whole android vs bb10 thing too much but you can see more active apps at once on the passport. If you don't jumping through apps for messaging and email, the hub is the obvious advantage. You don't have to reach for the top of the screen for notifications since you can do the peek gesture. The browser URL bar placement is better on bb10 since it's at the bottom of the screen opposed to being at the top on chrome; easier to reach.

Battery life is pretty equal. Maybe a tad better on the passport but it depends how many apps you use on the note 4 that uses a black background. Note 4 will probably be better after android 5.0 is out for it since the general consensus is that it improves the battery life noticeably.

[ggbrands]

Yes, the Note deserves respect for quite a bit of what it can do.

Everyone is different though and for someone like myself who doesn't want cloud based contact and calendar management, Kies and all the 3rd party workarounds are very shaky. It's not just a Note thing...it's Android.

In this area at least, no other OS compares favorably vs. Blackberry.

Posted via CB10

[dguy123]

...The being able to see more advantage of the passport gets nullified by the note 4's screen size and resolution especially when the note 4 vertical resolution is 1440 which is the same as the passports screen dimension. Viewing websites with the note 4 is a better experience and combined with the s-pen tapping on the correct link is easy. The passport's LCD screen is better for reading black text on white background. The whites on Amoled displays just aren't as pure white as on LCD.

Then there's the scrolling feature on the passport's keyboard. It's a nifty feature but since the keyboard is low I don't find it to be very comfortable. Again because of the note 4 screen size, I'm not sure this is an advantage anymore. ...

Yes, Note's 1440 VERTICAL resolution is the same as the passport, but NOT it's horizontal resolution which is < passport.

Re. keyboard scrolling... turn the passport to landscape and you have a full height scroll area beside the web page. It's a definite advantage.

Not saying the passport is better than a Note... never used a Note so I really can't make a comparison.



Posted via CB10

[footmatix]

I say get both.

Get the PP to get things done and work efficiently.

Get the Note 4 for an incredible video viewing experience plenty of entertainment to keep you amused.

[StutterStep]

Yes, Note's 1440 VERTICAL resolution is the same as the passport, but NOT it's horizontal resolution which is < passport.

Re. keyboard scrolling... turn the passport to landscape and you have a full height scroll area beside the web page. It's a definite advantage.

Not saying the passport is better than a Note... never used a Note so I really can't make a comparison.



Posted via CB10

Note is 2560x1440. I can't see what you mean being less when passport is 1440x1440. Advantage being not touching the screen? Because the note shows more of the webpage than the passport can. Also it's not practical to keep rotating the phone every time I want to type a new URL. I personally do not use landscape mode on the passport because it simply isn't comfortable to hold with 1 hand that way, more so than in portrait mode.

Posted via the CrackBerry App

[datatrover]

I have both and can attest to the note 4 being really awesome. I use an attachment on the back of both phones and it's makes the whole experience so much better. Oh I got them on amazon it's called fingereight and I think they have a website.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[thymaster]

That's personal preferences. Swype I thought was pretty good and been using it for 4 years. The downside to swype is it's not that accurate, it only recognizes dictionary and auto fixes words you didn't intentionally write. I think the Passport keyboard is 40% more accurate and just as fast or faster then Swype.

Swype is the best keyboard to use. Whilst I prefer a physical keyboard, if I have to have a touch screen device, that's what I choose. YOu can get this 'style' on ios , winphone and droid now. Shame its not available on touch screen blackberries I think.

[Ramchi]

I think BB PP must use swype keyboard for words. That can make Passport keyboard more use able.

[dvarnai]

The screen estate isn't any different on the note4 just because it has 1440p now instead of 1080p... it increase ppi but that's it. They won't make stuff super small just because resolution is higher. They scale up stuff to look the exact same as before, but in more detail, which I doubt really matters at 500+ ppi anyway...

BlackBerry Q10 SQN100-3

[Coraya]

Note 3 = Note 4 (in the grand scheme of things)

Posted via unlocked PASSPORT

[power5]

Email works okay on the Note 3 with a few hiccups. But ironically it's with Gmail. I had 3 unread messages I could never find up till about 6 months ago. Now I have had 5 unread since that time. On my hotmail accounts I can view unread email as a folder. There is no option for that in Gmail and it's annoying to always have unread email number.

Keyboard is very good for me. Has swype and touch key enabled all the time so I can swype or touch when needed. I usually touch unless I only have 1 hand available and it's sitting on my desk. Reception has been no different than any of my other phones.

Battery life is a full day with moderate to heavy usage, but by bed time if I have not plugged in, I will be at 5-6% depending on how much my kids have used it that night. No way I am making it 2 days. I do not turn things off, because I think a phone should be able to conserve power without needing user intervention all the time. I am not going to turn off wifi when I am driving around, and then remember to turn it back on when I get someplace.

Screen space is not better on the Note when typing. If I am in portrait I lose 1/3 of the screen to keyboard and a little more to the app header I get only a tiny bit of info showing that is not keyboard or other insignificant stuff. I will post a messaging window to illustrate. As stated before, they will not cram more onto the screen just because they have more resolution. They do it so its more precise and sharp. But movies look great on my Note 3 and I can only imagine the quality on the Note 4 screen.

I have had no real bad experience with my first android. Unlike my first WP which was never supported by the manufacturer and was then dropped from support by MSFT by not offering WP8 which was released only 1 year after my flagship phone. Also, they have not done anything to close the app gap and I don't play lots of games, but it's nice to not be the only phone that does not get an app. So they have the most work to do if they ever want me to look at windows phones again. If I was given an apple, I would take one and use it, will not buy though. So the challenge for me is between android and BB. We will see in the next 6 months where I fall. I probably do too much research before buying stuff...


^^^^ Look how useful that giant screen, with 1920 pixels, is when most is covered by keyboard.

[NG888]

If you do a lot of email work in your device, I would go for the BlackBerry, I'm yet to find a an email app in android that's resembles the BlackBerry experience.

Android mail apps just don't seem right.



Posted via CB10

[Mike Lau]

Some debate that physical keyboard is more accurate but also, considering auto correct does it or really matter that much? With better word prediction the advantage slowly starts to fade.

I have slightly different experience, maybe it's only me but I kinda think auto-correct sux when replying business emails especially when there are many industry-specified vocab, it always changed my corrected typing to something wrong just because it doesn't have these vocab in its dictionary, this feature greatly reduced my productivity so I have to turn it off.

Yes auto correct can learn new words but I feel the "learning" process is very annoying.

Finally, it depends on which language you are typing, auto correct sux in many languages other than English.

I agree that auto-correct works pretty well when FBing or twisting, but that's not what passport mainly built for.

[power5]

I know when I am typing a word, that is an industry word, I simply click the insert option instead of the space. I do not race through business emails for the quickest possible send time though. It is my business so I check the email again after typing to make sure it is correct. Just picking the insert option once on my Note 3 allows that word to be typed in the future without changing.

[guygardner73]

Get a Note 4. Passports suck.

Posted via CB10

Haha, you are so wrong.

PassportSQW100-1/10.3.0.1418 O2 UK

[okanagan]

Passport that I would go, and I did. The FedEx just delivered a few minutes ago. Very tempted to open it up, but I bought it for the wife for a 5th years anniversary. Wish I could post the open delivery box to proof it. BTW, I had checked carefully and have only one original sticker on the box.

Posted via CB10

[okanagan]

Damn, the packaging slip said there is a screen protector too but I found it nowhere, this is horrible service from Shop Blackberry, could it be in the phone box, this can't be?

Posted via CB10

[geo1nah2a]

BTW to get passport's width with a 16:9 screen you need 6.5" diagonal.

[anon(5061193)]

It always come back to the same answer....... What do you do with the phone? Movies,Apps etc... Note 4...... Emailing. texting, phone calls (call quality on the Passport is amazing)... than the Passport..... there is no right or wrong here... I would think that if you are OK with the size of these monsters than the Passport would be my pick..

[BBd00d]

I am currently an android user, and former Bold 9700 owner. I have switched to android as of 2011 and have since outgrown android. I am switching back to Blackberry and am looking to purchase a Passport possibly around January.

I have not only my HTC One M7, but also an Asus TF300 tablet. Trying to do anything productive on an android or even iOS is laughable. I've had access to my work's iPad when I take on-call afterhours, but most of the time don't bother using it.

My big issue with Blackberry when I had the 9700 was the lack of apps, and at the time that's what I needed/wanted. Still though, it was a trusty phone that lasted forever and took a beating.

Blackberry 10 has opened my eyes to what's important, and that's being more efficient at everything I do. So that, along with a phone with good specs (passport) and excellent battery life, I am back onboard (soon).

Android will never have efficiency because it's an OS that's not optimized for the hardware it runs on, like blackberry and iOS. That's why Android has more RAM, higher-specced CPU's and GPU's, more resolution, etc. because each hardware manufacturer is trying to come out with the latest and greatest, but fragmentation will always exist with that OS, because of how that community is structured.

[RexdaleNap]

Going with passport and nexus 7 eventually for android amd things that nred bigger screen.

I can run android and fun apps on passport but I want to keep it simple and clean.

The spen is overrated, android is laggy and even with jedi elite removing bloatware there are still too many extra apps to get rid of.

With android you do all these tweaks and it is still slightly worse than bb10 Imo.

As for video and gaming, even better that the passport is worse as I want to get away from timewasters.

Bb is device I can trust with reception amd not having random unsent messages in hangout and k9 for example.

Swype is not that good because I mostly type ਪੰਜਾਬੀ in either native or latin script.

It's just more annoying, and the spen thing while true is not realistic.

I never used it more tham few times except to open pen window. The active memo is cool but there are corki notes on bb10.

Spen good for drawing I guess, but I don't draw and sketch. Just always wanted basically a faster version of bold and I guess I got it.

Just my 2c

Only concern is removable battery but we will see.

[RexdaleNap]

I have passport but I have not used it much yet still transitioning into full personal cloud with no gmail, box or evernote.

Obviously there is the newness factor but if it has good reception and files always available I don't see any reason not to use daily.

The scrolling is cool too, and for first time I don't want to tweak or even install leaks.

Look forward to note 4 review, I'm currently on jedi elite rom for note 3. As someone else said one of my main thoughts about passport was that when typing

Screen is probably bigger than note 3 anyway.

[bakron1]

I have reviewed both the Note 4 and Note Edge on T-Mobile USA and they are both great devices, I went back to the passport because I am not a gamer and/or watch movies on my device. I use mine for messaging and email which the Hub has no equal. I have become way more productive using BlackBerry OS10 then I ever did on Android or IOS.

Sone of the things I did like about the Note 4 and the Edge:

The screen, the screen is big and bright and the text and graphics are outstanding, but once the touchscreen keyboard pops up, you loose allot of the screen real estate,

Keyboard, I personally think the stock samsung keyboard sucks, I found myself committing more typing errors and mistakes then I do using the physical keyboard on my passport and I was once a die hard touchscreen keyboard guy, the passport has converted me back.

Size, both devices are big and the passport is much wider then the Note 4 and the Edge and I found it easier to hold the Note 4 and Edge during a phone call and while navigating through the menus on the device.

Battery, I am a funny person about battery life, as long as the battery last me through my busy work day, I fine with it and both devices have a great battery.

Software, I prefer Blackberry OS10 compared to Android, I found myself trying to swipe the screen every time time I go back to using Android or IOS. OS10 is much more intuitive and makes me more productive and efficient when using the device. Last but not least, the HUB, I cannot imagine myself being without this great software tool. All my messages in one area accessed by a simple swipe to the right. For a business person like me, a valuable function I cannot be without.

Gaming and movies, I tried a couple of movies and the screen is fantastic, but I do not use my device for movies or games so you will have to get input on this from another source.

Price, the passport is 599.00 here in the USA and the Note 4 is 749.00 and the Edge at 849.00, for me the passport is a better buy for the person looking for a rock solid device to do messaging. emails and is geared towards the business professional. If you like movies, games and a better app ecosystem, the Note 4 is a good buy.

Build quality, while Samsung has improved the Note 4 and the Edge build quality with a metal framed device, it stills feels cheap and way to much plastic for what I am paying for. The plastic back feels like a piece of paper when I took it off to access the sim and memory cards. The passport on the other hand is built like a german panzer tank and feels solid and I feel like I got a nice solid device for the money.

The Edge, I use the device for week to do a review, its basically a Note 4 with a separate window on the right that you can put the apps you use all the time in and access them by pressing the icon in the window. I found this to be a neat feature, but T-Mobile just had to add a window with their bloat apps that you cannot modify or remove, which sucks. There are also some custom bars that you can add for more functions. At a cost of 100.00 more for the device, I personally think it's worth it.

Overall the Note 4 and Edge are very nice devices, but they are priced accordingly, I chose the passport because for what I use my device for it just works better and is more value added in my opinion. I traded my original passport to a friend for some camera lenses and bought another one on black Friday special for 499 which was a steal for the device. Just my two cents.

[Jamie Wooten]

Well I traded out my passport for a Note 4 about a month ago. Spent about 2 weeks with it and begged my wife to let me buy another Passport, the Note is now a Christmas gift for my 17 year old daughter.
Great device but once you use BlackBerry 10 and realize how clean it is and how everything just works, there's no comparison. I found myself having to do 2-3 steps to type a text or email with android. I really like the HUB on the passport and how everything is right there. Like everyone else has said it depends on what you're doing with your phone.

Posted via CB10