Review: An All-Touch phone guy with the Passport - The First 24 hours
Sorry for the length of the post
My history with Blackberry
I started out in the late 90s with a 950 *Exchange, moved in the early 2000s to the 6720 and rather quickly replaced that one with the the 77 series. Stunning color at 240x240. :rotfl:
From there I jumped in rather short order from the Pearl to Bold and then entered the world of the 'touch' phones: Storm1, Storm2, Torch (not the one with the slider keyboard), Z10, and Z30.
I am using the Z10 for a year and a half now and the Z30 for almost a year. I got both when they were first released.
The reason I switched to the touch variety was because in time and age my thumbs seemed to get fatter and I became more clutzy with a keyboard :laughing:
The reason I always stayed with Blackberry phones is simple: My life, business and private, relies heavily on emails and sure connectivity when traveling. No other phone ever showed the reliability as a Blackberry. And yes I am extremely familiar with iPhones and Android devices as my kids decided to use inferior devices. :p Since most iPhone users are not very technical (rather plug-and-play type) I had to learn everything there is about those secondary devices. Daddy's revenge: I cut them out of my will. :laughing:
Passport
Using the Torch, Z10 and Z30 (a phone superior over any phone last year and shame on you Verizon for not marketing it properly) I became a huge fan of the all touch devices. I was quite nervous and a little disappointed when I heard that the Passport will be a keyboard device. Though with the possibility of the Z50 on the horizon I did decide to jump back into the world of keyboards. Since I wanted to use the Passport as a WiFi device the first couple of days before switching carriers what is the worst that can happen? I don't like and I would sell it right here to the most die hard BB fans at purchase price: $599
Ordered on Amazon on Sept 26. Received yesterday (October 17).
The first 24 hours
It felt quite awkward holding the Passport for the first time. But it may have something to do with the fact that you are extra careful and don't know yet how to hold it, don't want to break it and don't know quite yet what to do with it. Kinda like you hold a new born baby for the first time with the exception that the Passport does not cry. :cool::laughing:
I did not restore from my Z30 or Z10 but rather decided to keep it fresh. I was very fond of Snap before. It was as advertised and the interface always felt like BB World. What I did not expect was the extend Snap was designed. Like I said it was the first time I had to reinstall all my apps and I was utterly surprised that all my Android apps were listed under "Available" just like BB World. It took me less than 15 minutes to install all my apps (15 Android and 16 Blackberry). Flawless. Since BB did not change the interface of setting email accounts up I was basically up and running in less than 30 minutes (8 email accounts, 31 apps). I did not setup Whatsapp or BBM yet as I did not want to interfere with my Z30. That will be done once I switch carriers.
Then I started the test. I compared the email sync cycles between the Z30 and Passport. The Passport picked all new mail up on the first sync and the Z30 most on the first sync but the rest on the second sync cycle. Having my settings at every 5 minutes it is not a big deal. I was just curious.
I do like the option with the one-click deletion of emails now. Nice add-on to the selection of multiple emails.
Since all my apps are working I decided to put the Passport to the test. I opened 10 apps (Facebook, Twitter, a few banking apps, LinkedIn etc). To complete the test I opened up I:heart:Radio at the end. I used every app, received email, read email, deleted email, wrote a couple emails, back into the apps and I:heart:Radio not once stopped, got sluggish or had to re-stream. Absolutely stunning performance.
The final test came this morning. I knew my son (24) and my daughter (22) were off. So I told them (since I took them out of my will) :D I will invite them for breakfast this morning. Phones are a must. Son has an iPhone 6+ and daughter has now an iPhone 6. They turned their radio off (too make it all fair) and we all connected to the free wifi at the restaurant. We wrote down a list of websites to visit including heavy flash sites (i.e. cnn.com). The Passport left them in the dust. Much faster. The screen is much better (clearer and more information on the screen).
Opening apps: There were a couple of apps which opened faster on he iPhones. Facebook was one of them and I used both the BB version and the Android version. But we are talking about maybe a second or less.
I did get used typing on the keyboard very fast. Within an hour I was more proficient than on the Z30 or Z10, more speed and less typing errors.
The Passport is definitely a two hand operation and though my kids liked it it would not be for my daughter as she is a one-hand operation type of girl. I always used both hands anyways typing with both thumbs so there is no difference to me.
It is a little top heavy but the way I solved that problem is by using my index fingers in the back going beyond the center and basically making the Passport bottom heavy and resting it on the little and ring finger on both hands and use both thumbs to type. Nothing awkward. Works quite well.
Camera has stunning clarity and does fantastic pictures though I do miss the 'touch anywhere on the screen' to take a picture. Maybe there will be a software update in the future but it is not a big problem.
There still will be a few things I have to test and play with but at this point I will not make the Passport available for our Crackberry users.:D
I am very, very happy. By far the best phone. A keeper :party:
Note: OS 10.3.0.738
PS: I started yesterday with a full battery. I did not connect to any power source. And after almost 24 hours of extremely heavy use I still have 75% left. You get easily 2 plus days out of the battery.
PPS: Blend rocks