BlackBerry Passport

BlackBerry Passport, Yay or Nay?

  • Total voters
    13
MetalLobster

MetalLobster

TD Admin
BB just released it's new phone, set for $700 w/o contract or $200 on a contract with Telus. I don't know what to think to be honest, I've given up hope on BB awhile ago. This new phone doesn't excite me more than the Q10, but maybe trying out BB 10.3 will change my mind.

Key specs:
  • Snapdragon 800 quad-core CPU, clocked at 2.26Ghz
  • 3 GB RAM, 32 GB internal and expandable via microSD
  • 4.5" IPS display with 1440 x 1440 resolution
  • Gorilla Glass 3
  • 13 MP back camera + 2 MP front-facing camera
  • Running on BB 10.3
  • Comes in Black or White
Pics:
BlackBerry-Passport-CROPPED.jpg


Front View

blackberry-passport-1.jpg


Angled View (don't know what the three buttons do)

b0b2dda96901b62e2c8719331cab3238299f1237.jpg


More angled views

cb8286f331f7d2f285c14772cc35965acb2dcbc8.jpg


"Landscape" view

blackberry-passport20.jpg


Passport and iPhone 5s

Passport_others.jpg


Left to Right: iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S4, Nokia Lumia 930, Galaxy Note 2, BB Passport

cdc27080443562ad2ed2d52b93224ca0c96dacb2.jpg


BB Passport vs USA Passport

Relevant Articles:

http://www.itworldcanada.com/articl...858&utm_medium=dailyitwire&utm_campaign=enews

http://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_passport-6457.php
 
Last edited:
AAA

AAA

A Little Darkly
that just reminds me of the palm PDA looks.
ill admit the keyboard swipe is a nice step somewhere, but hopefully it wont reintroduce the falling off of buttons way back.

even windows phone surpassed them in market share, and people barely know wtf is that. atleast its a try, though im certain there are fans of bb that will flock to it.
 
MetalLobster

MetalLobster

TD Admin
AAA said:
that just reminds me of the palm PDA looks.
ill admit the keyboard swipe is a nice step somewhere, but hopefully it wont reintroduce the falling off of buttons way back.

even windows phone surpassed them in market share, and people barely know wtf is that. atleast its a try, though im certain there are fans of bb that will flock to it.
Click to expand...
If BB's goal was to standout, they have definitely done that here. I find the initial opinions on the passport similar to the Nissan Juke, where it's really hit or miss.

I don't know how this will sell though. iPhone 6 just came out and Google is supposedly announcing the next Nexus next month. Sony is also releasing the Z3 in Canada soon. The hype train on these three device doesn't leave much to excitement left for BB.
 
AAA

AAA

A Little Darkly
BES is a huge hit in india i believe so they have that market covered.

theres no stopping the iphone train just yet, love it or hate it.

im not sure what blackberry can really do, they got adriod app support, beefed up security. their phones are just slowly dying cause i guess its not cool enough or they dont have the shit ton of apps that people use once.
 
Slawek

Slawek

TD Admin
The said already this isn't for the average consumer, it's made for the serious business professional.

Making niche products when you are on the verge of a death spiral is not smart. Then again, they have proven time and time again that trying to make a smart phone for the average consumer is a big failure too.

Every time this company makes a new product, it's followed by like 4000 layoffs to make up for the loss. This monstrosity is supposed to cost $600 out of contract. Why would pay that for a BB?

It's too bad, you want to see a Canadian company succeed and I have a friend who works there in a pretty high up position, but they really have failed to keep up.
 
$alvador

$alvador

TD Member
I think you guys are missing the big picture here. Do you have any idea how much better that 1440x1440 display is than any other smartphone display? It's worse at viewing HD videos, but it's significantly better at viewing any other content. This phone is a winner, hopefully the software for it is too.
 
Slawek

Slawek

TD Admin
I'd like to see what apps are optimized for a 1440x1440 display. My gut says developers aren't scrambling to make them compatible. It's either gonna get stretched or have black bars alone the sides.
 
$alvador

$alvador

TD Member
I don't think the problem is going to be porting apps to BB's OS so much as it is going to be convincing developers to even make apps for BB OS in the first place. BB is in a shitty position because Apple and Google rely on hardware vendors to create the actual devices while they focus on improving APIs and building the trust of developers, while BB has to split focus between the hardware and software side which means less emphasis on initiatives that would draw more developers into their software ecosystem.
 
Brades

Brades

Bailer
Staff member
BB OS 10 is probably the best mobile OS available... anyone that has actually used it will say the same thing.
 
Pyro

Pyro

TD Admin
I'm using a Z30. It's great and has an amazing battery life. I was really impressed when I first got it because I had never owned a BB before, but this thing is great. It runs android apps easily and has a great display.

BB's real challenge is marketing to the average person. They shouldn't have ever tried to do it - especially not after apple started marketing their ipods and iphones so well. This new phone looks like they are taking it back to businesspeople. If the software on it is as good as what's on the z30, and the battery is anywhere near as good, this phone will be amazing.

I recommend BB to anyone who asks. I owned a Samsung Galaxy S2 LTE before it, which was also really good but had shitty battery life and crappy speakers.
 
MetalLobster

MetalLobster

TD Admin
Slawek said:
The said already this isn't for the average consumer, it's made for the serious business professional.

Making niche products when you are on the verge of a death spiral is not smart. Then again, they have proven time and time again that trying to make a smart phone for the average consumer is a big failure too.

Every time this company makes a new product, it's followed by like 4000 layoffs to make up for the loss. This monstrosity is supposed to cost $600 out of contract. Why would pay that for a BB?

It's too bad, you want to see a Canadian company succeed and I have a friend who works there in a pretty high up position, but they really have failed to keep up.
Click to expand...

I knew that was their goal when John Chen became CEO and a lot of people were happy that they were re-focusing on their core market, but it may not be enough to put them back to their former glory.

I think they can make their phones appeal to new consumers if they step-up their marketing. Sadly, good marketing cost a lot of money.

$alvador said:
I think you guys are missing the big picture here. Do you have any idea how much better that 1440x1440 display is than any other smartphone display? It's worse at viewing HD videos, but it's significantly better at viewing any other content. This phone is a winner, hopefully the software for it is too.
Click to expand...

There are no reviews yet AFAIK, but I'll update this thread if I see a good one. Specs + numbers are all good, but it's the implementation that matters.

$alvador said:
I don't think the problem is going to be porting apps to BB's OS so much as it is going to be convincing developers to even make apps for BB OS in the first place. BB is in a shitty position because Apple and Google rely on hardware vendors to create the actual devices while they focus on improving APIs and building the trust of developers, while BB has to split focus between the hardware and software side which means less emphasis on initiatives that would draw more developers into their software ecosystem.
Click to expand...

I thought Apple made their own devices? I know they source some parts, but they ultimately assemble themselves unlike Google, who rely on LG completely for their devices.
 
Brades

Brades

Bailer
Staff member

TechnoBuffalo is probably the only tech site that doesn't hold a grudge against BlackBerry.
 
MetalLobster

MetalLobster

TD Admin
Brades said:
That video was painful... dude is clearly reading from a script and sounds derpy as Brains.
Click to expand...
They are all bad ATM, I chose this because it also had a written article tied with it. I'm waiting for a review from MKBHD, the best phone reviewer IMHO
 
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