[kodos78]

Hey everyone,

I have a Galaxy S7 that has been through the ringer a bit. I have cracked glass on it (yes, even with a case), and rather than pay to repair the glass, I thought I might try "something different". With the Priv down to $279 on Amazon(!) and with free (Prime) same day delivery I thought I'd give it a shot.

I was originally interested in the KeyOne, but there's no firm release date and a $280 investment is better than a $600 one. Plus, I can sell the Priv for not too much of a loss if I decide to upgrade later as this is a pretty bargain basement price.

I am looking forward to having a physical keyboard. I really hate touchscreen keyboards. If I get an email in, and the response will be more than a few sentences, I just wait to type on one of my computers. So I am looking forward to the slider.

I have heard about performance issues, but I mostly just use Chrome, Facebook, Email, Slack, Kindle, and Logos (Bible Study) on my phones. Don't play any games -- I have a Switch, XBox One, and a gaming PC for that. So I think I'll be okay, right?

I do take pictures of the kids with my phone -- and that's where I can see the Priv potentially being a letdown compared to the S7 which has a phenomenal camera. We'll see.

But I'm mostly excited about the keyboard. I've watched it in action -- and man, that looks impressive. This will be my first BlackBerry so there won't be any pining for the glory days. My brother had a Blackberry which he adored, but I just had a plain flip phone back then

Anyway, looking forward to being part of this community, and hopefully looking forward to promoting these new BBs to my friends.

Let me know if there's anything I need to know off the bat, especially regarding upgrading to Marshmallow. We are going to a wedding tomorrow (a bit of a drive), and I'm looking forward to spending the day with the phone if it gets here as Amazon promises!

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Expect you'll find it a good value at that price.....

[Mirko935]

I think you'll be quite fine. Priv is my first BlackBerry as well, and my wife's, and we're both very happy with them.
The physical keyboard will probably take a few days of getting used to, even if you used phones with QWERTY keyboards before. But I'm sure you'll love all of its great features like swiping to complete words or delete them, copy/pasting, scrolling etc.
I hate touchscreen keyboards too, even with swype and whatever. When I had a phone without a physical keyboard, like in your case, anything longer than a sentence or two would wait until I'd get to a computer. With Priv, even when I sit in front of the computer, if I happen to get an e-mail and read it on my phone first, I also respond using the phone.

Regarding camera, aside from the bit longer shutter lag, it's quite good IMO. Probably not "S7 good", but... well, you'll see yourself in a few hours.
Priv's overall performance should also be a bit worse than S7's, same with battery life, but for 280 $ I guess there's little to complain about.

Since you already used Android, there shouldn't be much unknowns regarding upgrading and things like that. Once it boots for the first time, check for updates, update that, then update all the apps from the Play Store etc. Of course, if you need any assistance, feel free to ask.

[erose75]

It should update to M out of the box.

The pkb will feel a little dead at first so don't be alarmed. Mine got clicky over time.

I recommend getting it set up and all the apps updated before putting in your sim card. Let it settle out overnight.

[Michael Liang]

Just make sure that you do a proper reboot after you update to MM (hold the power button for 32 secs approx)
The phone may heat up a bit while it syncs your emails and updates, so bring along a portable charger. You may need it.

[DiegoV_G]

I love my Priv. Perfect screen size, love the keyboard, the design itself is gorgeous, nice camera, not an slow phone but on games it's not the best either tbh, battery absolutely sucks, sound is okay but not stereo sadly, camera has 2 flash lights, sim and sd trim holder are flimsy. That's pretty much it

[qwerty4ever]

As a BlackBerry Priv user since November 2015 I can attest to the quality of this smartphone.

[Bertie Bear]

Congratulations on your purchase. For me, this is still BlackBerry's flagship phone. Gorgeous unique design, fantastic screen & excellent camera.
I hope that like me you'll have a lot of fun with all the keyboard shortcuts, tips & tricks. There's something new to discover every day.
For me, battery life is good, easily gets me through the day & I'm currently getting over 6 hours screen on time.
It seems from the forums that there are quite a few Friday afternoon phones around, but fingers crossed you'll get one of the good ones!

[kodos78]

It is now in my grubby hands. Download OS update, setting everything up. Came with 0% charge, so will be nursing it to a full charge before doing much.

So far I like the way it feels in hand, and the Physical Keyboard is already a breath of fresh air, even though I'm not entirely used to it. Particularly with delete where I think Enter should be. But even so, so much less aggravation than touchscreens. Thanks for all of the tips everyone!

[Sigewif]

I have had a Priv almost since launch and it is a great phone. I think it is underrated. I love the physical keyboard and use it almost exclusively for my typing. You will get used to it after a little practice. The camera holds its own, and has some tools that BlackBerry has added. I have sometimes been at gatherings where everyone wanted the picture I took after we all took pictures, even when there were iPhones and Samsungs used by others. The Priv just performed better. If you use "burst" mode for action shots (holding down the shutter to take rapid fire photos) you can get better action shots of your kids, for example, saving the best pics.
There is plenty of help here in the forums and people willing to chime in if there are questions.

[Mirko935]

It is now in my grubby hands. Download OS update, setting everything up. Came with 0% charge, so will be nursing it to a full charge before doing much.

So far I like the way it feels in hand, and the Physical Keyboard is already a breath of fresh air, even though I'm not entirely used to it. Particularly with delete where I think Enter should be. But even so, so much less aggravation than touchscreens. Thanks for all of the tips everyone!

The backspace/delete key bothered me for a few days as well, as did Shift and Alt. But after around 10 days of pretty limited usage I effortlessly typed out my ~6 page review of the phone entirely on its keyboard, and, according to this Typing test app, I typed 45-50 wpm. So, again, it's just a matter of giving yourself time to get used to it.
For comparison, with swype on my old phone I could reach 35 after 2 years of typing that way so I don't quite believe it when people say how VKBs are faster than the PKBs. For some maybe, but for me it doesn't work, especially in my native language due to the dictionaries which don't quite cover all the possible word forms, declensions etc.

Btw, this wedding you're attending could be a good place to test the camera out a bit.

[kvndoom]

Yesterday was my first official day of use. I love the phone! Takes a good bit of time to get everything customized, since Android doesn't have the ease of customization that Blackberry's legacy OS'es featured. But eventually I mostly got it the way that works best for me.

I love that it's a hefty, rigid phone, just like a Blackberry should be. You don't think "cheap" when you hold it in your hand. It's too bad BB flubbed the launch so badly. Now that I own it, I am even more convinced that this phone could have been a home run had its release been executed properly.

The only thing I don't like is the curved screen. It's a useless gimmick that I'm sure factored into the high original price, and it also makes finding a good glass screen guard practically impossible, since they tend to have a problem with gaps that doesn't plague flat screens.

[Bertie Bear]

For a screen protector, I use one called Screen Knight which is military grade memory film. You apply it wet, it looks great & applies perfectly to the curved screen.

[kvndoom]

For a screen protector, I use one called Screen Knight which is military grade memory film. You apply it wet, it looks great & applies perfectly to the curved screen.

I just ordered a wet-application protector (can't remember which brand though), so I hope that does the trick. Buying a glass guard is just my first instinct, which was a bad choice this time around.

[Bertie Bear]

Don't be put off if you get some bubbles after applying. Left alone, they magically disappear after a few days.

Posted via CB10

[newcollector]

There are some great 3D tempered glass protectors available. One is by Stouch and the other is by Vikoo. I have had the Stouch and it works great. Can't tell it is on and my screen sensitivity is fine. A friend used the vikoo version and loves it.