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BlackBerry KeyOne Review By The Verge: Part Productivity, Part Nostalgia (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the blast-from-the-past dept.

Dan Seifert reviews the new BlackBerry KeyOne flagship smartphone via The Verge. Here's an excerpt from the report: It was in about the third hour of using the new BlackBerry KeyOne, available this month for $549 unlocked, that I started to question my longtime preference for touchscreen keyboards. Because as I was pushing on the KeyOne's tiny little buttons with the tips of my thumbs, I remembered why some people still have such an affinity for these things. It wasn't that I was able to type faster with the BlackBerry's keyboard (I wasn't), or that I was more accurate with it (I still used autocorrect). It was that I felt like I was more productive when using it. I wasn't wasting time tweeting nonsense or sending emoji in ephemeral messages. I was sending important emails, working with my colleagues in Slack, creating and completing to-do lists, and adding appointments to my calendar. I was Getting Shit Done. Getting shit done is really the entire ethos of the new KeyOne, and arguably, the many BlackBerry devices that preceded it. The KeyOne is a phone for a very specific person, one that longs for the days when the BlackBerry Bold was the most important device in the office and the majority of business communications happened over email. It's not the best choice for watching hours of YouTube videos, sending thousands of Snaps, or reading novel-length ebooks (though it can technically do all of those things). It is for sending email. Lots of email.

34 comments

  1. Getting Shit Done by turkeydance · · Score: 1, Insightful

    vulgarity usually detracts from a good post. now get the hell off my lawn!

    1. Re:Getting Shit Done by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      vulgarity usually detracts from a good post.

      It's how millennial "journalists" show that they're "edgy".

    2. Re:Getting Shit Done by wjcofkc · · Score: 1

      I have been considering this for the better part of a year. Using expletives in places where it was previously forbidden is becoming the new norm. Is it good or bad? I am indifferent, just happened to notice the trend. Perhaps one could go so far as to argue that this ball got rolling back in the late 90's with TV commercials that used wording that was up until that point above and beyond taboo for erectile dysfunction drugs. Thanks Bob Dole.

      --
      Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
  2. If they're going to do a 3:2 screen that's $550 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seems like it should be 1920x1280, not 1620x1080. Give you HD on both axes.

  3. There's another name for a Blackberry review by JoeyRox · · Score: 1

    A eulogy.

  4. Getting Shit Done Says It All! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is very likely the "'mobile' Computer + iPod + Phone" that I have been waiting for since I watched Steve Jobs introduce the iPhone, via internet video, while I was at a Yodobashi Store in Akihabara during the New Years Holidays (Japan) of 2007. In August 2007 I purchased the iPod Touch, as an experiment device. Today I still have my First Gen iPod Touch. It sets beside my Sinclair Cambridge Programmable; both are museum pieces. The Sinclair is still functional; it only requires a 9 volt battery for power. I have not purchased an end-user-license agreement to use any iPhone! :-)

  5. "wasn't that I was able to type faster"... by NoseyNick · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It wasn't that I was able to type faster with the BlackBerry's keyboard (I wasn't),

    Most people will be. On BlackBerry physical keyboards, a dozen people in my office could beat the touchscreen typing world record within a few tries.

    --
    Nick Waterman, Sr Tech Director, #include <stddisclaimer>
    1. Re:"wasn't that I was able to type faster"... by sysrammer · · Score: 1

      That was a key worry for me when I got my Z30. Once I got used to the auto-suggest I turned out to be a faster typer. Especially when it gets used to you, too. I've typed an entire (routine) sentence using 7 or 8 swipe-ups, f'rinstance.

      Generally it won't auto-correct me. The suggested word is above the next letter one is going to type. Common variations show above other appropriate letters. Very convenient, and I don't have to look back and forth between the keys and the screen and a "suggestion field" or whatever.

      Regarding speed, I remember watching a race between 2 teens with phones and 2 ditty-boppers (morse operators) with telegraph keys. They had to send a paragraph to their mate and be the first to read it to the audience. Ditty-boppers FTW, natch, by a long shot. Of course, this was back in the days where, if you didn't have a BB, you had to send messages by cycling through the numbers & alphabet. Even today, I expect a couple of experienced boppers would still win against average teens, but they'd probably lose out to an experienced texter.

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
  6. Keyboard and hot swappable SD card! by EzInKy · · Score: 1

    That's great! I'm not seeing other important things such as an audio jack or removable battery in the specs though?

    --
    Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
    1. Re:Keyboard and hot swappable SD card! by DatbeDank · · Score: 2

      That's great! I'm not seeing other important things such as an audio jack or removable battery in the specs though?

      There's an audio jack but no removable battery. Crackberry.com has a review that mentions it.

    2. Re:Keyboard and hot swappable SD card! by EzInKy · · Score: 1

      So it does have an audio jack then? Only the non-removable battery keeps it from being nearly perfect.

      --
      Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
    3. Re:Keyboard and hot swappable SD card! by DatbeDank · · Score: 1

      Seriously though, what device these days has a removable battery?

    4. Re:Keyboard and hot swappable SD card! by EzInKy · · Score: 1

      Sadly, not many from what I've seen.

      --
      Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
  7. Are you kidding me? by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

    It was that I felt like I was more productive when using it. I wasn't wasting time tweeting nonsense or sending emoji in ephemeral messages. I was sending important emails, working with my colleagues in Slack, creating and completing to-do lists, and adding appointments to my calendar. I was Getting Shit Done

    Dear god not this tired old trope again: "iPhones and Android phones are toys; Blackberries are for work". Or even better: "for business". The distinction is sending lame tweets or important emails, and what makes the difference is the bloody keyboard!? Or is it that he didn't install the Twitter app? He does mention some other more relevant characteristics: a screen ratio that (according to him) is better suited for email, and a long-ish battery life.

    The KeyOne is a phone for a very specific person, one that longs for the days when the BlackBerry Bold was the most important device in the office

    Those days are long gone; it ended the second employees were allowed to use their iOS or Android device for work email, and ditched their company-provided BB en masse. In other words, the KeyOne is for dinosaurs like the reviewer. Or perhaps for Android users who prefer a physical keyboard. Or who like a device that allows them to pretend to be a step above mere peons who weren't issued corporate BBs in the past. That's fair enough, but please don't pretend that this thing is magically better suited for business like the old BBs weren't.

    --
    If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    1. Re: Are you kidding me? by orlanz · · Score: 1

      Yes this. BB lost its way well before iOS came out. RIMs focused, like all successful vendors, was the senior management. Make them happy and you get the business.

      Most managers need the equivalent of twitter for much of their work. They make decisions and can respond with Option C, Yes, Approve, etc. Short messages, any delay of which has no value add. So BBs fit this perfectly.

      But once the workforce started becoming Mobile, there was need for more. Doing analysis, long emails, accessing systems, etc. In other words actually getting the shit behind the decisions done! But BB stuck with their SOP. Since mgt was happy this lasted for a long time. Even when wireless PDAs were rolled out, businesses only deployed them in niche environments.

      But once the iPhone 4 came out, most of management saw what the youngins were raving about. With mgt now happy with a new toy, RIM lost everything. And it was too late for them to change as they were far too behind. The market had already started writing business apps. Apple and Android had kept the end users pleased. And RIM was still figuring the basics out. Today RIM's life support is nothing more than a few niche use cases and users.

    2. Re: Are you kidding me? by Brockmire · · Score: 1

      You leave out two very important things. 1. Blackberries were locked down and iPhones were not. So of course people thought that was just how Blackberries were, and never realized it could do all the same things like playing music and watching videos. 2. This started the BYOD revolution, saving companies lots of money. They no longer had to fork out $500 phones for everyone. BlackBerry made lots of mistakes, but biggest was their shit marketing. If they had the campaigns that Apple put out, they'd still be a player.

  8. Priv by gatzke · · Score: 2

    BlackBerry Priv is the best phone I have ever owned. Hardware keyboard on a high end Android phone is a dream.

    The other cool feature is the extended keyboard acts as a touch sensitive scroll control and a cursor.

    And the screen is the same size as a iPhone 6+ but the priv is smaller due to a smaller bezel.

    Great phone!

    1. Re:Priv by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like my Priv. No other phone on the market looks like it, and there's something very satisfying about sliding that keyboard out. But let's be real ... it's laggy AF. Even with the Marshmellow update, it's still laggy.

      I'm hoping the KEYOne fixes this issue. I'll definitely be getting one though.

    2. Re:Priv by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even with the Marshmellow update, it's still laggy.

      Contrary to what Google always tells everyone, newer versions of Android will only make your device slower and more laggy.

      I've had plenty of Android devices and updated enough of them to know that newer versions = less responsiveness and usually lower battery life.

    3. Re:Priv by wjcofkc · · Score: 1

      I, who also have one, agree.

      --
      Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
  9. I wanted to like the new i7s by sysrammer · · Score: 1

    I have a Z30. I strongly considered the i7s, but declined.

    1. Still no gorilla glass.
    2. Still no real multi-processing.
    3. Apparently it just recently got cut & paste. Makes me wonder what other standard tasks that I would expect aren't part of the apple zeitgeist.

    These aren't all my reasons, of course. Price and lock-in are considerations, etc.

    I wanted to like the new i7s. I saw a side by side between i7 and S8. The i7 was snappy and the demo impressed me. And, of course, apps, apps and more apps.

    Anyhoo, in normal /. fashion, I haven't RTFA yet, but from the TFS it seems that the review is all about damning the BB with faint praise.

    --
    His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
  10. Anybody who buys BB gets what they deserve by Baron_Yam · · Score: 1

    I LOVE physical QWERTY. I loved my BlackBerry phones, and back in the day, even my Playbook. Nice concepts, uneven execution, lousy updates that frequently made things worse rather than better... and then the updates stopped and platforms were abandoned after promises they wouldn't be.

    RIM/BlackBerry consistently turns whatever they touch into shit due to poor decisions from the top of the organization. If you buy anything with their brand on it, you're a glutton for punishment.

    1. Re:Anybody who buys BB gets what they deserve by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Priv, Z30, and now KeyOne user here (also use an i7 and s8+, because app developer)

      The KeyOne is actually pretty good. I'm using it now over my S8+ mainly because it doesn't have the fingerprint sensor in a braindead location, doesn't try to beat you to death with Bixby at every turn, or spam you with a bazillion 'use the samsung app store/this/that' notifications, which you have to manually turn each and every one off from every app - which is as bad as Sony phones

      That said, the S8 looks nice, but because of the above mess-ups, it's actually a bit crap to use - you can tell most of the reviews online of the S8 are bought or had incentives. - My pixel ran rings around it and any phone where you use fingerprint sensors for security and have them in the correct location also beats the crap out of the S8 (including the i7). Samsung dropped the ball on the ease of use there, big time. Alternate unlock methods aren't as good (iris doesnt work in bright areas obviously, and face unlock is worthless from security standpoints)

      The updates have been pretty quick for blackberry - any security or OS update has been*very* quick, certainly quicker than any other manufacturer out there (excluding google themselves of course). And the KeyOne is on the latest android version

      RIM have learned their lesson the hard way. The keyOne is actually a /very/ nice phone to use and you would do good to try them again with an open mind. The fusion of BB, the keyboard, the message hub!, and Android is quite nice.

  11. not only to do stuff,also 4 hands that tremble... by williamyf · · Score: 1

    For people whose hands tremble, for whatever reason, a physical keyboard is a must.

    Also, for people who have to use the phone with gloves (yes, there are glass keyboards that work with gloves, but the key targets are harder to get correctly).

    So, is good that there is at least one option with decent (not great, but decent) specs, good build quality, and more or less up to date SW.

    I neither think nor hope Physical KBs will make a comeback anytime soon, but I certainly hope BB/TCL keep serving the niche.

    I am getting a KEYone in short order (as BB has all but abandoned BB10 devices).

    My smartphones: Sonny Ericsson P800, Nokia E71, Nokia N9 (here I learned glass keyboards are not for me), BBQ10. (many Dumbphones before that, AMPS, IS132, and GSM)...

    --
    *** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
  12. That's why I may get one by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

    The biggest thing I miss about my Blackberry from long ago is the physical keyboard. I still suck with on screen keyboards, in part because I have big fingers. However I found that BB keyboard fast to use, despite the tiny keys, because of the tactile feedback.

  13. I wasn't wasting time tweeting nonsense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You have no self control. No phone will ever fix that.

    1. Re: I wasn't wasting time tweeting nonsense by sysrammer · · Score: 1

      You have no self control. No phone will ever fix that.

      Fwiw, tfs said that it did.

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
  14. A crying shame by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

    Exactly type of phone I would want. Love physical keyboards:

    1. Pushing buttons is nicer experience v pushing on slates of glass
    2. Faster inputs
    3. Take up less on-screen space v on-screen keyboard
    4. Instant speed dials
    5. Instant software access shortcuts
    6. Screen big enough I wouldn't give a F*** about lost space when keyboard was not needed.

    I would get one as soon as I could if it didn't have blackberry "security" and a non-replaceable battery. Chances of modifying this thing to remove Vendor and Google spyware is zero so no point even considering it.

  15. Looks great, BUT... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... This doesn't look like a $650 phone.

    I'd say $350 at the HIGHEST, but we all know it's been outsourced.

    1. Re:Looks great, BUT... by wjcofkc · · Score: 1

      It's $550 - Which is inexpensive for a smartphone. Ide like to read a critique on your price analysis. Try watching a few more reviews before you do. Yes, this is a niche phone. But I suspect that market segment will prove to be large enough to validate its existence. Myself among them.

      --
      Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
  16. Forgetfulness by XSportSeeker · · Score: 1

    How quick people are to forget and forgive these days... remember this?
    https://news.vice.com/article/...
    https://www.digitaltrends.com/...
    https://www.theverge.com/2016/...
    http://www.computerworld.com/a...

    Yeah. Not a single review or article about this new Blackberry phone ever mentioned the case. This is why we privacy keeps eroding and why security practices went down the gutter. Stop promoting the company.

  17. On the fence by wjcofkc · · Score: 1

    I am a productivity user. I still pull out my BB Classic from time to time because I miss it for several reasons including the form factor. I currently have a Priv and it's great, I even use the slide our keyboard. But I just don't know if I could get used to the smaller screen size as a daily driver. The only really frivolous thing I am into is VR, which my Priv handless very well. Needless to say, the KeyOne is useless for this. But all the same, it's not like I can't keep my Priv and download VR apps over WiFi. I just don't know. Perhaps if I get the chance to handle on.

    --
    Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
  18. BlackBerry rules by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As great as the keyone is, the priv is even better...

    There is just no good substitution for qwerty exception for BlackBerry capacitive qwerty

  19. Palm Treo, Centro, Pre keyboards were better by kriston · · Score: 1

    The Palm Treo, Centro, and Pre keyboards were better. They were hard, tacky rubber domes. This made it easy to hit the correct key with your thumb. Flat keys are hard to hit accurately.

    --

    Kriston