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BlackBerry Launches Square-Screened Passport Phone

Posted by Soulskill on from the hip-to-be-square dept.

New submitter Andrewkov writes: BlackBerry released its new Passport phone today. It has a square 4.5" screen and a physical keyboard, and it's aimed at corporate users. The company hopes the larger size, Siri-like voice recognition, 30-hour battery life, and improved security will buoy its market share. Early reviews are not terribly favorable — the Wall Street Journal says BlackBerry is still behind on the software, and "The bulky, awkward design and the unfamiliar keyboard make it hard to justify finding space for it in a pocket or bag." The Verge said, "[T]he Passport got in the way of getting work done more than it helped." Re/code calls it a phone only a BlackBerry user will love.

11 of 189 comments (clear)

  1. As a BlackBerry user by MyFirstNameIsPaul · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I can tell you the only BlackBerry I enjoy using is the 9900/9930. It's the best work productivity messaging tool I've found. It's not a toy, like my Samsung personal phone.

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    I once took an excursion to Reddit, and later HN. Unlimited up/down voting sucks when dealing with a hive-mind.

  2. Lacking developers. by blueshift_1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What it comes down to is that it just lacks the development community. People will only spend the time developing apps if it is going to make them money... and with the majority of the user base in android and iOS devices, it's just more reasonable to develop for those platforms. Not to mention, the square screen means you'll have to pretty much rethink the whole layout of you apps. But I guess it'll be useful if you're just going to check your email or make changes in a calendar (I guess it is true that blackberry users are probably only going to do that anyway).

    1. Re:Lacking developers. by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If Microsoft, with all its vast resources, cannot make a dent in the iOS-Android duopoly, I fail to see how a company that has basically been swirling around the drain for six or seven years is going to even carve out enough of a niche to stay alive.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:Lacking developers. by CastrTroy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Especially considering I haven't heard much criticism of the current generation of Windows Phones, except for that pertaining to lack of apps. The general consensus seem to be (as far as I've read) that Windows Phone is actually quite a good product. From the development standpoint, I've played around with it, and actually find it much easier to get started with than Android or iOS. The only reason I can figure that they aren't succeeding is because of the lack of apps, which leads to less users, which makes it less attractive to developers. It's a circular problem. Blackberry has other sorts of problems. Not only are there no users, but from what I've heard, developing apps on it isn't easy.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    3. Re:Lacking developers. by ArhcAngel · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The PRIMARY reason to use a BlackBerry device is because I don't want the NSA or 4chan all up in my business.

      --
      "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
  3. OK by kv9 · · Score: 4, Funny

    But does it bend?

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    Stop Computers/Cars Analogies on S
  4. Square screens by itzly · · Score: 5, Funny

    Square screens are probably the only way to stop people making vertical videos.

  5. Awful awful timing of launch by presidenteloco · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Trying to launch one week into the shadow of the massive iPhone 6 launch?

    Guaranteed burial and gross embarassment by comparison.

    Execution matters, and now we'll see an execution.

    --

    Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
    1. Re:Awful awful timing of launch by Guspaz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      What I'm aware of us that everybody is repeating the same tiny handful of stories/reports of bent iPhone 6 Plus phones over and over again, so it's not clear if the negative press represents a real problem, or just a handful of defective phones that has raised an uproar. They're still selling like gangbusters, and it'll probably take at least a few days or weeks before we can find out if "bendgate" is the result of defective units or an actual design flaw.

      The Blackberry Passport, for its part, is ridiculously wide, roughly equivalent to a six-inch tablet (it's half an inch wider than the 5.7" Galaxy Note 4). The form factor will probably relegate it to niche status.

  6. Need customers first by sjbe · · Score: 5, Funny

    Especially considering I haven't heard much criticism of the current generation of Windows Phones, except for that pertaining to lack of apps.

    I think someone would have to actually buy one for anyone to criticize it...

  7. Review are actually quite positive.... by Maxwell · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...thanks for cherry picking the worst part of every review. Most reviews seem to like it, appreciate it, but are on the fence about the size and form factor.