As the mobile device market exploded, so did BlackBerry, but in recent years a lack of
direction meant they lost market share, but now they are back with a clearer focus and
direction.
The first of the new devices to come out under this more focused BlackBerry was the Passport.
Reviewing it a couple of months ago I concluded that whilst a very good device “a not quite
so wide version of the Passport with the ‘classic’ BlackBerry keyboard is what I think it needs
to win more of power and consumer users back”.
Well as it happens this is what we now have, the BlackBerry Classic and I do believe it
has what it takes to win some old faithful fans back.
The Classic does not try to do it all.
It is focused on mobile productivity but it is not really slacking when you consider the
key specifications and features.
In an age of mobile devices dominated by touchscreens, the addition of a keyboard is somewhat unusual
and almost retro.
Whatever your preference in terms of mobile operating system, you can see a need for such
a device in the market.
On first glance the Classic looks quite large with the screen at the top and the keyboard
at the bottom; but in hand it does not feel so.
It is only a little wider and no taller than the Sony Z3 Compact I use as my daily driver.
At 178g and 10.2mm thick, the handset is neither slim or lightweight but it certainly feels
solid in hand and gives me the confidence it could last the test of time.
The 4 row, backlit QWERTY keyboard with the traditional BlackBerry shortcuts is what is
so appealing here.
It is comfortable when entering large volumes of text and it is without doubt possible to
get a greater degree of accuracy than on some smartphones, depending on how proficient you
are and which on-screen keyboard you usually use.
To capitalise letters use the up arrow key found on the left or right of the keyboard
and to use the an accented character found on almost all keys, press the ‘alt’ key
on the left of the keyboard.
Above the keyboard you have a call button, the BlackBerry button, the optical trackpad,
the back and end call button.
You can press on all of these to complete the action.
The trackpad is more impressive than you may think.
You can alter the sensitivity and it makes it simple to scroll through large pages or
documents of text or screens of emails, as well as being functional in opening apps,
menus and more by pressing it.
At 3.46” the display is somewhat small by today's standards, but sit that on top of
the Classics keyboard and it works quite nicely.
With a 1:1 aspect ratio, the screen has a 720 x 720 resolution which results in a Pixel
Per Inch count of 294.
The adverse effect of this ratio is that when it comes to video playback, be it from the
web or that captured on the camera, it does not use the whole display.
You get thick black bars top and bottom of the content, reducing the overall size of
the footage.
If you read a lot of news articles, the ‘Reader’ mode in the web browser is a handy addition,
stripping our less necessary content and giving you an optimised view.
Whilst not the sharpest and most detailed of displays, the results are perfectly acceptable
on this screen size.
The Classic runs the same BlackBerry 10.3 OS which is on the Passport.
This latest version has received many improvements to make it what it is today.
I have to admit, the OS is not as appealing on first glance, some elements are really
not all that logical, in fact I would say at times some things are almost confusing.
For instance, finding out about battery usage Settings> App Manager> Device Monitor>Battery
- In my mind that is not that logical.
I am looking for ‘power’ or ‘battery’ within the settings.
With all this said though, it is a very functional, reliable, tried and tested platform.
Today, much more of the OS is built for the consumer rather than just enterprise concerned
about security.
What is essentially your ‘home screen’ is a display with all the open or running
apps.
Useful it is as the tiles are updating and can be moved about, but they just feel a bit
odd.
You can reorganise them, but the whole process is a bit slow and you can not resize them.
I think I and many others have got use to our home screen showing app shortcuts.
There is quick settings shade.
Pull down from the top of the screen and get quick access to key settings (which you can
change) with less clicks.
With touchscreen functionality, there are on screen gestures just like any other touchscreen
smartphone.
Advanced interactions such as lift to wake up, flip to mute and save power are all nice
touches and take this very professional feeling device and make it feel a bit more practical
for the everyday.
We have all been there when our phone rings and we need to stop it quickly, just flip
it over.
BlackBerry Hub is superb.
It keeps all your messages in one place and I think with a bit of learning can be very
powerful.
On first use it is a little daunting and overly complicated.
Give it some time and try it out and it is very good.
BlackBerry Assistant is available on the Classic.
A long press on the button on the right side of the device and you are launched into the
the listening element.
Learn the best keywords and phrases and the whole concept works.
It is just slower and not as capable as the alternatives.
Nice touches include getting it to read messages to you or creating a note such as ‘buy milk’.
Handy when driving.
On a positive the OS does handle documents and ‘work’ related content well and the
keyboard comes into its own when replying to lengthy messages, or writing that document.
BlackBerry World remains the main portal for finding the apps you want to use, there is
a wide selection, but some ‘big’ titles are missing.
There are two other options though.
Amazon’s App store is pre-installed, that has a database of Android Apps that can run
on the Classic, meaning many of the apps that were missing are now available.
For the more tech savvy, whilst not the strict way to do it, you can source .apk files of
popular Android apps and install on the Classic.
Not all will work and none are tested to work but many run fine.
An immensely powerful feature, aimed more at the business user is BlackBerry Blend.
Essentially speaking, after an initial pairing process you can remotely access and use features
of the Passport on another PC, MAC, iOS or Android devices via a USB cable connection
or WiFi (subject to device used).
It offers access to things like email, SMS, BBM, contacts, calendar and file manager.
What is important to note here is that all content remains on the Classic.
All the processing is done by the BlackBerry and no trace is on the other device other
than the Blend application.
The Classic does support 3 and 4G.
Of course no smartphone will be complete without NFC, WiFi, Bluetooth, DLNA and GPS.
You do to have the added benefit of video out, with a SlimPort adapter.
The addition of wireless charging would be nice and maybe microHDMI rather than SlimPort
would have been simpler for many.
Ideally the Classic would have front facing stereo speakers, but in fact it is a single
speaker made to look like stereo speakers mounted on the bottom of the device.
By no means the loudest and most certainly directional in the amplification of the sound,
the actual tone of the audio is good and clear and there is little evidence of it being strained
or the speaker rattling around inside the phone case.
The only disappointment is that sound is considerably stronger from the right speaker grille because
a single speaker is in the Classic rather than stereo speakers which it gives the impression
of.
With an all round pleasing sound from the speaker, is great to see such transitioning
to the call and audio recording too.
It has been very good in our testing and find it difficult to really fault it.
Cameras on a BlackBerry has never been the ‘best’ they have always produced solid
results.
The Classic continues this trend.
The results are not perfect but they are considerably better than many other cameras.
An 8 megapixel camera with LED flash and 1080p HD video recording can be found on the rear
whilst a 2 megapixel camera is available on the front for selfies and video calls.
The physical camera shutter button in this case is the optical trackpad or the up and
down volume keys.
You can pinch and zoom on screen to get closer to a subject if you choose.
There are quite a few options when it comes to shooting stills and video from the resolution
to the ratio, to the mode as well as video stablaisation.
The camera app really is reasonable with features such as the ability to be able to capture
a still whilst recording video and also to turn the video light on and off as you are
recording.
The autofocus is a little slower than I would have like to have seen, but the fairly decent
results with makes up for it in my mind.
The darker colours could be lightened up a little if I was to be critical.
Indoor shots under artificial light often had a more orange tone to the shot, which
is not uncommon but it does not ruin the shot.
Post capture there are too a few editing options available to make the results more personal
and to your taste.
A fixed internal battery totalling 2515mAh is built into the Classic.
This is not the largest capacity, but with the size of screen on the device and the keyboard
this is capable of up to 2 days.
If you find yourself attached to your phone, a full working day, I mean like 7am through
to 10pm is possible, but an overnight charge might be useful to see you through the next.
Lighter users will definitely achieve 2 days, subject to usage.
The Classic is set to retail around the £350 price point including VAT when purchased SIM
free.
As with any piece of technology over time the price will settle slightly and I would
not be surprised after 3 or 4 months it will be around £299.
Whenever you obtain a Classic, if you choose to, I wholeheartedly believe you are getting
excellent value for money.
From the design and rigidity of the unit to the functionality it offers.
Even if you were not originally considering a BlackBerry you might want to at this price.
The BlackBerry we knew and many loved is firmly back with the BlackBerry Classic and indeed
it has what it takes to win the hearts of many, but is it too late?
Even though I was never a massive BlackBerry fan the Classic is appealing with the physical
keyboard, great battery life and increased consumer focus that it offers, in part helped
by the Amazon app store.
It performs well and offers a sound solution.
The Classic is still at the core about getting things done, but in a form factor and at a
price point that works for many.
It is not perfect, but few phones are.
One thing for sure is that 2015 will be the year that BlackBerry reaffirm their commitment
to mobile and remind people of just what they are capable of.