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BlackBerry Passport
75
Engadget Review
The Passport is the best BlackBerry 10 device you can buy, and comes with a number of flagship-caliber specs. But its odd shape and size, as well as its weird keyboard, may be a turnoff for many.
Pros
- Keyboard doubles as touchpad
- Long battery life
- Fantastic outdoor visibility
- Good camera
- Robust build
Cons
- Don't even try using it one-handed
- Keyboard is difficult to get used to
- Awkward size and shape
- App selection is better now, but still needs some work
- Occasional hiccups in performance
View All Critic & User Reviews
BlackBerry Passport
- Critic Reviews (8)
- User Reviews (36)
- 65AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE8 ReviewsEngadget80I typed my entire BlackBerry Passport review on thThe Passport is the best BlackBerry 10 device you can buy, and comes with a number of flagship-caliber specs. But its odd shape and size, as well as its weird keyboard, may be a turnoff for many.The Wall Street Journal60BlackBerry Passport Review: Back to Square OneThe Passport has some neat tricks and longer battery life than the competition, but it's living in the past. It's not 2005 anymore.Gizmodo70BlackBerry Passport Review: When the Best You've GThe screen's strange size doesn't deliver enough convenience to justify its awkward bulkiness, the app selection won't satisfy a moderate power user, and in some places, BB feels like a shadow of more capable operating systems.CNET70A powerful, cumbersome love letter to physical keyThe BlackBerry Passport's bullish focus on productivity spawns a fantastic keyboard, but its blocky shape makes one-handed use difficult.TechRadar60Is this the phone to reboot the 'Berry?Blackberry's faith has been placed in a device very much suited to a particular type of customer. The specs and features are all there, but the form factor falters against conventional devices.The Verge60BlackBerry Passport reviewThe Passport is a shrine to everything BlackBerry has done over the last 15 years, but none of that is very relevant in today’s world. It’s apparently the best that BlackBerry can do, but that’s not enough.The Next Web60BlackBerry Passport review: For every benefit, theIn many ways, the Passport is a great smartphone, but its features, design choices and out-of-the-box services mean it’ll only ever really appeal to a small section of the market.TrustedReviews60BlackBerry Passport reviewThe BlackBerry Passport tries to be different but doesn’t quite get it right. As a result this is not the smartphone serious business professionals should consider.
- 90AVERAGE USER SCORE36 ReviewsEngadget Reader100November 2, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!its still my daily use beloved phoneEngadget Reader90October 10, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I've had a Blackberry for a very long time, but the Passport is absolutely the best one yet! The keyboard is so easy to use, the reception is awesome, as well as the battery life and the map is the best and easiest I've had! I always catch a lot of crap for owning a Blackberry and that's fine with me because it just makes me love it all the more! I've had a lot of people ask me what kind of phone it is when they catch glimpse of it! Mine is red and I love it....Engadget Reader90September 23, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader90September 5, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!This rating is for the Silver editionEngadget Reader90July 6, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader90July 4, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I have had the Passport for almost a year now and I still love it! I am not a 'power business user' and apart from my Blackberry own all things Apple - and have since the early 90's. I think I might stray if it did not have the iconic physical keyboard, but it is also very durable and the screen and overall specs are top notch. Sure, there aren't as many apps as competitors and the ported Android ones are disappointing (if they work at all), but frankly that is not important to me. In addition, I do like the exclusivity the Passport form factor offers. That said, it is its day to day performance, reliability and native apps that garners the high praise.Engadget Reader90May 19, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader100May 16, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I have been a Blackberry fan since OS5 and it's a relieve to see a device like Blackberry Passport after Z10 dan Q10 disaster (I own both devices). After playing with those 2, I realized that my next BB should have a big screen packed with a lot of pixels in order to overcome OS10's shortcomings.Engadget Reader90April 22, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader90April 19, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Blackberry passport is one the best and beautiful cell phone i ever owned.Everything about it is awesome.It is not one of the best phone out there but its worth having it.Built and quality matter and passport have both.I recommend it to evetyone becsuse it might be that such look, design, beauty, and quality will not be Seen in any other device many years to comeEngadget Reader100April 8, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I was always a fan of the Blackberry OS and the quality build of their devices. Lack of available apps was always an issue. Now with a new OS 10.0 and 3 app stores available (Blackberry,Amazon and Google Playstore) there is a new reason to once again return to Blackberry with the brilliant hardware features of the Passport..Engadget Reader50March 5, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I have been using BB since 2009, from 8830, 9700,9810, Z10 and now Passport. I was so happy with the BB and i continue to be, well to an extent. My main area of concern is with the apps and apps alone. Well you might say, Android apps can now run on OS10 phones, but does it really work the way it is supposed to. No, it never works the way it works on an Android phone. Because of this feature, now developers stopped making apps for OS10, leaving the OS10 users way behind. Take an example: True callers used to work like charm in OS 7 , but there is no app like that in OS10. If we install the android version, well it works, but not on the background and search/show the numbers while the call is arriving. We have to open the app, manually paste the number and do the search, if we need to know the details of the caller, while it shows the spam listed number while the call is on, in Android phones making it one of the best features of Truecaller. This is just an example i cited, there are several Apps which they haven't updated for more than 2 years now, which is meant for OS10. No developers or company is interested in making apps for OS10, really one frightening issue. While other phone users flaunt their App flexibility and productiveness, am just looking at it with a bloke in my hand. Passport. This is my last blackberry. Period.Engadget Reader100February 22, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I have to admit i already owned a Blackberry Z10 before, which i did like very much besides the unacceptable battery life. So i did already know the OS. I especially like the Hub to handle communication easily. It integrates very well with my Exchange account, and social platforms to update contact information or the contact image. For me it is the first device that doesn't give me the feeling i need to return to my computer to answer longer emails. The wider screen makes reading PDF and Excel attachments more comfortable as well.Engadget Reader90February 8, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader100January 26, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Perfect. That's all I can say.Engadget Reader90January 24, 2015Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!First of all, I have a confession to make...I'm a self admitted blackberry fanboy. I had a 9930 and replaced it with a Galaxy note3 last year. More on that later. First of all, a little about me. I'm a 49 yr. old physician. Our practice communicates primarily via text messaging between the 10 or so sites which we operate out of. I was immediately attracted to the passport because it has a physical keyboard unlike the note3. At first, it took some getting used to, but I have grown to like it better than using swift keys on the note3. It's actually slower than using a touchscreen, but I find it inherently more accurate. The autocorrect feature doesn't seem to generate as much gobbly gook as what my note3 use to produce too. Overall I like the OS 10.3 better than using android OS. It's much more streamlined and businesslike. From the blackberry hub feature it's easy to access all my notifications from my different email accounts, text msgs., and app. messages. For me, the appeal of the blackberry over android OS is it's simplicity of operation. The settings menu is easy to access from a drop down tab and includes a vpn tab under network options. I'm not saying it's difficult to setp up a vpn app on an android, I just like the way blackberry handles it better. The note3 seemed to have a lot of bloatware and I believe that it was gave it a poor battery life. Most of the useless bloatware apps. could not be removed without rooting the phone which I was a little nervous about doing. During typical usage I would need to replace the battery by late afternoon on my note3. With my blackberry, I can do a 24 hour call shift, surf the net, and not have to worry about charging.The main reason I switched from my note3 is the kitkat "upgrade" definitely degraded the signal quality and I had difficulty sending and receiving texts while inside the hospital I work at. I have had no troubles with my passport. Granted, my note3 was on Verizon network and my passport is At&t so it's not apples to apples. But I can tell you that when my note3 was running jellybean, it didn't drop as many texts. I like the form factor of the passport and it's fun having people say "I didn't know they still made blackberries". As far as apps. are concerned, well, I never played a game of candy crush or flappy birds on my phone and probably never will. Whats new in blackberry OS 10.3 is the ability to run android apps without sideloading. The passport comes with the amazon app store and blackberry world for loading apps. While better than in the past, the app store is woefully wanting for apps. One of the apps my practice uses for communication is called "perfect serve". It's not available in the amazon app store nor blackberry world, but a quick google search and I was able to find the .apk file and load it from another site. It works just fine. I also loaded Netflix by searching for it's .apk file and it also works great ! (I watched a film called "last gladiators" about NHL enforcers which was excellent btw :) ) So the take home message is that there are other sites online to download .apk files, you just have to look a little bit and set the permissions to allow downloading from sources other than the blackberry store which is easy to do and similar to how it's done on the Android OS. I have a feeling most members of engadget site would have no problems doing this. Quite frankly, for me it’s part of the fun. Your mileage may vary though.I will say that the square screen does present some challenges for apps to run properly. For instance, VIBER , which is available for blackberry z30, does not run properly on the passport and believe me, I have tried multiple version numbers. The passport does come with What’s app preloaded along with BBM and of course there are many other text/voice over internet options out there to choose from. BBM is now available for IOS and Android but good look convincing your Apple donning friends to load BBM on their iphones. VYPERVPN also does not run properly, presumably secondary to a button placement overlap problem on the screen. I contacted goldenfrog, the purveyors of VYPERVPN and there are no plans for reformatting VYPERVPN for the passport. No problem though, because PUREVPN works just fine, and I have switched to that. Call quality is far superior to the Note3. The passport has 4 microphones im told, and I’m able to hear better. When I would play a youtube video on the Note3, even with the volume all the way up, it was very soft. The Passport borders on being too loud at it’s loudest volume setting !Another thing I like about the passport is that accessories are dirt cheap ! I’ve bought leather cases, screen protectors, all at low prices on various sites. More than likely it’s due to low consumer demand and so there appears to be a “fire sale†going on.So, in a nutshell I would summarize by stating that the passport does email, texting very well. It’s very businesslike and that’s why I like it. My note3 was better for taking videos and photos and possesses a wider selection of working apps and games. But you know, I have a nice laptop, and at home I built a PC for gaming that any teenager would gladly trade his baby sister for. My phone needs to be my communicator, not my entertainment hub.Engadget Reader90December 31, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Love BlackBerry or hate BlackBerry, you really can't ignore this phone.As a power user, this phone is a beast and really delivers the tools you need to get you through the day and is packed full of innovation.It's a shame that there is so much negativity towards BlackBerry, many of it is from people who have never bothered to try a BlackBerry 10 device.Engadget Reader80December 22, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I start by first stating that I am an x apple user, I started with the iPhone 4 and ended with the iPhone 5. I didn't buy the iPhone 6 because it lacked character and I was bored with apple. I have the blackberry now it's a new experience the pros of the phone the mics provides optimal quality when calling, the phone is very well built, the keyboard touch capabilities are great, the battery life is amazing, blackberry blends file manager is an excellent feature and the screen is very crisp. The cons of the phone I struggled to find an instagram client app, black bars when watching videos, netflix doesn't show the videos fully it cuts off the edges, and the snap app gives u access to the Google plus store but not all the apps work.This phone is for those who don't mind the shape and are not those who need apps that are very niche. You will find everything you need like facebook, whatsapp etc. But things like seller are not even found on android so you won't find them on blackberry either.My next phone will probably be a blackberry because I get what they are all about now. So I do recommend this phone its a nice change.Engadget Reader100November 16, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A gadget unicorn - EngadgetEngadget Reader90November 7, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader90November 6, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The Blackberry Passport, a device thats build by business people for business people. Not that anyone else can't use it!Battery life is great. Gets you though the whole day and more. Perfect for those long weekends where there are no changing ports. Even with heavy use, you can push through 30 hours easily.Design: The Passport looks like you would expect with a premium device. A metal frame for a solid construction with a slim bezel for maxim screen real-estate.Camera: The camera is good but not great. Its a big improvement over the Z10 & Q10 that many uses have currently. with a F2.0 aperture your low light shots will come out leader and less noisy. All round, i have had a good experience with my Blackberry Passport and i would recommend it to anyone who is a blackberry enthusiast or someone who is looking to break away from the mould and stand out in the crowd with something that is new and innovative.Engadget Reader90October 29, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Hated the device on sight - charged it, played with it a little, hated the keyboard, put it away for a day - decided to return it. Loved BB keyboards in the past. Took it out again and really used the keyboard - ended up liking it. Put all the apps I needed on the phone, some only available by downloading from my Android device - copied the .apk and installed them directly on the Passport - have chrome and google maps too! I ended up finding the navigation quite good - more intuitive than android of iOS - I've own them all and like them all - but BB10 is definitely younger in the development cycle. Keeping the device, putting my other phones away and staying with BB in hopes that this very good OS will continue to mature. It already has a superior start as compared to android and iOS.Engadget Reader100October 28, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I own a metal fabrication business and use my phone to look at blueprints which is GREAT on this phone. Also downloaded autocad via the snap android store which has all the apps from a regular android phone. Again, cad file look great on this device, much better than the typical rectangular phones. Not all the games work but I haven't come across an app that didn't work yet. Much better than the amazon apps store that comes pre-installed. Blackberry HUB is simply the best way to keep track of all social medial/emai/sms. Linked in integration is great and all my contacts are well organize. This is by fear the best phone on the market unless you buy phone for gaming. Still solid for gaming but the inability to use the keyboard as physical keys for steering etc is a real let down. It does gaming well but iphone/android is superior in that aspect.Engadget Reader90October 27, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader90October 23, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I switched from a Iphone and will not be going back, the keyboard is excellent the screen easy to look at and the built in apps tie things together well, I use my laptop in the field 50 percent less with this phone, love itEngadget Reader100October 22, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Over this is a great device. Blackberry is back with a phone that is a breath of fresh air from the crowded long narrow smart phone design. There are so many new innovative features in their BB10 OS it's unbelievable that I can't believe Android and Apple haven't thought of them before. If you're looking for security and productivity then this is the only phone you need consider this year.Adityan50October 16, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Just like the Q10, usage of physical keyboard and touch screen sequentially, is the only way to navigate this devise.The promise of tack pad on keyboard is plain horrible. It has so little functions, as against the full functional trackpad we are so used to.The size is uncomfortable, and inconvenient to use.BB should know that if they want users to feel the traditional experience of using the BB, they have to include the basic 4 functional keys, and the track pad, as we know it.Engadget Reader100October 13, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I loves this computer, phone, tablet, phablet. It does it all.It's cool having something more interesting than anyone else. Very cool device!!!Engadget Reader100October 8, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Simply the best!Engadget Reader90October 7, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best Blackberry ever I have....overall it is really suit for my need, battery life is amazing !!!Chris90October 6, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader90October 3, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!This is a beast. It is a mobile office !. Excel, PDF, Doc email calls Webex Evernote, conference calls works like a charm. You need time to get used to it but eventually you will really like to look at webpages and document on it ! my other narrow phone is not as suitable ! Another plus is great battery life no need to rush and compete for power plugs at airports !Calendar integration with webex other possible bridges for phone calls is unique to BB10. And I really like Blackberry Blend Dashboard while at the office or in the plane you work follow you on the devices you want !Engadget Reader80October 3, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!There's a lot to like about this in spite of a few flaws. - EngadgetEngadget Reader100October 2, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I am a doctor, I read files, secure documents, pdfs, and I need to see images clearly on it. It has already saved me having to dash to the laptop several times. Hard to put it down since I have had it, from playing with videos and browsing to twitter to emails. The wider key pad takes a bit of getting used to, about half a day and a dozen emails. I have used 'blend' and started using the calendar for all things since it syncs and I can access it from the laptop. It is beautifully designed and was in my Kenzo blazer top pocket all day. Battery into 2nd day of regular use....still almost half charged.....can't fault it.Engadget Reader90September 30, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - EngadgetEngadget Reader70September 30, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I got it because I like a keyboard, and I like blackberry. A huge reason for me to get this device is because Blackberry is a secure device through and through. I am not saying I have sensitive information on my device but I much rather have my information in the hands of a device that knows how to safely handle it rather than one that doesn't. Yes the apps are few, but the Amazon App Store does help as well Blackberry World actually does have a few gems amongst the crap. I am not going to say this is a device for everyone but its a device that is for me and for that is all that matters. Just some final words the Camera I think is good, I think however the Blackberry 10 OS doesn't process it well, it's like it compresses the file to a insane flip phone level of quality. This phone isn't designed for one hand use, it can be done but I don't recommend it, it's designed for two handed use. If you absolutely don't need to power off, don't because you will have to wait a good long time to get back online, seriously Blackberry you have 4 cores and 3GB RAM to work with.
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Key Specs
TYPE
Smartphone
OPERATING SYSTEM
BlackBerry
SCREEN SIZE
4.522
INTERNAL MEMORY
327
CAMERA
Yes
TALK TIME
2g, 3g
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