[jonhoffman46]

Hi all, new poster here. Now that we have seen some pretty nice up close pictures of the new Classic, I wanted to bring to everyone's attention something that has been sort of bugging me about all of the QWERTY devices so far.
Everyone knows screen real estate is at a premium these days, so BlackBerry has the difficult task of trying to brand the front of their devices while catering to this need. This results in their logo usually taking up space that "could" be used for more screen space.
So I ask all of you guys, should BlackBerry try to move their logo in order to increase screen real estate? And if so, where should they move it?
In my opinion, I think the bottom of the device where carrier branding is usually located is such a good spot for the BlackBerry symbol. Of course, this would clash with carriers a bit (which definitely isn't ideal,) but I think putting carrier branding on the back of the device is a perfectly fine alternative.
Let me know what you guys think!

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[marksthespot60]

The screen ratio would need to stay the same, so width would have to increase to maintain a 1:1 ratio

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[jonhoffman46]

I was thinking of steering away from the 1:1 ratio and going more the classic's route with 16:9 or 4:3 or whatever it is, I think it makes developers more inclined to invest in BlackBerry and also gives users a larger screen with one handed use capabilities.

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[anon(4044683)]

I agree with the Huge BlackBerry logo taking up so much space. I would also like to see a 16:9 / 4:3 Qwerty phone. I hope it won't be too long.

[sir.dangerfield]

I believe there is critical hardware behind the BlackBerry logo. This hardware takes the space of what could be more screen real estate if I remember reading correctly.

Q10

[jonhoffman46]

True light sensors and maybe even gyro. Obviously it would be exhausting a lot of resources they don't have, but these days I feel people (even the non consumer markets) look for two things in a phone; screen size and apps. Unfortunately, apps is a slow moving process that has been debated to death, but I think screen real estate is something BlackBerry can get ahead on, even with QWERTY devices.
Or, they will just totally take themselves out of the handset business, I guess we will see!

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[Bbnivende]

True light sensors and maybe even gyro. Obviously it would be exhausting a lot of resources they don't have, but these days I feel people (even the non consumer markets) look for two things in a phone; screen size and apps. Unfortunately, apps is a slow moving process that has been debated to death, but I think screen real estate is something BlackBerry can get ahead on, even with QWERTY devices.
Or, they will just totally take themselves out of the handset business, I guess we will see!

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Look at a 9900 or Q10 tear down video to see that a screen is very thin and sits on top of "stuff". I do not know why they have stuck with a square screen but they have. The Classic has probably the largest square screen possible while retaining the ability to use one hand to type etc.

[anon(1852343)]

Thinking about it and the carrier and BlackBerry could share the space reserved for carriers allowing a slightly bigger screen

Q10 with Telus on 10.3.0.1052

[Bbnivende]

Thinking about it and the carrier and BlackBerry could share the space reserved for carriers allowing a slightly bigger screen

Q10 with Telus on 10.3.0.1052

You just can't make up a screen to fit a phone. The phone is designed to fit a screen. The Blackberry Qwerty has a square screen. I am not sure why but maybe it is to maximise the number of apps that can run. Just a guess.

[tinochiko]

Technically aren't all BlackBerry phones 'Qwerty' whether they are fully touchscreen or have a physical keyboard? I understood that QWERTY referred to the keyboard layout, an alternative for the numerical layout of the majority of feature phones rather than physical vs. Virtual, but since everyone understood what you meant I guess it doesn't matter

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[alexbe09]

In my opinion I believe the blackberry logo on the front can and should be moved to the back of the device. ALSO!! Put the BlackBerry logo that is in the back of devices higher up. What for? In order to promote BlackBerry and while your talking on the phone people will be able to see its a BlackBerry.

Ex. Apple iPhone has its logo higher up in the phone's rear and doesn't get covered with you hand

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[jonhoffman46]

I don't think it is too much of a problem to have the minimized logo on the bottom of the keyboard, simply because the keyboard is a strong identifying feature for BlackBerry anyway. I'm starting to like the Classic quite a bit, although with my theory of putting the logo on the bottom would allow their second version of the Classic to perhaps move to the 3.7 - 3.9 inch realm, and giving us the non square screen that hinders some apps.

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[dalight13]

On the Q10 I'd put it under the screen so it's not a PITA to swipe up

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[Bbnivende]

Once again, the logo location has nothing to do with the screen size. If BlackBerry wanted to have a 4:3 screen format that is what they would have built. NO screen real estate is being lost because of the Logo.

[jonhoffman46]

But isn't it tougher for app developers to develop for a 1:1 ratio screen?

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[Bbnivende]

Maybe a developer could chime in But I agree that a 4:3 aspect ratio would have been better. They would not have needed the Passport and a Slider would have been more feasible.

[texn884]

I have taked my Q10 and placed it on top of my Z30 and wish they would take the KB and place it at the bottom of the Z30 and you would have the perfect phone in my eyes.

I love the Z30 but it is always nice to have a KB to punch out words

[jonhoffman46]

Or like everyone wants, an updated full touch (some people just aren't satisfied with the z30!)

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[johnnyuk]

But isn't it tougher for app developers to develop for a 1:1 ratio screen?

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It's certainly the case that less native apps/games are available for the 1:1 ratio physical keyboard BlackBerry 10 phone and some that are are hindered visually by the ratio or lack of real estate.

Many Android apps do not play well with 1:1 aspect ratio because it's not a ratio that exists on Android. You're never going to have a great time watching widescreen video on a 1:1 square screen either.

I'm not a fan of the square screens on physical keyboard BB10 phones. We humans don't view the world as a square box, some correlation between how we view the world and how things look on a screen helps us as humans see things more clearly. I simply don't know why they didn't settle at a compromise of 4:3 at the very least but preferably 16:9.

Posted from my BlackBerry Z30 STA100-2 /10.2.1.3247 on O2 UK - Activated on BES10.2.3

[Mirk]

First, part of the screen is usually taken up by the portion of the keyboard that is on-screen or by the navigation bar at the bottom. I believe this is why BlackBerry chose a 1:1 format, so that the so called usable screen area is approximately 4:3. In other words, to maximize the amount of content that is on the screen while still stealing part of it for navigation or typing.

Second, as some have said, I seriously doubt the location of the logo affects the size of the screen nor does the size of the screen affect the location of the logo. I mean, do you really think people at BlackBerry sat down and discussed making the screen smaller so they could fit the logo at the top. Or do you think they discussed what screen ratio and screen size they were going to move forward with then designed the hardware around that. Personally, I'm going to go with the later.

[jonhoffman46]

You are probably right about why the physical screen is 1:1, that's a really good point.
For the average business or consumer user, however, one handed Web browsing and other media/content consumption looks and feels best on a rectangular screen, even if the action bar makes it a little less.
Two points about the action bar;
1. The action bar in 10.3 seems to be partly transparent, making more content available to the consumer's first glance.
2. When scrolling and looking at media, the action bar does go away, again bringing the full amount of content to the screen.
These two OS nuances, at least I believe, make having a 16:9 screen a good option for BlackBerry to use on their future QWERTYs.

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[Bbnivende]

You are probably right about why the physical screen is 1:1, that's a really good point.
For the average business or consumer user, however, one handed Web browsing and other media/content consumption looks and feels best on a rectangular screen, even if the action bar makes it a little less.
Two points about the action bar;
1. The action bar in 10.3 seems to be partly transparent, making more content available to the consumer's first glance.
2. When scrolling and looking at media, the action bar does go away, again bringing the full amount of content to the screen.
These two OS nuances, at least I believe, make having a 16:9 screen a good option for BlackBerry to use on their future QWERTYs.

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Are you suggesting a Z30 with a keyboard attached on the bottom or a landscape slider?

[jonhoffman46]

I would say more z30 with a keyboard slapped on, maybe not as wide for easier one handed use (a feature I think is crucial for most users.)
I don't think we will see a slider in the near future, simply because of BlackBerry's recent focus on enterprise (the Torch being geared more towards a young, consumer marker.)

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[Bbnivende]

I would say more z30 with a keyboard slapped on, maybe not as wide for easier one handed use (a feature I think is crucial for most users.)
I don't think we will see a slider in the near future, simply because of BlackBerry's recent focus on enterprise (the Torch being geared more towards a young, consumer marker.)

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As long as you realize that this design would be as long as the largest phones sold today. A Z10 conversion would be more manageable.

[jonhoffman46]

I mean iPhone users didn't mind using the Typo. Maybe Z10 size without the bezels obviously, I think that is a better height.
From what I've seen from the photos, the Classic looks iPhone sized.

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