Review: BlackBerry Passport

Wire

Review: BlackBerry Passport

All that BlackBerry goodness in one Passport!

Byline: By Vinodhani Nair

Odd maybe, but one look at the BlackBerry (BB) Passport, I am reminded of my previous BlackBerry 9790 that came with a very, let me repeat, very useful QWERTY keyboard. Before being pushed to get on with the Blackberry Z10, I had been a very happy user of the BB and hated typing on a touchscreen.

Bittersweet Deal
Call me old-fashioned but even when I had the tablet, I always preferred to type out my work on a physical attachable or Bluetooth keyboard. Well seeing the Passport is truly a bittersweet experience – one knowing how useful it has always been, and two, realising I must revert back to touch keyboards once the review is done.

Missed Feeling
Hands down, I had always loved the look and feel of BB smartphones and this one is no different. However, the slightly square-ish look did have some friends make endless jokes of it- read users of other ‘more’ famous brands. I couldn’t care less frankly. The flattened, hybrid keyboard has an easy feeling, ensuring typing is a breeze. What’s more the keyboard also doubles as a touchpad.

Not Singlehanded
While I like the Passport’s look and size, its robust build, made from solid materials like stainless steel and soft-touch plastic, is commendable. I say that because this is not the kind of device you can use on a single hand; you will definitely drop it more often than not if you are not careful enough. Unless you think you’re a one-hand smartphone expert, using this may take some getting used to.

Beefed-Up Performance
Besides loving the look and feel of the Passport, performance-wise it may be one of the most powerful in the BB stable. Powering its heart is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.2Ghz Quad-Core Krait 400 CPU that comes paired with anAderno 330 GPU and 3GB of RAM. Complementing that are its long battery life, good outdoor visibility, decent 2MP front-facing snapper and 13MPrear-based camera. The Hub also has a few new features that ramps up its usability and visualisation. Other than that, I have not much to complain about. Personally, this is one of the best BB devices thus far.

Dimensions (H x W x D): 128 x 90.3 x 9.3mm
Weight: 196g
Display: 4.5in 1440 x 1440 with 24-bit Colour Depth
Navigation: All-Touch Screen with Gesture Based Navigation, Touch-Enabled Keyboard
Keyboard: Capacitive Touch 3-Row BlackBerry Keyboard
OS: BlackBerry 10 OS
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 with 2.2GHz Quad-Core CPU
GPU: Adreno 330, 450MHz GPU
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 32GB with Expandable Memory of up to 128GB
I/O: 1x USB 2.0 High-Speed Port
Camera: 13MP (Rear) with Auto-Focus, Optical Image Stabilisation, and f/2.0 lens, 2MP (Front)
Network: FD-LTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 20; HSPA+ 1, 2, 4, 5/6, 8; Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Connectivity: 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, Miracast, Bluetooth 4.0 LE