[mofokey]

I can't believe this, Blackberry has done it again.
Passport's implementation of screen rotation is so pointlessly thoughtless.
I remember how having no rotation lock on my Torch annoyed me to no end and BlackBerry repeated the same thing this time. (well, not exactly, but read on...).
I feel foolish for having praised Passport for being so thoughtfully designed when it hasn't properly considered something as basic as this.

Passport rotate the screen in ony certain apps. For example, rotation doesn't work in calculator or music app. Neither can you rotate the screen in the home menu.

Now, maybe BlackBerry thought you don't need to rotate the screen in those apps/places, but that's up to me to decide. Besides, what this means, for example, is that when you are in the browser and return to home momentarily, you need to turn the device upright, even if all you want is just to quickly glance at the new mail or notification item you just got and go right back to browsing. Then of course you need to turn the device again if that's how you want to browse (and actually use the keypad as the scrollbar, as it's been noted as one of the clever features of Passport - I.e. I am saying this to pre-empt someone possibly telling me to just browse with my device upright. I am making the point that this is not some "unintended" use I am making of the device here).

Another issue: screen doesn't rotate to upside down position.
This means that, if you are lying on your side AND want to browse the Web with the device turned sideways, well, there's no way to do it. Is BlackBerry telling me it's a bad posture to use the device this way or are they suggesting if I ever want to use the device in bed, do it on my back, never on the side? Beats me.

On to the next point: rotation lock.

On Passport, it seems that the only use you can make of this feature is to lock the rotation to upright ("portrait") position. There really isn't a way to keep it locked sideways ("landscape").
I would want to keepit locked sideway when I am browsing the Web that way and don't want the screen to rotate with a slight change in the angle I am holding the device. But no, there isn't a way to do it as far as I can tell. You can't bring the quick settings menu while in an app (such as the browser) and the device is turned sideways. Yes, I know you can call quick menu in apps by swiping down with two fingers. This works on when you are in upright though. It doesn't work when you rotate the screen sideways. Of course as I already noted above, if you wanna come out to home, the only rotation allowed there is upright so you can't set the orientation lock and go back into the app either.
So all in all, "rotation lock" on Passport really just means "lock rotation to upright position".

I fail to see why they would've imposed this kind of restriction. I am no programmer, but I know enough to know that it wouldn't be any big deal at all to just allow everything I pointed out: allow screen to flip upside down, allow the screen to rotate in any and all apps, allow access to rotation lock while in landscape. I think the absence of some of these are just a result of them falling through the cracks, (such as being unable to lock screen sideways, which is a combined result of the fact that the home screen doesn't rotate sideways and the fact that you can't bring the quick settings menu while in sideways - I suspect that if there was away to bring quick settings while sideways, you would be able to lock orientation that way) but others (such as the fact that you can't turn home screen sideways or turn ANYTHING upside down) are conscious choices, which I don't see any rational basis for. I mean, people use their devices in different ways and in different situations. Why disallow some, especially when allowing them wouldn't really cost anyone anything?

The nightmare is back... the days of Torch annoying me because it hadno rotation llol. Sigh...

This is probably one of the most constructive feedback that Passport can get, based on thoughtful consideration of how the device may be used, but I can already see the defensive reactions of the CB'ers... sigh...

[non-vtec]

Sell the pos passport to me then. 10 bucks in hand

Posted via CB10

[northern-comfort]

Your long winded pout is lost on me. The screen is SQUARE, why on earth would you want to hold it sideways or upside down?

Posted via CB10

[anon(5906760)]

No bb10 device orients upside-down.... what purpose would that serve...

Why would you want to use the calculator sideways? The screen is square...

No phones let you turn the homescreen sideways... nor would I want to... that would be really annoying..

I know this might sound rude, but blackberry isn't developing their phones specially for you. The majority of us (see the hundreds of positive reviews) like the passport the way it is. If you're unhappy with it, there's thousands of people dying to get one. I'm sure you could even make a profit selling it online.

Posted via CB10

[joewoo]

As soon as I saw "severely" in the title... I knew it wasn't gonna be much.......

[Mayor McCheese]

Lol this post maaaaaaan

Posted via CB10

[mofokey]

Your long winded pout is lost on me. The screen is SQUARE, why on earth would you want to hold it sideways or upside down?

Posted via CB10

The post was obviously too long for you, when I said the following specifically anticipating someone to say exactly this.

"and actually use the keypad as the scrollbar, as it's been noted as one of the clever features of Passport - I.e. I am saying this to pre-empt someone possibly telling me to just browse with my device upright. I am making the point that this is not some "unintended" use I am making of the device here"

Remeber this photo?

https://s.yimg.com/cd/resizer/2.0/FI...5acb2dcbc8.jpg

Any decent review of Passport pointed this out as one of the clever things they did with Passport.

Gawd I hate people who go " why would you...?"
I do it because that's how I use the device.

[GP540]

The only times I hold my device sideways is for viewing Web content for scrolling or in redditinmotion

In Squircle I Trust

[dejanh]

Normally I give these complaints a chance, but this is just plain idiotic. The screen is square so who cares which way you have it oriented. The "landscape" orientation, if I can even call it that, is only handy in a few very select cases where a lot of vertical scrolling may occur. Otherwise, it's genuinely useless. Also, if you think implementing rotation incorrectly is a BlackBerry specific thing, you must not have seen an iPhone 6 which still can't rotate it's home screen. The only iPhone ever to be able to rotate the home screen is iPhone 6 Plus. Also, not all iOS apps have a useful landscape mode.

Had we been talking about a 16:9 device some of the rant would have been valid. As it stands, you need to reconsider your annoyances.

Posted via CB10

[tmf06]

Wow, this really sounds like a huge overreaction.

Posted via CB10

[LostOnThePianoRoll]

Well, op kind of has a point..
Even on touch devices when you're in a landscape app you can't peek into the hub, you have to minimize which brings the vertical home screen and swipe up (while the phone is on the left side) to bring up the hub which goes horizontal as well :S
It should be system wide and the same gestures that work up right should work sideways *up and left to peek* from whatever app you're in.

Posted via CB10 on my Z10STL100-1/10.3.1.634

[mofokey]

No bb10 device orients upside-down.... what purpose would that serve...

See my post above.

Why would you want to use the calculator sideways? The screen is square...

Calculator was by way of example. It could be any app.

No phones let you turn the homescreen sideways... nor would I want to... that would be really annoying..

It's because those phones are rectangular and turning the home screen sideways will make the UI awkward. On Passport, precisely because the screen is square it should've been allowed to rotate. Besides, iPhone 6 home screen now turns sideways, just so you know. (This is not meant to draw iphone into this discussion. i am just pointing out what you just said is not true)

I know this might sound rude, but blackberry isn't developing their phones specially for you. The majority of us (see the hundreds of positive reviews) like the passport the way it is. If you're unhappy with it, there's thousands of people dying to get one. I'm sure you could even make a profit selling it online.

Posted via CB10

No offence taken.
However, I had my response to this in my opening post too.

"I fail to see why they would've imposed this kind of restriction. I am no programmer, but I know enough to know that it wouldn't be any big deal at all to just allow everything I pointed out"

Yes, it's another story if it costs gaZillion dollars to add this feature. But no, it's probably maybe a day's worth of a programmer's time (or even less).
I am not saying something that's there should be gone. I am pointing out that there's something that could really easily have been there that's missing.

[mofokey]

For those of you who see no point of turning the device sideways, just take a look at this picture.

https://s.yimg.com/cd/resizer/2.0/FI...5acb2dcbc8.jpg

If you've actually been as excited for passport as I was and did some research, you would've know that one of the things touted by many thoughtful reviewers who actually gave PP thought it deserved was exactly this.

It was always those sloppy reviewers who thought square screen was stupid, pointless, because on a rectangular screen you could turn the phone sideways - "what's the point of square screen? There is no point in turning it. A rectangular screen can be turned sideways to read documents and web browse" well, no, they missed the point. And you who are saying why one would turn PP screen, you are missing a point too.

If you still don't see the point, I really suggest PP is not for you.

[overhere]

The post was obviously too long for you, when I said the following specifically anticipating someone to say exactly this.

"and actually use the keypad as the scrollbar, as it's been noted as one of the clever features of Passport - I.e. I am saying this to pre-empt someone possibly telling me to just browse with my device upright. I am making the point that this is not some "unintended" use I am making of the device here"

Remeber this photo?

https://s.yimg.com/cd/resizer/2.0/FI...5acb2dcbc8.jpg

Any decent review of Passport pointed this out as one of the clever things they did with Passport.

Gawd I hate people who go " why would you...?"
I do it because that's how I use the device.

Ummm, the keyboard scrolls when held upright, you don't have to turn the phone.

What about apps that default portrait mode? I'm not turning my z10 back on to check them all but one example is the ScotiaBank app. It's a tiny inconvenience that a few people have to live with. Life is no better or worse because of it.

[menshawy]

Don't you think they going to address this and more issues in SW updates?

Check out my photography channel

[KenFletch]

BlackBerry is prejudiced against contortionists.




HTC TOUCH, Nokia-N97, BlackBerry Torch 9800, Z10

[mofokey]

Don't you think they going to address this and more issues in SW updates?

Check out my photography channel

I sure hope they do. It's not like it's difficult to fix this.

[mofokey]

Ummm, the keyboard scrolls when held upright, you don't have to turn the phone.

What about apps that default portrait mode? I'm not turning my z10 back on to check them all but one example is the ScotiaBank app. It's a tiny inconvenience that a few people have to live with. Life is no better or worse because of it.

Yes, but the keyboard height is short when held upright so it's less useful as a scrollbar.
And besides, I'd wager that the whole reason why rotation IS allowed in browser (while it's not allowed in many other apps) is so you can use the device exactly like that. In other words, this is very much how BB intended the device to be used.

I am not sure what you mean with Scotia Bank app, but I agree, it may be a minor inconvenience, but at the same time something so easy to fix.

[tomsobon]

I completely agree with the OP.

IF BlackBerry implements screen Rotation, then it should be implemented for all apps and should be available whatever you are doing in the OS!

[DocDRM]

OP, take it easy or you're gonna get the HIGH blood!

Posted via CB10, now from a Z30

[mofokey]

OP, take it easy or you're gonna get the HIGH blood!

Posted via CB10, now from a Z30

Thanks. Just wanted to draw some attention.
But you do see my point, don't you?

[tonytraj17]

I understand your frustration but the OS is not yet optimized for landscape mode. I hope they actually get that accomplished by 10.4, but that might just be wishful thinking. I dont understand why you would want to rotate a square screen in some apps like calculator, or homescreen like you mentioned. The rotation is best used for browsing the web, social networking sites (facebook, twitter, etc), while in the hub, or reading documents. It is not a severe problem but i do understand some frustration you are having, should have tried these things on demo unit before buying the device.

[general41]

Some people like to wine eh my god

Posted via CB10

[mofokey]

Some people like to wine eh my god

Posted via CB10

I am a whiner, for sure, as is known by all of my friends and my parents.
Yet, it's when you can satisfy someone like me that you can say you excel.
I know being a whiner is not good for my own personal development and virtues, but that's my problem.
To a company like BlackBerry, they would do well to take heed of someone like me. A great source of feedback that usually doesn't come from the general populace ("power" professional, anyone? That's who BB was trying to cater to, right?)

In any case, that I am a whiner has nothing to do with you.
If you see my point, I appreciate you expressing your agreement, and if you disagree, I would also appreciate your thoughtful rebuttal.

[mofokey]

I understand your frustration but the OS is not yet optimized for landscape mode. I hope they actually get that accomplished by 10.4, but that might just be wishful thinking. I dont understand why you would want to rotate a square screen in some apps like calculator, or homescreen like you mentioned. The rotation is best used for browsing the web, social networking sites (facebook, twitter, etc), while in the hub, or reading documents. It is not a severe problem but i do understand some frustration you are having, should have tried these things on demo unit before buying the device.

Ok, the "severe" part was a hyperbole.
Calculator was just an example.
I can think of why you would want to use browser sideways, and maybe some document viewers, but I don't see uses for sideways screen for other applications yet. Doesn't mean they can't be there. It's just that I don't see it either at this point.

I sure hope they fix it, but I agree with you, I doubt they will.

Living's a challenge when you are picky and particular about stuff.