BlackBerry Passport Review
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- Опубліковано 19 вер 2024
- Lisa Gade reviews the BlackBerry Passport on AT&T. This is BlackBerry’s most outrageous yet lovable smartphone yet. It has a 4.5” square 1400 x 1400 pixel display and a QWERTY keyboard. It runs BlackBerry OS 10.3 on the 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 801 CPU with 3 gigs of RAM and 32 gigs of storage. The phone has an ample 3450 mAh battery, microSD card slot, dual band WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC. The rear 13MP camera with OIS takes good photos and there’s a front 2MP camera too. The Passport can run BlackBerry native apps and Android apps (Amazon App Store is pre-loaded for Android apps). The Passport is $199 with contract on AT&T and $649 full retail. It’s also available as an unlocked and unbranded GSM phone direct from BlackBerry and other retailers.
I've had my Passport for 2 weeks now and I love it. Blackberry did a really good job with this one, and it doesn't bend in your pocket.
Lisa, great video. I replaced my iPad for the BB Passport after watching your review. Recently, I watched your video on the Samsung S7 Plus poised to replace my Passport because of Blackberry business decisions. I rarely have time to seen out a thank you for making a video but simply wanted to pass on that your technical videos are great. Thank you so much from Italy.
I got rid of the Galaxy S4 for an iPhone 5c. I upgraded that to iPhone 6 on release weekend. After using the BlackBerry Passport, I sold the iPhone 6 on Craigslist and I haven't regretted the decision or looked back. This my favorite phone that I have owned. The Android and Apple fan boys will protest and ridicule, but this is the most innovative phone in recent memory. This phone is a productivity beast. I love it.
John Howe I agree with you as it fits almost all my needs as a businessman and I like the design as well but cameras are not that good to take the pictures or videos of items/products specially indoor. when zoom the picture it becomes horrible and unable to show the details of small item. for this I still have to take pictures with samsung note 4 because when I update the customers regarding production and current status of their orders, the pictures should be clear. with passport I always have to struggle so hard and have to move items to more lightening areas to take clear and detailed picture forwhich I have to take so many pictures to choose one of them which again is not acceptable and waste my time.
John Howe Me too, I had iOS for half a decade, then tried the Nexus 4 and HTC One to switch back to iOS until I received my Passport and it is just great. Like iOS without bugs and Android without lags. I tried a lot of Android apps and most work flawlessly now with 10.3.2 Version of the OS. Except those using Play Services which I don't want to use anyway. Now we even have proper Play Store without Snap and the reception is far better than those faraday cages from Apple, HTC and Samsungs S6 series.
+John Howe I keep seeing how this phone isnt for entertainment but why isnt it? I go to look at phones and everything on the market is identical. I want something different. Is this really a bad phone if i plan on typing documents, facebook, web browsing and the occasional videos? I dont play games at all. Im about to spend 400$ on this phone because its unique. I want something different than all the carbon copy touch screen non keyboard phones. Do you think ill regret it?
+Jacob Vercetti (Jt Vercetti) It has been about nine months for me, and I do not regret switching to the Passport at all. It was a great decision! And the new Silver Edition looks even more amazing!
It actually is, I'm amazed how many games I was able to make it work by manually copying over the obb files. I have ShadowGun, Modern Combat 3, 4 and 5, GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas, Nova 2 and 3, etc. Since I have a 200GB SD card I have about 150 movies in which I stream directly to my TV using AllCast. Also since the OS is full multitasking, I can still use my phone while watching a movie, heck I can even play a game and it doesn't affect the video play back in the slightest.
People always ask me why I don't have an iPhone like them, I show them the power of having a phone that can do multiple things at once. IOS adding split screen support for two apps is almost an insult. Wow, thanks Apple for adding something that is not only a blatant rippoff of Windows 8.1 but what about your phones. As a programmer I need to be able to run a remote terminal in the background during the work day as who in their right mind wants to stare at a terminal the entire day but is forced to as the system will terminate the connection if they navigate away from it.
IOS is pretty and has a nice workflow but it's just missing to many, what I would assume are default features.
Blackberry has returned to its roots, the business professional. Great device for business purposes and productivity. I'm so tired of turning my nexus 6 android phone side ways to view spread sheets! Or typing long responses to emails on a virtual keyboard. This phone serves a different demographic, but I guess some will never understand that.. Great job blackberry, and welcome home. Great job Lisa!
I’m glad to see you Lisa from mobile tech review. I just bought a blackberry passport phone and want to see what I’m getting. But even more so I’m glad to see you because a few years back I would not have bought a phone without checking out your particular opinion on it. I didn’t know about subscribing back then and I forgot your name, and you tube channel. I was sure to click the subscribe button this time. It’s good to see you again..
Lisa, I love your reviews. I always check your reviews 1st before any others. I'm a 'device junkie' and love different OS's. I just ordered this phone after watching reviews and researching. Your review (as always) was the most informative and precise. Thank you for what you do :-)
This is a great review and you have pointed out things for me to consider.... I wish there was tip jar to credit you for your time in making this valuable review. Blessings to you and your loved ones!
While I can say that you didn't mention a LOT about this phone (like, a ton) I do have to thank you for being non-biased in this review and judging the phone on it's merits and not hating just because it's a BlackBerry.
I own the Passport (sold my Note 4 for it) and absolutely love it! I honestly could never go back to Android or iOS after it. The keyboard does so much just by itself!
Very thorough and excellent review as always, Lisa. Blackberry is making some excellent phones (I currently use a Z30 and the thing is fantastic), and it's good to see them get some fair and objective coverage from mainstream reviewers!
I'm using a BlackBerry Passport right now and to me after studying and getting used to what it can do I would say that it's one of the best phones I had ever used next to my Samsung Note 3. Side loading apps is just easy especially when I was able to download the Play Store. How amazing is that. While everyone else is using Apple and Androids I don't mind using this BlackBerry Passport to be different.
My friend owns one of these, amazing device really. If marketed properly this thing can really revive BB. Proud to be Canadian!
No need to have the revive talk. One phone isn't going to do that. However it has been selling very well unlocked and has stellar user ratings which is a very nice thing to see. I'm glad BB is back to focusing on what they do best and nailing it as well. Its a great phone.
I use my smart phone for only 5 things: facebook, youtube, listening to music, taking selfies and reading. Even when it makes the youtube videos have those black borders I still think I would love to have this device as I miss the keyboard. Thanks for the video :)
I have a BlackBerry Passport, I have owned just about every other type of phone but I'm going to stick with this for a while. Very good review but I think you've not given it enough praise! It's very rare a product comes out that changes the way you do things for the better. If BlackBerry didn't have such a bad name among people or if they were better at marketing, then this phone would really take off. It's unbelievably fast when using the web and the display is excellent. It's extremely quick and easy to share things to all your social networks. I use Instagram a lot and I find this phone great for it, the screen is the correct ratio so no need to crop and the camera is brilliant.
Lisa, I love your video reviews, truly. Whenever I want sound honest advice I know where to turn. Thank you.
Great Review once again Lisa. Few things you forgot to show:
1. Swipe up on the keyboard for predictive text. Love this feature!
2. Shortcuts! Hit "T" to open Twitter or "F" for facebook. Makes things so much easier (Not sure if on AT&T 10.3 though)
Shortcuts are present on the At&T version. It's 10.3.1
All BB10 phones with a keyboard with 10.3.1 will have shortcuts
This looks like it would make a great business device, my only concern would support from Blackberry. But I do think this would make a fantastic second phone for work.
Watching this makes me think about how much of a pain it was to get certain apps to run on the passport.
It was the best device I have owned hardware wise though.
Hello lisa. Thanks for the review. I really like that phone. I do have a blackberry Q10 and thinking about getting the passport next week
Excellent review and really got me interested in Blackberry again. Seems as if they have next to flawless hardware.
The Z30 is pretty much Flawless. And highly addictive, once you go Z30 there is no going back to Android or iOS for that matter.
Thank you so much for the review. I have been looking at this device for months since it first came out. I heard that BB has really good devices for business and office working people. I have tried some of the devices and I love the OS. After go to college I have started using emails and MOffice more often. So I want to have a device that is fast in checking, composing email as same as working with documents. That is why I consider BB devices.
I currently use Sony Z Ultra becuse of its big screen which can replace my old tablet so the size of The Passport doesn't bother me. I really like the physical keyboard on the device. I think it is a great device.
Great review Lisa as always,very informative as always.
I've seen a lot of reviews of the passport and I'm going to give it a go,I'm not overly bothered with apps etc and like a phone that makes good calls and text.
So many negative and quite frankly silly comments about the blackberry product in general,I personally don't buy into apple or Samsung.
I like a well built quality product above how many childish apps it has.
Thanks Lisa again for taking the time to give an honest review.
I was gonna buy this until the alcohol wore off.
Patrick LeClair Wow you got all that? Impressive. It would be even more impressive if you were right. I would rather die then use an iPhone. ios is too simple and closed for me but thanks anyways.
MobileDecay You really got Patrick breathing hard with that comment obviously.
Thank you for actually talking about call quality, first video on youtube to mention it. Did you have a chance to try its conference or speakerphone ability, any echo on the other end of the conference call?
You don't need to use the shift symbol to access capital letters or numbers. Longpress the letters for capital letters and swipe down on the keyboard for numbers and symbols.
Nice Review, Lisa! I for one miss the old Blackberry Curve, but sadly I think technology just ran off and left Blackberry to be forgotten. While this is a great attempt at trying to catch up, I doubt many will be handing in their iPhone or Android for this model. Maybe they can get out of their "funk" soon and give us something worth switching sides for.
Thanks for the review, I'm buying this!!
Good job lady! It's rare to see female tech channel here on UA-cam. Keep at it!
A wonderful review as usual. I hope this becomes your go to Blackberry device now!
This phone has a very high ppi. It the display really spectacular? It isn't for me but it has its owners and I like to see what blackberry comes out with.
Why is it the edges are curve? What is the difference of the sharp edge and this curved edge?
why are the edges rounded? Aren't they supposed to be square edges
MobileTechReview great review Lisa 👍👍👍👍👍,Thanks..I personally wish the battery was removable. I like "odd" shape of it & the functionality. Im not feeling the 4:3 ratio too much, I wish full screen fitting was implemented on this device.
Blackberry was my favorite phone of all time. I am excited to see how this comes further in the future. (ie. Verizon.)
I really would like this to make a comeback running Android.
thanks for the great review. I have been waiting for this foooooorever. i am a passport user and I love it.
Correction on adobe flash. BlackBerry 10.3.1 no longer supports flash. But you gain the ability to load other browsers such as the photon browser that can run flash.
Great review Lisa, but I prefer the one without the rounded corners.
Any chance you'll cover the new(-ish) silver blackberry passport?
Really good, in-depth review. I'm not sure if you review operating systems but you should do one of 10.3.1!
MobileTechReview Is that a new version of the Passport? The earlier ones released in 2014 had sharp square corners, this one is more rounded around the corners.
The AT&T version has rounded corners. Otherwise the hardware is the same.
***** This is the same, but customized for AT&T and U.S market.
Love this device! I would love to see the International version come to T-mobile.
I love your reviews :) there are super informative! Keep up the good work!!
I want one of these. Dunno if I should get silver or black. If I buy one would it work still? Don’t care about updates
The best phone I've ever used till this day! love it!
Thanks for a nice review :-)
What a super smart phone. I think a lot of people make negative comments about blackberry because it seems to have snowballed that way and yet it is far superior to itoy's and samsouless phones. The OS is light yrs ahead and the phone is just amazing. I agree the size may put some people off and yet the note series and lumia 1520 or iphone 6 plus are all in the same size area.
The build quality is excellent and so is the battery life. When you get use to the basics of the OS you really struggle to understand the other OS platforms like OS or Android as they are really poor in comparison.
As for the apps, there is a combination of blackberry and android via amazon store or you can side load Snap and get stock android apps at your fingertips.
Perhaps the best thing that the other OS's cannot offer is the flexibility of OS with the use of Blend. She skirted around blend to be fair in this review so here is a little more background info on it. Blend works on Mac or PC and it brings the entire core desktop of blackberry to the desktop on the computer. So you get SMS, BBM, Calendar, Contacts, Email, Folders. You don't have to have your phone with you, it can be in your pocket or a different room and even a different location so it can be accessed on a VPN. The flexibility of this is truly impressive. It is not biased like apple or android or windows, it syncs to any communications and if your using exchange it syncs seamlessly.
BBM is not only so cool to use but its polished and also fun so you can let your hair down and send funny stickers etc and when needed use it as a business communication tool as well.
I feel I could really go on here but I am sure if you have read this then your eyeballs have now packed in and fell on the floor! hehe....
PS. I have a Note Edge and iPhone and Lumia 1520 as I believe in at least giving the competition ago and using their flagship phones and their OS's and in my humble opinion Blackberry is just so more advanced.
Thanks for reading :-)
The AT&T model looks different, more rounded edges and the keyboard looks different too. What's the differences?
hope they succed with this phone !! We need more competition in the smartphone buisness !!
Thanks Lisa! Can you correctly view and edit complex spreadsheets?
Any problems syncing with MacBook? How does it compare to iPhone in this regard? Is it even worth considering blackberry once you are in the apple ecosystem?
When it comes to synchronizing data from non iPhone to MacBooks it can be a bit tricky. In my experience, using the Samsung Galaxy S5, I initially needed software (Samsung Kies) to sync data between the phone and an iMac. However I found that full HD photos that I havd taken become grainy photos with less than 720 HD resolution. I found it to be very annoying.
Fortunately many non Apple phones have USB host and OTG compatibility. OTG means on the go. This means that users can use USB drives and an OTG cable to transfer any type of data from the phone to the USB. The only limit would be the storage capacity of the USB (the more storage, the better). Then users can use the USB stick to store files into the iMac or MacBook. It is not as elegant as iPhone and MacBook interaction but it is the best solution (for the time being).
Now in your situation, check if the Blackberry phones support USB host and OTG compatibility. If they do, you're in luck. If not then 😰.
End of speech. Lol! 🐹
Watching this review makes me miss these days. I hope we eventually see a Passport form factor again, even if it runs android.
Best review of this phone.
Thanks!
Looks better than the original Passport with rounded edge.
Your sample has no hard edge like mass product, it looks like the silver edition. I plan to get back to this device..is this version available in market also?
Very informative review, thank you! Can you review the BlackBerry Classic next, please?
This was a good and fair review, this is a great phone, and as for the video with the black bars, that should not be a deal breaker. You can stream video to your smart TV from this
Excellent review and un-biased. Thank you.
I could definitely see myself using a phone like this, but I think it should have dedicated arrow keys and a number row.
Great device i enjoy using it and my note 4 too
Hi Lisa, I am just wondering if you'll be doing the review for blackberry leap? If yes, thanks in advance. If not, could you please briefly say if it's a good buy or not.
P.s. You're the best. Have a nice day. Thank you. :-)
It doesn't matter how wide it is because BB phones are made for two hands. :) and it always works to do my work done fast, something businessmen understand.
I'd like to know what you recommend/use to record videos for UA-cam and perhaps accessible video editing software for win 8.1?
Thanks for any help, keep the reviews coming :)
I have bb passport and I am happy with it until I forgot my password to initiate security swipe. How can I reformat the unit?? Thanks
Where is your BlackBerry Classic review? -_-.
Is it just me or does this have more rounded corners? I feel like the previous Passports I have seen have sharp corners.
ATT version is rounded.
Can it replace my MS Surface ???
gonna have this as a companion for my 6 plus. 6plus for personal use, passport for work use
The Passport is generally a win device but another row of buttons should have been added for symbols. It derails the physical keyboard experience going back and forth between the keyboard and screen keys.
You don't need to touch the screen to use the symbols. You can flip down and get the symbols mapped onto the keys
CaptainDave I see, I will give it a try.
Gerudo Tech Not only what CaptainDave said, but even with the touch screen buttons you get mad use to them and it becomes a non-issue. I have no problem with them now that I've adjusted.
One quick question if you happen to see this: Can you delete the AT&T bloatware? I could on my Verizon device, was just curious about AT&T. Thanks!
David Ross I think it is possible, yes.
Yes, most of it.
Very well done objective review Lisa Thanx
Whoa! That touch screen keyboard looks so real! Lol!
Lisa, what carrier do you use on your personal phone and why?
Although i love the tactile keaboard i would like it to have lose it to get a bigger screen. Let it have a flip cover withe built in keaboard instead.
Then it would be a thinner more modern version of the htc i loved having in the past. Loved that format and screen size , would love to see someone bring that back and this thing starts getting close to that.
The screen is massive as it is. Go look at one in person. The keyboard definitely doesn't take away from the experience.
Logical Reason i know its big but that old htc screen was as big as a tom tom xxl and i like that form factor was my best phone yet only reason i got rid of it was after the warranty ran out the soundboard fried and that would then cost me 300 (half the price of the phone) to fix it.
Very professional look! Love it though I wonder if it will work on Verizon :(.
Actually the Passport is coming to Verizon, I have Tmobile so I just bought an unlocked version.
I believe the Square Version is coming to Verizon. The deal was for AT&T to initially carry it for a period of time. It would have been better just to release it to both Carriers, but a deal is a deal. AT&T has clout, enough so that they got there Passport Version re-designed (Hardware Wise.)
Blackberry's physical keyboard beats all touch screen keyboards. Mistakes are less likely to happen. Wish this phone would land to T-Mobile already so I can trade my Note 4. I am all about productivity so BB is for me. If I want to play games I turn on my tablet or PS4.
Isn't this phone kind of old now? Why the late review?
seems like edges are bit curved unlike other passports which sharp edges. does anyone notice that ?
FYI - clicking on the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon versus Dell XPS 13 picture on the Mobiletechreview website sends people to this video instead.
great review i am going to get this phone
What does the BlackBerry fox say?
Nice review since the other major tech sites didn't give this phone a chance
The app switching and gestures remind me a bit of webOS... one of the greatest operating systems in history... R.I.P. :'(
+vara fouroneone the gestures are the best part. You can reach any part of the os or apps from any other part with a single gesture. it's fluid and wonderful.
Exactly man I’ve had almost every device by them
I live in germany is it possible to use it with a german carrier/ simcard
Oooooooomg its so cuuuute
Excellent review.
wow that phone looks so much better with the rounded corners. the original one was hideous
this was ahead of its time. it was too close to yhe actual original blackberries. if it came out now it would he nostalgic and fit into the y2k trend. bring it back!
The phone's different but, that's why I really like it!
Great review!
The extra rounded corners are so tamed. Someone even "report" bleeding hands and clothing with holes because of the original sharp corners Passport.
I use this phone and an iPhone I keep going back to this because of the poor battery life of the iPhone. I keep riding myself plug to the wall all the time and with this it'll go for day and half easy. I don't use that many apps nor games so it does serves the purpose but in terms of apps and polish os is still years behind the ios or android. A good chunk of those android apps won't work properly or hang all together sending videos is nearly impossible because of the file limit unless you compress them manually witch is so 2012. The front camera I haven't use because there's no apps and Skype is a dirty android port that works when it wants so overall is a semi smart phone oh yeah and the maps are just ok to get you to the destination nothing more.
By far the best phone
a very well-informed review. Thanks!
great great review! i really appreciate it!
What have Apple done to their phones... the operating system is getting messy and the lag is getting frustrating... every new edition will become slower and will eventually have you upgrading... So after being with the iPhone pretty much from the 3G I've decided to cut away, not completely as I still have a MacBook Air and iPad mini, but for the daily device the iPhone is becoming annoying... so I've gone to Blackberry Passport... what was I thinking at first, the operating system is full with so many options and I kept seeking for the HOME button... but after the second day I picked up my iPhone to get some idea what I'm missing... but to my astonishment it seemed dated and so so so slow! The keyboard on the Passport is a blow away... love it love it love it... So fast and no stutter... the operating system is simple once you've worked out which way to swipe... the screen is square, and it's there for a reason... it just works and feels so pleasing to the eye... the build quality is tough and made of top stuff... the screen display is unbelievable... anyway... get Snap running on it and you are good to go... got my Pebble time working on it and now there is now looking back:)) Great review btw! Big thumbs baby
That app switcher looks more reasonable than Lollipop's. I wish Google adopted that layout.
Lollipop's app switcher is like the Flip3D of Windows Vista; looked cool for about one hour but I soon realised it was a mess when I actually tried to use it. Lollipop's app switcher is wasting a lot of screen real estate (huge pointless background image on both sides) and too many are overlapped.
Well, Microsoft realised its problem and switched to OS X-like app switcher (which is more like the BlackBerry's than Lollipop's) in Windows 10.
+Jeong-hun Sin The app switcher is integral to the OS itself and can be reach from ANYwhere in the os or any app - anything can be for that matter. This thing is a multitasking beast.
The new update has lowered the sound of the notifications and ringtones,can hardly hear them now, get it sorted blackberry...
I dont like how att always changes the look of phones to their taste
The design of the phone has nothing to do with AT&T, I live in Switzerland, my carrier is Swiscomm and my Passport is identical to this one. Why did you think other otherwise.
It runs Netflix quite well. IG messenger fb whatsapp chrome g+ and more
I would personally consider getting the Passport if Blackberry just gave up on their OS and just used android; the only thing that they would have to do is just transfer their apps (Then probably even incorporate their store) and put a skin over it like all of the other flagship companies that use android. If they did that then they would potentially start getting somewhere... (And i would hope for the digitizer for a pen but i know that would probably be pushing it a bit)
Not very interesting. I had a couple Blackberrys years ago. I really liked them. 7 ozs is too heavy for a smartphone these days. The square hardware is awkward. I don't have AT&T anyway.