14 DAY TRIAL // BlackBerry is readying its comeback in the smartphone business, and one of the first products meant to strengthen its presence on the market has already been released, the Z3.
However, the Canadian company has another device prepared for BlackBerry fans, aside from the affordable Z3, and that’s the “innovative” Passport.
We’ve been reporting on the Passport since the smartphone was first rumored, and the general opinion is that this might be a popular device among BlackBerry users.
Obviously, that won’t be enough to save BlackBerry, which is why the Canadian company needs the Passport to be a hit among customers who are willing to switch to BlackBerry to get this unusual device.
Many developers who received prototype units claim that the Passport fits well in a pocket and feels right in hand, so those having second thoughts on grabbing it or not were probably convinced that they need not worry about the smartphone’s size.
Sadly for all those excited about the BlackBerry Passport, at least one developer isn’t happy at all with how the Canadian company decided to design this particular device.
BlackBerry is taking a risky approach with Passport
While the Passport is supposed to replace the Q10, BlackBerry plans to launch another device especially for that, the Q20 or BlackBerry Classic.
Which means BlackBerry Passport is the first of its kind and probably the last, if we are to take believe Crackberry forum user comwave.
According to him, no one from his company is willing to drop their Q10s for the Passport, on the contrary. Even though all his colleagues are long time BlackBerry users, as it’s a standard issue for the company they are working for, not a single one liked the Passport.
comwave claims that the BlackBerry Passport is “too square/wide to fit in your pocket, can't take it to the gym, can't put it in your shorts...it's basically a great Phablet. Nowhere near cool enough to get people to change from Q10 to Passport...too big of a jump. Only those people who already have a personal phone and a corporate issued phone didn't care to replace their Q for passport.”
On the positive side, he really likes how BlackBerry OS 10.3 runs on the Passport, but that was to be expected as each major OS upgrade brings in better usability and lots of other improvements.
Talking about BlackBerry Passport’s keyboard, comwave says that it’s ok but not as intuitive as the standard one, “It's just plain odd looking. It's wider than any large Android other than Galaxy Note. Looks odd holding up to your face. Maybe they should just contract Porsche Design next time.“
For your information, BlackBerry Passport measures 128 x 90.3 x 9.3mm and sports a 4.5-inch display that supports 1440 x 1440 pixel resolution. See more in-depth details on our BlackBerry Passport technical specifications page.