(upbeat music) - [Interviewer] For much
of the past year I carried the BlackBerry KEYone
as my personal smartphone and people always ask me
the same two questions, they still make BlackBerry's
and isn't it about time you upgraded your phone?
Well the answer to the first one is, yes,
and today the answer to the second question is too.
I'm MrMobile and the BlackBerry Key2
could quite possibly be my next phone
if it fixes one of its predecessors crucial deal breakers.
This is your first look at the BlackBerry Key2
brought to you by Internxt.
Confession time folks, I love my KEYone,
but everything about the Key2 feels and looks better.
It's cleaner, sharper, with the same exact display
but a much sleeker chassis around it
so it feels a lot smaller.
At the same time the thing that makes it a BlackBerry
has actually gotten bigger.
The physical keys are 20% taller,
and frankly I never found the KEYone
too cramped to begin with.
I did have a problem with the older phones
glossy keyboard coating though
so I'm happy to say that it's replaced
with a matte finish.
This works together with excellent key travel
and click field to make typing very comfortable
on the Key2, and considering that's most of the reason
you'd wanna shell out for this phone,
that's a very good thing.
One button in particular deserves a closer look.
See on the KEYone you could program
any button to open any app or shortcut,
but you had to be on the home screen for that to work.
Well this is called the speed key, and it fixes that.
It lets you use your shortcuts even if
you're inside another app so you can quickly multitask
with keystrokes instead of scrolling.
Oh, and bonus, I've always thought it ridiculous
on a device with so many buttons,
that none of them could drop the notification shade.
Well there's a new option that lets you assign
the currency key to do just that.
More on currency in just a second when we talk price.
First, two things I have to touch on since it's 2018
and I can sum 'em in five words,
no notch, yes, headphone jack.
More important to me we've now got
all the accessory buttons on the same side of the phone
including the convenience key
not a Bixby button, not a Goggle assistant button,
a button you do whatever the heck you want with.
I'll probably wind up assigning it to the camera.
In keeping with the times, there are two around back.
The second one helps with portrait mode
plus it's a 2X optical zoom lens.
The KEYone exceeded expectations in its photos
but this here BlackBerry isn't making as big a deal
about the providence of the camera sensor
so I'll reserve judgment until I can use it
in the real world.
Okay, time for the potential deal breaker.
See, as much as I loved the KEYone
shortly after my review it began to bog down
until it became just dog-slow
and even the later higher specced models
didn't help matters.
Well that kind of slow down is intolerable
on a device built for getting business done
so I'm really gonna be looking very closely at performance
when my Key2 review device comes in.
Another concern, the KEYone never had
the brightest screen of the bunch
and with the same panel the Key2 isn't gonna
to win any viability awards either.
I am looking forward to seeing whether the new phone
lives up the battery life of its predecessor though
which was legendary.
Finally we come to the price, how much?
I'll make you a deal, if I tell you now
instead of putting the sponsor spot here like a jerk,
will you at least try not clicking away
as soon as the numbers leave my mouth?
I'm gonna assume you said yes
because you're very fine people.
BlackBerry's MSRP for the Key2,
when it launches later this month,
is $649.00 a hundred bucks more
than its predecessor debuted at.
Whether the Key2 is worth that premium
will depend on a full review, but to be honest,
it's probably gonna be my next phone no matter what.
See, the KEYone re-addicted me to something
I didn't know I was missing,
the physical smartphone keyboard.
And no matter how much fancy glass I've typed on since,
I've yet to get over it a second time.
And well, I'm hoping the Key2 will be good enough
that I don't have to.
- [Male Interviewee] What do I think?
I think it's gonna be my next phone.
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- [Interviewer] Let me know what you think
about the Key2 friend.
Sound off in the comments and follow me
on Instagram at theMrMobile so you can be the first
to see some of the insufferable BlackBerry
hipster photos I take once I get my review devise.
'Till next time, thanks for watching
and stay mobile my friends.