The Canadian smartphone maker, BlackBerry’s latest smartphone is the BlackBerry Passport. The Passport is certainly not what anyone would expect in a smartphone. It sports a square screen complemented by an unusual three row keyboard. Codenamed BlackBerry “Windermere”, the first prototype leaks started in February of 2014 and many were not convinced by its looks, some calling it ugly and swore never to get it. I was certainly one of those people. But after seeing the final design, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the device. So what exactly is the phone about?

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Specifications and Design

A common complaint with BlackBerry smartphones is how it lags behind in specs. BlackBerry has certainly quelled those complaints with the Passport. The phone rocks a Snapdragon 801 CPU, running at 2.2Ghz (MSM8974-AA), 3GB of RAM, 3450mAh battery, a 4.5 inch 1440X1440 LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3 and built-in 32GB of flash memory, expandable up to 128GB through micro SD. It also has a 13.0MP rear facing camera with optical image stabilization, capable of 1080P video recording @ 60fps and a 2MP front facing camera, capable of 720P video recording.

Other features include SlimPort, USB-On-The-Go (which allows other USB devices such as flash-drives, mouse or keyboard to attach to the passport), low energy Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi and GPS. SlimPort is a feature that through its micro-USB and a SlimPort adaptor, allows the Passport to connect to a variety of external displays.

 

The passport weighs 196 grams and is the size of an international passport. Although this may seem heavy, it does give the passport a solid and well-built feel. One common question when people see the passport is, “does it fit inside pockets?”. The answer is yes, it fits well in almost all jean pockets. One drawback that comes from its size is that it takes away the ability use it with one hand. Unless you have huge NBA player sized hands, you will most likely not be able to reach the whole keyboard or the screen. Thus this phone is almost exclusively a two-handed device.

 

The Passport is designed with a stainless steel frame, which can be seen all the way around the device. This stainless steel frame not only adds structural integrity, but it also acts like a heat sink.

In fact, compared to the Z10, the passport runs significantly cooler when under loads. Heat dissipation does not only benefit the user, but also keep the battery healthier for longer period of time.

The passport’s battery is not removable. The SIM and micro-SD cards can be inserted from the top of the device, after taking off a piece of cover. This piece takes some prying, but comes off easy enough and is also easy to push back.

 

At the top of the device, you will find the 3.5mm headphone jack and to the right side of the top, you will find the lock/power button. I find this to be a smart design decision, since this allows the user to lock the device easy with one hand without having to stretch the finger, as the passport is fairly wide device.  On the right hand side of the device, there is the volume up/down buttons as well as the pause/unpause button. The left hand side of the device has no button; only plain old stainless steel. At the bottom of the device, we find the micro-USB at the center. This is smart design, as it allows the phone to be docked right side up and does not impede the user’s ability to hold the device while charging.

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Keyboard

The passport keyboard is different from past blackberries such as the Q10 or the 9900. The passport keyboard is a 3 row design rather than 4 rows. The row of numbers and other punctuations will pop up on screen. Through my month long usage of the phone, this has worked well for me, but certainly will take a period of time to get used to for most people.

The typing will seem awkward in the first few days; there is certainly a learning curve, I am certainly not the fastest typer but after less than a week, I was able to punch out 30~40 words a minute.

The 3-row keyboard design is not the only surprise; the keyboard is actually touch-enabled. While typing, users have the ability to swipe up directly from the keyboard to enter the corresponding word suggestion, which will appear on screen as you type. Users can also swipe left from the keyboard to delete entire words. The keyboard also acts as a track pad to control cursor movement while typing and with each passing update, cursor control while is now more accurate than ever. When browsing through emails for websites, users can swipe on the keyboard to scroll through articles. This is certainly a very useful and enjoyable feature on the passport that I have come to love.

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Operating System

The passport comes pre-loaded with the latest BlackBerry 10.3 operating system. I will not go into details about the OS, but a few improvements that I found important include:

• Faster boot up
• Better Android compatibility
• Amazon app store pre-loaded
• More device monitoring capabilities, such as battery and data usage
• Advanced interactions, where features includes the ability to flip the device facedown to save power or mute, and automatically wake the device up when you pick it up.
• BBM updated with emoticons
• And much much more!

BlackBerry 10’s browser is simply fast. It also has the ability to display web pages with Adobe Flash. Coupled with the wide screen and a keyboard that acts like a touchpad, there is simply no comparison.

Multitasking with Active Frames is easy and straightforward. With 3GB of RAM, there is no worry about running low on memory.

BlackBerry 10 has certainly come a long way since the PlayBook days, making it, in my opinion, one of the best mobile OS out on the market today.

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Display

The passport features a stunning 1440 by 1440 4.5’’ LCD display. The display is bright and vibrant. The screen real estate allows you to “work wide”. It can display 60 character across, thus is a perfect production device and for reading long emails or articles. The Gorilla Glass 3 is also beautiful and easy to clean. A few quick wipes with a shirt leaves the device looking like new.

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Apps

One of the most common arguments against owning a BlackBerry is often its lack of apps. With the ability of the passport to run almost all android apps smoothly since BlackBerry OS 10.2.1, the app gap has certainly been narrowed. The passport with its BlackBerry OS 10.3 comes pre-loaded with Amazon Appstore as well as improvement on the Android runtime. Although most of the apps work, there are certainly a few that do not scale properly or are glitchy. Certain apps that require Google Play services may not work (although some will). Apps like Netflix, Google Maps will work and some can still be found in BlackBerry’s native app store, the BlackBerry World. Users also have the choice to side-load an application called “Snap”. This will give them access to the apps in Google Play.

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Battery Life

Because of its size, the passport also houses a very large battery. At 3450mAh, it edges out the Nexus 6 as well as the iPhone 6 Plus. The passport is advertised to be able to be on standby for 18.5 days or a talk time of 23 hours. In real life scenario, with moderate usage, the passport can easily survive a whole day without needing to charge. Coming from a BlackBerry Z10, which has less than half the battery capacity, the passport’s battery life has been astonishing.

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Conclusion

If you have read through the review, you will notice I have almost nothing bad to say about the phone. The BlackBerry passport has certainly been very well thought through and designed. Although it is certainly a solid device, it may not be for everyone. There is a learning curve associated with the device and most people will complain about the width of the phone. If you get a chance, try out the phone, it might just grow on you.