BEARING FRUIT
BlackBerry’s latest device, its first to run on Android, carries weighty expectations for the company,
With the launch of the Priv, BlackBerry has produced a phone that tries to resolve many of the longstanding complaints about the company’s devices.
But is also brings up a more existential question: What is it that actually defines something as a BlackBerry? Is it the operating system? The security and messaging focus? Or is it all about the physical keyboard?
Most other tech companies don’t face these questions, but BlackBerry has come to face a sort of identity crisis as its competitors have lapped it.
The Priv is the Waterloo, Ont.based company’s first Androidbased smartphone, though its developers have modified the operating system to add some of BlackBerry’s strengths.
This phone also comes with the added weight of being the company’s saviour, as BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen said it needs to sell five million devices this year, or else it may finally get out of the handset business.
Here’s what we think of the Priv:
Name: BlackBerry Priv Price (unlocked/two-year contract): $799/$399 Operating system: BlackBerry modified Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop) Screen (size/type): 5.4-inch QHD AMOLED screen with 1,440 x 2,560 resolution (540 ppi pixel density) Features: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, 3 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage, capacitive touchscreen keyboard, expandable storage slot. Camera: Rear: 18 megapixels with optical image stabilization and phase-detection autofocus. Front: two megapixels with 720p video. Weight: 192 grams Battery life: 3,410 mAh battery, good for a day and half. Competition: iPhone 6s/6s Plus, Samsung S6, most other premium flagship phones.
What’s good: Design: BlackBerry has been experimenting with different kinds of phones, most notably last year’s big brick Passport. To me, the Priv is the coolest phone the company has put out in years. I am impressed with the design — its slim feel and dual curved-edged display is very ontrend. The display slides up to reveal a physical keyboard, but if you didn’t know it was a slider, you might never know the keyboard is there.
Keyboard: The choice of onscreen or physical keyboard is a good move: This might finally be a way to transition hardcore CrackBerry users to virtual keys. I also love that the physical keyboard is touch enabled, so when it’s open, you can scroll up and down webpages by thumbing over the keyboard. That solves the problem of accidentally “liking” something on social media.
Apps: Users now have access to all of the apps on the Google Play store. This has long been one of the biggest knocks on BlackBerry going it alone with its operating system.
DTEK is a BlackBerry-made app manager that gives you information about which apps you’re using at the moment, giving you even more granular information about what your phone is doing.
Multi-tasking several live apps is a strength of BlackBerry’s operating system, and here it’s replaced by a Windows-like tile interface of different-sized app screens. It’s not as good, but still handy.
The phone has an expandable SDcard slot, supporting up to two terabytes of additional storage. This used to be a standard feature on ’Droid phones, but is becoming scarcer.
The 18-megapixel camera is similar to most Androids: excellent in welllit areas; not as good in low lighting.
What’s bad This is an expensive device, and heavier than most flagship phones.
After playing games for about 20 minutes, the back of the phone got noticeably warm. I didn’t notice this problem during other media playback or any other uses, but this is not good. If you are BlackBerry’s coveted business user, this might not matter, but it matters to me.
BlackBerry will always be knocked for being late, and this phone is running Lollipop, the previous version of Android. The company said it made many improvements, such as beefing up security, and that upgrading to the latest OS is in the cards, but customers will have to rely on BlackBerry to roll out updates.
I preferred the onscreen keyboard to the physical, as it just felt a bit roomier. That said, the three onscreen navigation buttons are occasionally obscured by banner ads at the bottom of the webpage screen, so sometimes it takes a few hits to get them back.
What’s interesting This is a confounding device. Though “on trend” with its dual edges, it’s also retro with its slider keyboard. It’s also a huge bet for the company, because it runs Android instead of BB’s homegrown operating system. BB users might be drawn to the variety offered by Android, while Android users might be drawn the familiar experience offered by the Priv (though real ’Droidheads who love the stock version of the OS might be turned off by the modifications). BlackBerry users will appreciate the messaging hub and extra attention to security.
The bottom line Part of me wishes I could say this is the best Android phone ever made, as that is just the kind of hype of the company needs. But I’m not there.
This is a good Android phone, but I still prefer the Samsung Note 5 ($860 unlocked) or even the Nexus 6P ($699).
BlackBerry had caught up to competitors with its own operating system, but it couldn’t catch up with apps. Now BlackBerry is just another Android phone manufacturer in a very crowded field.
For CrackBerry diehards out there, this is definitely a phone to look at. It has the familiar BlackBerry flavour in a new shell, and one that no one needs to be embarrassed to tout anywhere.
For the company, that’s a win. Now we’ll see if the phone can live up to the massive weight of expectations placed on it.