The productivity engine

> BlackBerry returns to form with its revamped KEY2 device, which is the perfect business companion

THIS year, BlackBerry launched the KEY2 that has the shape and dimensions of a typical smartphone, but with a physical keyboard.

While BlackBerry’s previous incarnation of this idea , the KEY ONE, felt more like a salaryman trying to be young and hip, the KEY2 is more like a young executive.

Out of the pocket and in hand, there is no mistaking the BlackBerry KEY2 for a phone or a device made by another manufacturer.

The KEY2 shares the same measurements as any Android phone with a 6in, 2:1 ratio display, which is not only typical of phones today, but is perfect for single-handed use.

However, a physical keyboard is not meant for single-handed use.

The keyboard on the KEY2 has 35 keys, including the spacebar which doubles as a fingerprint reader, and the new Speed Key which turns the 26 letter keys into 52 shortcut keys.

In practice, I find the keyboard to be small, but not cramped. Also, the Speed Key is handy, but takes some getting used to. Because of the small surface area, I do not find the keyboard’s touch gestures to be as responsive as I would like them to be.

From edge to edge, diagonally, the display on the KEY2 measures 4.5in. That seems small, and indeed BlackBerry could have made the screen bigger by integrating the navigational buttons into the display.

Nevertheless, in practice, I have no complaints about the display. Perhaps it is due to its high-pixel density, which is rated at 433ppi, that I do not mind the size.

In addition to the keyboard, it is the software that gives a BlackBerry phone its distinguishing feel. It runs on an almost pure Android 8.1 Oreo operating system, but with a few enhancements.

The suite of productivity and security apps, chiefly the Hub, will shape the way you use a BlackBerry device.

The BlackBerry Hub is easily accessible, streamlined, and easy to understand. It utilises feeds of notifications from all your messaging apps, including instant messengers, email, and social media.

Unlike the typical notification window on an Android phone, notifications on the Hub are persistent and can be fully customised.

By default, it is set up so that you will never miss a single message, and at a glance, you can see who it came from, which app it came from, if you have read it, and if you have done anything about it. I find it invaluable.

Finally, the most surprising thing about the BlackBerry KEY2 is how good its camera is. It is the first BlackBerry phone with a dual camera system.

Here, the camera is made up of two 12MP sensors, one of which is set at 2X zoom.

The picture quality is just about good, and that is a lot coming from a BlackBerry phone.

Still, it is not perfect in lowlight conditions. Pictures in poor light will look more like paintings rather than photographs.

With a retail price of RM2,599 for a Qualcomm 660 processor, 6GB memory, and 64GB expandable storage, the KEY2’s asking price is higher than the average mid-range phone, but then the BlackBerry KEY2 is anything but mid-range or average.