[The_Passporter]

That's fair. Still, saying that my statement is completely subjective is a fairly strong opinion coming from someone who -- if I'm reading your post correct -- has not used both keyboard styles.

Subjective is not a criticism but a clarification.

Hmm..... very defensive you are.....embrace the light and guide you the force will

[ArbuckleWillis]

As was mentioned above but different situation. That statement is a bit subjective. Don't blame the operating system for user deficiency. I highly doubt you were optimally efficient using BB for a month. But over time it became intuitive for the way you do things and now it works for you. You can't play with Android briefly and make a blanket statement. I'll give you the physical keyboard aspect because I hate on screen typing, but that's about it.

I'm highly efficient in navigating through Android now. But then again, I've used it for years and customized my home screens to work with how I like to do things.

I owned a Samsung Note 3 for two years and sold it on eBay. I have owned several iPhones (4,4s, 5s, and current 6s+).
I grew to dislike Android over that two year period. I have owned BB Curves, Classic and a Passport on the way as of today.
I find your presumptuous conclusions a bit subjective.

Was just trying to articulate how we are drawn to our Blackberrys because of the keyboard and efficient flow of their platforms.

PS: have a nice day.

[HBLEY]

Recently shifted from my old BB device to a totally new and amazing phone S8. I am liking every pixel of that phone. It is very elegant looking and the display is amazing!

[hoytbowhunter]

I have Sprint so none of those are compatible with BYOD. I debated switching carriers but I use a lot of data every month and Sprint is still the cheapest for me and pretty reliable for my area. Also I was pretty disappointed the latest BlackBerries don't have RGB notifications; I know I can live without them, but damn they are so convenient for how I use my phone.

The Priv and KEYone both have the RGB, the Dtek50 and 60 do but it's white only.

[The_Passporter]

Whatever device I move to I would like it to have an RGB light. I don't understand what it has not become a standard for all phones. It is the most useful tool

Posted via CB10

[Drael646464]

I must admit, I was reluctant to give up the PKB. But I went ahead an purchased a Microsoft Lumia 950.

Overall its been a very pleasant experience.

Pros:

The UI is best in class. Live tiles and the interface is beautiful and highly functional. Info at your finger tips that I think bb10 users would appreciate

Linked inboxes - not sure if you can use every type of email address, but you can link inboxes in the mail app, and it works well for me.

Unparalleled interopability with windows PCs

Plenty of apps for most social networking, photo editing and so on - enough utlility apps for all but the more demanding "app power user"

Continuum is a boss feature, handy for streaming, gaming and the like, not just productivity (still a limited number of compatible apps though).

Notifications less crowded vs android

Strong peripheral compatibility

Cortana voice commands for texting etc and neat features like inline text reply which as yet, no other OS has. Which works well for productivity minded folk.

Xbox intergration.

For the phone itself, beautiful camera.

More updates on their way, things like timeline, Cortana skills, fluent design system, cshell

Very secure

Cons

I miss the PKB - virtual can be as fast, but its less enjoyable and not as stamina oriented.

There are a few app shortages, but nothing like BBW. In particular I need to use "lastpass" instead of my banking app (my one app sacrifice since moving, although I gained much more tbh, proper first party apps for major social networks, major chat apps, music streaming etc). Less "mobility apps", niche chat programs, travel software. For people used to bb10 this will be no biggie at all. There's plenty of web browsers in store, and more screen space to use em, if need be.

Less games than ios or android, but enough quality titles to keep one busy unless one is game mad. Again, bb10 users are unlikely to notice anything lacking, given how they have faired game wise. ----In general the windows store is three times the size of BBW, and basically "must" grow, because the whole windows platform, desktop as well, depends on it. MSFT has basically earmarked UWP as "the future" in the same way they once did with win32. I've got three times the number of apps I ever installed on my bb10, or any android device, and I'll probably not use some of them.

Multi-tasking is more limited than android (not that it's a central use to most people). For some, rare bb10 users, this might be an issue, given bb10 us true real time, but for most people it won't bother.

Poor wearable compatibility. I know people use fitbit, and xiaomi and some of the bigger wearables with win10m, but it doesn't have the range of support for these as iOS or android. Same with smarthome stuff. This might matter to some people, but if you've been using bb10, chances are it doesn't matter much to you. You can just buy compatible gear if nessasary.

In general, its been a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I love my new phone and its OS. I do miss the keyboard but android being not for me, I decided to take the plunge and I am very happy with it.

I would recommend this type of move to those looking for something after bb10, but not so keen on android or google.

With a few caveats
* UWP is not yet as big as the other big two. Likely somewhere between 700,000 and a million apps (ie more than amazon or BBW but less than ios or android). You won't get snapchat, or pokemon go, it's still in its early stages
* MSFT appears to be transitioning in some fashion with mobile. Its possible they will move to 64 bit or similar after the end of this year. As such, you'll definitely get feature updates this year on a new-ish phone, but after that who knows - however you'll still get bug fixes and security and such for awhile, and the app platform is "bigger than mobile", so MFST is invested in growing it regardless. I also expect the feature updates this year will be kind of huge, even if they are the last for existing phones. If you are really worried about this, go HP - they seem to have the closest OEM relationship with MFST, and will have another phone out soonish.
*If you want loads of apps, are a traveller who depends on mobility apps, a strong gamer, or someone deeply into IoT this might not be for you.
*MSFT may release a new "phone" next year, something that isn't a candybar slab, something quite different. Its been sighted (seen) in the windows code, and looks like a dual screened folding device. If you want the longest support better to wait for HPs next one, or this. Me, it doesn't bother me, knowing I'll get some solid feature updates this year, and the apps will keep rolling in.

But yeah, in general to those not android leaning, it feels like a solid move to me. And if you do, one small bit of advice - first thing, update the phone. The early builds were buggy. Insiders preview actually seems to be the cream of the crop, so I'd advise that.

Peace, and if you choose keep enjoying your BB devices, android or bb10 All choices are solid choices here, they are only tools.

[VeryBumpy]

I must admit, I was reluctant to give up the PKB. But I went ahead an purchased a Microsoft Lumia 950.

Overall its been a very pleasant experience.
<snip much>

Great 'review' feedback.

Sadly like Blackberry, Windows Phone gets ridiculed and little to no attention.

I'm still trying to fully love my KEYone but there are many productivity things it won't do that my BB10 could or that it does do that I don't care for.

[pstrusi]

I've been always a BB user cause many former pros ( security, reliability..getting things done ) but the day has come; saddly I'm about to change to android cause BB's lack of vision in general to keep with the future, but overall because they don't care about customers lefting behind once the sell of any of their crap is done, and this behavior doom themselves to keep their spindown. Sad but true.

[HBLEY]

Great 'review' feedback.

Sadly like Blackberry, Windows Phone gets ridiculed and little to no attention.

I'm still trying to fully love my KEYone but there are many productivity things it won't do that my BB10 could or that it does do that I don't care for.

I too couldn't do much with my KEYone. BB10 was better

[The_Passporter]

Recently I bought a Oneplus 3T to replace my passport. If I could explain one reason for my move on a new device is because one of my favorite apps stereotube has developed a problem where vevo has blocked the app. That was a huge wakeup call for me. The Dev is nowhere to be seen and the support for bb10 is gone. I don't mind workarounds but that was the last straw. Another straw is still waiting down the road with WhatsApp so the straws are gathering.
The passport is an amazing tool and nothing compares to the design of the OS and it's fluidity. I can chat with for different people on for different apps and share files or info faster than any other device. It's sad it has come to this.

OMG did I just get a dark HUB after waiting the years for it?

[DroidBerryGuy]

Well, after having the Priv since the day it launched, I am leaving BB sadly. I do so for two reasons.

One, the Priv has become unusable for me. It's not just an occasional hangup or slowdown. It's constant. The summer heat had made it worse as the thermal throttling is prevelant when anywhere warm. This not only prevents the simplest tasks from being done, but has made the battery life terrible. The OS has never been truly optimized, but it has gotten terrible.

Two, the lack of communication from BB regarding updates has been terrible. I paid almost $750 for this phone that launched with an out of date OS. For the phone not to get O is a slap in the face of consumers who were duped into paying for this flagship privilege.

In the end, the One Plus 5 has what I need. 8 GB of Ram, a great camera all for less than the Keyone. I gave BB a shot two years ago and they blew it in my opinion.

[Centerman66]

I understand your position....i have contemplated the same. I wish you the best.

[rt2567]

glad I didn't buy becoz of the design

[raymerjacque]

Yea, im done with Blackberry. I bought a priv, many issues and many of them that would be solved with nougat update, but it appears that priv isnt getting a nougat update ? seems blackberry doesnt have long term support for their devices... I am done, Going back to Sony, at least there i know ill always be running latest OS.

[The_Passporter]

A couple weeks back I finally gave in after a couple of my apps broke and could not make a purchase on a website so I took a chance on a new phone purchase. I have sported the Passport for three years and with everyone upgrading around me getting faster phones with sharper cameras I was starting to get the itch. The frustration I felt with Blackberry no longer designing phones leaving us BB10 users nowhere to turn germinated in my blood with every passing day.
Everyday after my purchase I would contemplate the benefits of the new Android phone against the merits of the Passport and BB10. There are so many great ideas implemented in BB10 that are missed on Android as well as iPhone
I did go back to the Passport a few times lol. I had to see what was continuously drawing me back like a Crack addiction. I would switch back for a day here and there so that I could do the same things and compare. I can’t tell you how arduous a task it was culling over all the pros and cons between the two. I felt strongly biased towards the Passport which I wanted to win so badly.
The phone I purchased was the Oneplus 3T which I chose for the speedy specs, large battery, Dash charging and the LED/RGB light that is iconic of Blackberries. That was very important to me. Here are my considerations… ..

Benefits of both phones :
Passport
1- KEYBOARD!
I have to say that the one thing that draws me to the Passport more than anything else is the keyboard. It's just ridiculous how good it is, especially for editing text but not limited to, with all the variable shortcuts available dependent on screen or application.
2- The HUB...... enough said!
3- The tiled active tile screen that is always one flick away for the best multitasking experience.
4- battery life
5- miss that play / pause button on the side of the phone.
6- The file system cloud integration allows you to share files from the cloud from within an app without leaving the app and having to open a file manager that supports cloud access

7- Bluetooth is stronger than the Oneplus 3T

8- When clicking in a new field to type the PASTE symbol appears ready to input anything copied like a link or password. (On Android you have to click in the field then hold your finger there for the PASTE option. ) There are too many little niceties like this to mention that BB10 has

9- Swipe gestures. This makes navigation much easier without having to hit that senseless placing of the Hamburger menu at the top left of the screen.
-----------------------------++++++++++++++++
I restrained my urge to give too many pros to the Passport with only 9 so I'll give 7 for the Oneplus but they are 7 good ones.

Oneplus 3T
+ fast as Hell
+ amazing battery and charges super fast, Jimmy John fast! ( 57% in 30 minutes)
+ completely supported app ecosystem
+ improved camera front and back
+ Incredibly fast fingerprint sensor
+ screen is very bright even at the lowest setting
+ Hardware slider on the side of the phone toggles, silent / do not disturb / ring profiles. Similar to iPhone and Blackberry devices.
+ did I say it’s fast? Lol

I gave serious consideration to selling the Oneplus 3T and returning to the Passport. The one major reason for not staying on the Passport is the browser. Some pages just don’t load or take forever to load. There are instances where some of the loaded pages do not function properly preventing you from navigating or even performing a purchase. Using a fast and up-to-date browser is essential when considering the Passport since the app are either not there or losing support. After using the browser on the Oneplus 3T I was distraught at just how slow the load times were on my Passport.
From a realist point of view I can't justify returning to a slower phone with similar battery with slow charging and a doomed app ecosystem. I even resented buying the Oneplus 3T cause now I'm enjoying the latest technology while glancing back at my three year old favorite phone of all time. Looking forward, the future of BB10 and the inevitable increase of limitations that will arise are making the benefits of a new phone impossible to ignore.
To help my transition I did purchase the Blackberry Suite of apps and installed the Blackberry virtual keyboard. Without these things it would have been a much more rocky a road. I think the problems with transitioning to a new OS will always be locating and adjusting all the settings of course but most of all finding the right apps to allow you to continue to function as smoothly as you did prior to the switch. That can be frustrating especially when you have millions of apps to filter through. In this case more may not always be better lol.
I have to say that the Passport is an amazing design and it’s a shame that it did not take off. We all know well what those reasons are. My only wish is that there is another attempt given to resurrect a Passport style phone be it BB10 or Android, probably the latter. I find the keyboard on the KEYᵒⁿᵉ too narrow so for now the Blackberry VKB is my preference.

[Anilu7]

I have a Passport and the traditional 4-row keyboards (Bold, Q10, Classic) are much better. I have actually become used to the odd spacebar positioning, but there's just too much space for your thumbs to traverse while typing on the Passport and it really slows you down. You'll likely be happier with the Classic.

It really depends on you. I went from a Q10 to a Passport and it did take getting used to the size. But once I got used to the three-row keyboard and swiping to get symbols, I was extremely fast on it. In fact, it was the only device that I could type on without looking.

Unfortunately my Passport is dying. It has double typing, Hub flicker and some letters don't even respond (mostly y, which makes my sentences look weird unless I go back and try to add y's). So I'm now using an iPhone 6S plus as that's the largest iPhone available. I tried a OnePlus One for Android and it drove me bonkers. It was always a mess navigating it compared to BB10 and it only got one update.

Edit: I can, for the most part, type without looking on the iPhone but must check for autocorrect errors now. But at least I'm fast.

It's smooth, convenient as heck (love Apple Pay) and has a Hub-like Recents screen that comes from apps I select to appear there like BBM, Messages, news, weather, Maps etc.

But I do miss BlackBerry 10.

[joeldf]

Well, finally had to do it.

Ordered an S8 from AT&T. Did the two for one deal to update my son's phone who's still on an S4.

Finally retiring my 4 year old Z10. The new phones should come in a few days.

I waited and waited for a proper replacement that I wanted to see from BlackBerry (and, no, the Z30 wasn't it), but one never came. I have to stick with AT&T, yet nothing came to AT&T that I wanted.

I didn't (and still don't) want a pkb phone, so that left out the Q10, Classic, and Passport.

I would have tried the Priv, but it was just too big for me. But after considering it for a while, by the time I decided to give it a try, AT&T stopped selling it.

I'm waiting to see if TCL will come up with a proper BlackBerry slab with at least mid to upper range specs, better ram and storage than the Dtek50 offered, and a real RGB LED notification light. I liked the size of the 50, but not the 60.

The plan we got will let me update next year. Maybe BlackBerry Mobile will actually have a device I want by then, and sell it through AT&T.

I doubt it, but you never know.

I'll miss the Z10, but my 8-year-old liked to play with it, so I'll let him use it as a mico-tablet.

Just for history, prior to the Z10, I had the Torch 9800, and before that, a Pearl 8100. Both of those I kept for 3 years each.

Joel

[kooool1]

I have never carried anything but a Blackberry. Sadly my Priv has been freezing and overheating badly the last few weeks, it's become unreliable. Google maps froze while I was driving 3 times this week.

Last night I did what I never thought I would, I grabbed a very lightly used S7 Edge.

Sad to say goodbye but Blackberry has nothing for me to buy and honestly after paying big bucks for a Priv I'm hugely disappointed in the product. Maybe again someday but after 13+ years of loyalty I'm done.

[drmanik]

I have never carried anything but a Blackberry. Sadly my Priv has been freezing and overheating badly the last few weeks, it's become unreliable. Google maps froze while I was driving 3 times this week.

Last night I did what I never thought I would, I grabbed a very lightly used S7 Edge.

Sad to say goodbye but Blackberry has nothing for me to buy and honestly after paying big bucks for a Priv I'm hugely disappointed in the product. Maybe again someday but after 13+ years of loyalty I'm done.

Very sad... bt hope the brand revives soon..

[mbafna]

BlackBerry Priv is going to stay as long as I can stick with it. I'm hoping for few more years as this is probably the last original BlackBerry with an original design which I love so much. Even the Keyboard which is ofcourse a bit cramped, but once you get used to it, it's still more preferred mode of input. How can also one forget about basic things like it's excellent signal reception. Hopefully, TCL will start making better devices in next 2-3 years. If at all it gets slow for me, I'll just do a clean format, but will try to hang on it as long as I can.

[Black Ice]

Well, finally had to do it.

Ordered an S8 from AT&T. Did the two for one deal to update my son's phone who's still on an S4.

Finally retiring my 4 year old Z10. The new phones should come in a few days.

I waited and waited for a proper replacement that I wanted to see from BlackBerry (and, no, the Z30 wasn't it), but one never came. I have to stick with AT&T, yet nothing came to AT&T that I wanted.

I didn't (and still don't) want a pkb phone, so that left out the Q10, Classic, and Passport.

I would have tried the Priv, but it was just too big for me. But after considering it for a while, by the time I decided to give it a try, AT&T stopped selling it.

I'm waiting to see if TCL will come up with a proper BlackBerry slab with at least mid to upper range specs, better ram and storage than the Dtek50 offered, and a real RGB LED notification light. I liked the size of the 50, but not the 60.

The plan we got will let me update next year. Maybe BlackBerry Mobile will actually have a device I want by then, and sell it through AT&T.

I doubt it, but you never know.

I'll miss the Z10, but my 8-year-old liked to play with it, so I'll let him use it as a mico-tablet.

Just for history, prior to the Z10, I had the Torch 9800, and before that, a Pearl 8100. Both of those I kept for 3 years each.

Joel

Wish I knew you were going to buy that phone, I have the same one and saving photos to SD card may not work so keep an eye on it if you decide to save them there.
It's a great phone overall, my phone is a replacement for a BlackBerry android that had a red line screen issue.
The S8 edge drove me nuts with that sensitive screen I can tell you how to fix that if you want just pm me.
Gotta go deliver some freight.

[javan123]

Hey all..

It is with a heavy heart that I type this. I'm not going to make it long and drawn out. I'm not going to cry...I don't think.

I just really don't think I can do the blackberry anymore, not in this iteration at least.

My Keyone (the 2nd one I got btw, the first one speakerphone did not work ) is not doing what I want it to.

She lags quite often, even with minimal hub usage and the fingerprint reader has been pretty spotty for me lately; so I've disabled it altogether. But the latest dealbreaker is the intermittent spacebar after using it with slightly damp hands. Literally. I washed my hands, didn't dry them off all the way, used it for about 30 seconds not thinking of it; and now I have to HARD press in order for my spacebar to work

I was getting tired of using it everyday anyways, but/and after using a Passport for 2 years and a 9930 for 2 years, I've never had this issue even w/o a IP rating or a waterproof case.

I hope to come back to blackberry one day, but I know after having my Keyone for a short 45 days, that this phone will NOT last the test of time - like the other blackberries did for me before it.

Good luck all. I bid thee adieu .

[pinkvikchick]

I really liked the Keyone. Out of the box, the mem card thing was really off-putting. Why is Blacberry the only android phone where the mem card doesn't show music and photos? Xioami, Huawei, Motorola, Sony, Samsung- I could switch the memory card back and forth and everything showed up. OK- but I loved it so I did what I had to do to make it work.

Having to open the bluetooth settings to connect a remembered device every. single. time. was a hassle. This was just a little thing. I did what I had to do to make it work.

Great camera, *ggod-ish* battery. I also forewent wifi calling to keep the K1. And wireless charging.

Then one day it just stopped reading my mem card. No music, no photos. It was kind of the last straw, and It really sucked because I LIKE IT. SO it's on hiatus in a drawer for right now.

[JMDBERRY]

First, to Crackberry, I know this post is about my,...somewhat BB PP really placement,... But actually, it's about how the BB PP stacks up against the newer hardware, and in this case,...the Mate 9. So, I think it's appropriate for this forum. That said,... Here goes:

#1 - The keyboard experience,... Yes, I miss the touchy-feely of my PP keyboard. We were surely as one. So, I did the next best thng and applied a virtual fix by installimg Cheetah's BB keyboard (...plus some other BB Android apps) and I'm slowly but surely learning this keyboard and like that it can do numbers and other characters via a longer press.

#2 - The screen. Yes, I miss the W I D E SCREEN of the PP,...but the 5.9" screen of the Mate 9 is nothing to sneeze at - trust me.

#3 - The battery. Although the PP didn't lack much with it's 3450 mah battery,...the Mate 9 brought a 4k mah battery to the party and I've yet to hit a full 2 days on one charge. I will say that the Mate 9 easily does 24 hours with ease. Note, a large portion of my screen-on time so far has been for device setup, etc. Man! There is a lot of 'setting up' to be done.

#4 - The camera,... Fast,... Fast,... Fast! It even has manual DSLR settings, etc. PP camera,...not so fast and we know this.

#5 - Physical size! Well,...the PP is a BIG device . That said, the Mate 9 is a BIGGER device...there is a lot of screen face on the Mate 9 and I like that - a lot! Also, it has some neat app features that allows you to not have to stretch too far,...like swiping to reduce the screen size for easy finger reach and a floating dock! Nice features.

#6 - The name,...lets face it. The name sucks...hence why I just refer to it as the "Mate 9". Man,... Why couldn't BB had made this thing?

#7 - Speed,...While I was doing research on the Mate 9 at Best Buy, online reviews, etc, I often pulled out my PP for show and tell and the Best Buy guys would say how 'snappy' it is,...it was. Well, I'm here to tell you,...the Mate 9 is one crazy fast smartphone! No Doubt on that... No Doubt!

#8 - The OS. Hey! It's not BB 10, so it will do. The cool thing is I can install the Duo app and facetime with my son (.. an iPhone user) who lives in Florida. It works quite well.

#9 - Back to the keyboard. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't miss the built-in BB keyboard and its shortcuts. But hey,...this virtual BB keyboard has some neat shortcuts too. Thank God...

#1 0 - The price. The PP cost me 24 monthly payments to AT&T,...and I would have to do quick math to get the actual price. Yet, I got the Mate 9 for less than $450 after an instant price match. Cool... Also, check this, the package even included a back cover,...a screen protector,...a charger of course, and also a USB C to Micro-USB adapter. I was surprised to fine back cover in the box and screen protector,...already nicely applied!!! Thank you Hauwei. Edit #1 I just discovered that the USB C to Micro-USB adapter is not just for charging,...it also allows for access of the device storage and the SD card storage. Nice.

So that's it in a nutshell,...this thing,...the Mate 9,...rocks! So, I guess I'll get back to loading more apps and learning the device even more.

Oh! Fyi,....my BlackBerry Passport is just chilling for now,...it ain't going anywhere!

Now, a special request to app builders,...pls develop a way to add 'BlackBerry Swipe' capability to Android Nougat. I'll gladly pay,....as this would make the Mate 9 an awesome device like no other!

Cheers to all...

JMD

[joeldf]

Wish I knew you were going to buy that phone, I have the same one and saving photos to SD card may not work so keep an eye on it if you decide to save them there.
It's a great phone overall, my phone is a replacement for a BlackBerry android that had a red line screen issue.
The S8 edge drove me nuts with that sensitive screen I can tell you how to fix that if you want just pm me.
Gotta go deliver some freight.

Well, I have the S8 and have been using it for a week now.

I'm mostly using the stock apps for email, calendar and contacts with my work and home email. The interface is much better than I expected after seeing how the TouchWiz looked on my oldest son's S4.

I tried the Nova launcher, but I'm living with a cleaned up TouchWiz right now. Turned off or disabled Bixby as much as I could. Removed the Google search bar on the home screen. Loaded up Cobalt's BlackBerry Manager to get the BlackBerry keyboard - works great. I tried living with the Samsung keyboard, even tried Swift Key for a day, but I missed the word flick feature of the BB10 vkb.

I tried Light Flow, but the notification LED is so dim that trying different colors other than the basic red, green and blue just doesn't really work well.

I did get one of those hybrid cases with the rubber surround and hard shell cover that leaves the rubber exposed on the top and bottom - something to bounce off of. It also provides enough of an edge to hold the phone without touching the edge screen... as much. In fact, I turned off the edge feature. It was of no use to me.

Since I'm using the same Google account that I already had on my Z10 using Cobalt's patched Google Play Store, I downloaded all the same apps I had on Z10 to the S8. Boy, what a difference much newer hardware makes with these apps.