BlackBerry Passport Unlocked Phone - Retail Packaging - Silver

I am extremely impressed with the capabilities of this device and the thoughtfulness and coherence of the BlackBerry 10 operating system. I've had the Passport now for a couple of months, and recently received the 10.3.1 OS update, which added a ton of cool new elements, including emergency battery saving mode. I've stumbled across a number of other features, though I'm not sure if they are new or not, like "advanced interaction" which does stuff like silence or shut off screen when the device is flipped over (also I'll note the universal search is amazing ... for example I couldn't remember the term "advanced interaction" but I just typed in "flip" on the home screen and, among the results, was "advanced interactions" in settings). I also recently discovered the keyboard shortcuts, you can assign an app or a bunch of other actions to the long press of any key. It would take too long, and frankly I don't remember off hand, all the pleasant little surprises the OS and the device offer, but it's pretty cool.I will say I saw one review complaining about the combo virtual and hard keyboard. I'll say I think the arrangement is genius (how does one complain about a partially virtual keyboard but embrace a fully virtual one? Makes no sense). Anyway, you need to realize that the keyboard is touch sensitive. So, a back swipe = "backspace". And a down swipe = shift. Further, though the virtual keyboard appears when you swipe down (shift), you don't actually need to use it: When you "shift" you can then press the hard key corresponding with the soft key, so for example, swipe down then press the "m" key and you'll get a dollar sign. Though the secondary character isn't printed on the hard key, it works exactly as you'd expect a keyboard with the shift key pressed to operate. Finally, a swipe up selects the predictive text word being suggested for you (there are three presented just above the keyboard, left, right and middle). Once you become accustomed to using the shift key to get your symbols (like speed typing you remember that shift-"b" is "@" and shift "h" is "&" etc, though you can also see it when the virtual keyboard pops up), and begin to rely on the predictive text swipe up, and the really high quality hard keyboard, you can beaver out messages dramatically faster than any other input device.Virtual Assistant: Unlike predecessor BlackBerrys, the voice command system works really well. I haven't done side-by-side tests, but I ask it to do stuff like set alarms and find things on teh web or the device and it performs very well.Blend: This is one that seems to have been overlooked by a lot of people. You install the app on your computer or tablet, and then basically it gives you access to all the messaging, calendar and contact functions of your phone right on your desktop. So, get to the office, pop the Passport on to a cradle (fyi battery life is very good, I often forget to charge at night and I'm still OK for the better part of the next day, which is a relief from battery anxiety I've had with all previous phones), and respond to SMS, email, BBM from my computer; it also shows your contacts and calendar. It doesn't show Notes which is a shame that I assume will be addressed in a future update. It also doesn't let you edit your contacts. But it is Gen 1, and quite a remarkable tool. Also they say nothing is saved on the second device; just the display and input of the second device are used, so Blend could be used on any random computer without worrying your data is going to be left behind for someone else to come across.Anyway, I've seen a lot of reviews where the user seemed to have no idea how to make use of the capabilities of the device (I'm not surprised, I just happened to stumble on this function, there are a lot of hidden gems really, maybe I should read the manual). Oh, the photos are really great quality, even my friends with iPhones have to admit. I just noticed a couple of weeks ago that in the Photo Album app, if you click on the occasional banner that separates sets of photos and videos, it automatically creates a slide show of videos and photos taken in some coherent period of time, with a variety of transitions, etc, it adds some music and a little intro cover and closing. I'm really impressed with this, as what a cool way to show your vacation pics without the dull flipping from one pic to the next. And no effort on my part at all (this is called "Automatic Story Maker"; there is a "Story Maker" app too which allows you to select the media, the intro, the music, etc but I haven't spend time fussing with all that, so I like the automatic mode).I've had good luck with Android apps on the Passport. There are a bunch of Android app stores you can install directly from the browser on the device (the browser is REALLY fast) like 1 Mobile Market and Aptoide and APK DL and Vshare and Mobogenie, so you are not limited to Amazon App Store. I strongly encourage people to install this app called "Snap" which is a native app like Google Play Store. Snap must be side-loaded (a 1-time thing), which is about a 5-10 minute process, there are lots of guides how to do it (basically put the device into Dev mode and install an extension on Chrome browser of your computer). I put on Google Maps (there's an apk on the web you can install to address the sign on issue), yelp, snapchap, instagram, paypal, Shazam, Airbnb, several off-line maps apps, and a bunch of other ones I actually never use. Uber has a mobile site m.uber.com which works just like the app. Is the Android emulation absolutely foolproof? No, you'll occasionally see some message about Google Play Services or something, but I'm really happy with it. I think of it like this: It's a small compromise to pay for access to a mobile powerhouse of features no other device offers and that I really need and use and rely on. And anyway I have an android tablet where I've downloaded hundreds of apps I never use, but maybe that gives me psychic comfort I don't know.Finally, I'll note the dramatic improvement just in the OS update from 10.3 to 10.3.1; the OS isn't perfect but is constantly being polished and improved.

I consider myself one of the lucky ones who was able to purchase a Passport from Amazon on launch day before it sold out. I was considering a few phones, but this one caught my eye and eventually my imagination.After almost two weeks I have to say that I am totally thrilled that I went with the Passport over those other cookie-cutter phones on the two-company marketThe first thing you notice is the build. It is definitely a premium quality device. And it is large, but not as large in your hand as you thought it would be. Actually, most things I can still get away with only using one hand (ie. surfing the web, watching YouTube videos, sending short texts, etc.), while any texts or emails longer than a few words usually takes both hands. And It fits just fine in my jacket pocket. I happen to be one of those people who does not put any cellphone in my pant pockets.The screen is awesome. It is a joy to surf the web on a phone without having to constantly be tilting it back and forth. The same goes for emails, texts, documents, etc. Videos are crystal clear and vivid, but you do not get the same amount of screen real estate for videos that you would with other phones that are tilted in landscape mode.My only real concern before purchasing was the keyboard. As someone who has never used a hardware keyboard, I wasn't sure I could adapt after the virtual keyboards on my previous phones. I needn't have worried. After a couple of days, I can honestly say that I have never typed faster or more accurately than on the Passport. The word suggestions are awesome, and as the device gets used to the words you often use, you find yourself typing alot less and instead swiping up complete words alot more. Sometimes it only takes me 6 or 7 pushes on the keys to write a 20 or 30 word sentence, as the keyboard lets me swipe more than type. The swipe-sensitive keyboard also allows you to scroll though webpages, emails, and documents without having to swipe on the screen. I must say that I really appreciate the thought and innovation that went into this device.The battery is incredible. Although I'm not a "business" type (just a regular blue-collar guy), I do consider myself a heavy user, and my phone lasts the entire day and then some. On heavier use days the battery will last a good 18 hours, while on lighter use days I get at least 24 hours. I used to plug my phone in as soon as I got home, but now I just plug it in before I go to sleep (and it still usually has a 25% of the battery left).As everybody knows, Blackberry doesn't have anything close to the app selection of Android and Apple, but this wasn't a big concern to me. The apps that I actually do use are either already available through Blackberry, or I can download them via Amazon, 1MobileMarket, Snap, or other sites that let you sideload. Whether it's Netflix, my football team's app, my banking app, or games like Pacman, I have them all on my Passport, and they all work great.I really love the multitasking you can do with this phone. When they say you can have up to eight active screens going at the same time, they aren't kidding. You simply never have to close a screen or an app in order to open up another one.If you have several apps that you use to communicate with people, then the Hub is a feature that will completely change the way you look at your phone. It lets you receive all your communications in one place, and respond to all of them, without the necessity of having to leave the Hub, and go separately into each app or email or text or whatever, in order to respond. Simply brilliant. I have several email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, texts, and phone calls all set in the Hub, and it sure makes my ability to respond a breeze.Blackberry Blend is also a great feature that lets you sync you laptop or tablet to the Passport so that you can access the communications on your phone on those other devices. I've got a laptop and it works perfectly. Again, it is very simple and easy to use innovative feature of this phone.The OS on the Passport is very nice. It is simple, appealing, effective, and super fast. I guess the non-Android OS, along with the 3 MB of Ram under the hood, is the reason I have yet to notice any lags on this device at all.I haven't used the camera too much, but the shots I have taken have been very nice, and I hope to start using some of it's other features (like panoramic mode) very soon.The sound on this device is top notch. I have a 64 GB SD card with a 4,000 song library on my phone and the speakers on the Passport blow away my friends' Apple and Android phones . The speaker phone is also top of the line - clear and crisp.As icing on the cake, the mini-HDMI port lets me watch Netflix or YouTube videos, or anything really, on my TV screenI guess the bottom line is this: If you are looking for a phone that lets you do things quickly, innovatively, and effortlessly, and don't mind using two hands most of the time, then the Passport just might be the phone for you. On the other hand, if you simply must use only one hand, must watch videos in landscape mode, absolutely need to put you phone in your skinny jeans, or are addicted to plugging in your phone more than once during the day, then this phone just might not be for you.