While much of the tech world was fussing over Apple’s (AAPL) record-setting iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launch, BlackBerry (BBRY) was unleashing its own new flagship smartphone, the BlackBerry Passport.
It’s tough to stand out in a world of touchscreen smartphones with big displays that are optimized for multimedia activities like watching video and playing games. HTC is trying with Boom Sound audio, Sony (SNE) is pushing its Bravia TV expertise and PS4 Remote Play capability, while Samsung (SSNLF) turns its entire Galaxy S5 into a smartphone remote.
BBRY opted for a very different approach with the BlackBerry Passport.
Rather than trying to win over multimedia-mad consumers, it pairs the old school BlackBerry physical keyboard along with a widescreen — square — display in an attempt to appeal to professional users who would rather edit a spreadsheet than play games.
The resulting device stands out from the pack, but does it work?
Read our BlackBerry Passport review to find out.
BlackBerry Passport Review: The Gamble of Going Wider Than a Phablet
The BlackBerry Passport is built around a huge, perfectly square (1440 x 1440 pixel) display. It measures 4.5-inches diagonally — which sounds smaller than current devices (even the “smaller” of the new iPhones, the iPhone 6, sports a 4.7-inch display) — but being square changes the math.
As CNET’s Josh Miller points out in his Passport review, the result is a device that’s physically wider than phablets like the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 3.
That high resolution display does indeed do a fantastic job of presenting documents in a more readable fashion (it can manage 60 characters per line).
The keyboard reflects BBRY’s experience in physical keyboards and will continue to appeal to power users. It was reduced to three rows of keys instead of four, but gained a new touch ability that makes the whole thing responsive to gestures.
But…
The square screen and resulting size will turn off some potential buyers.
Typing with a single hand will be impossible for many people to pull off, and the device may be too wide for some pockets. The square screen may be wider, but it’s also shorter and that will mean more vertical scrolling on longer documents or websites.
And if you do want to watch a movie, be ready for a small viewing window with big black bars.
BlackBerry Passport Review: Premium Quality at a Slight Discount
There’s no disputing the fact that the BlackBerry Passport is a high-quality piece of hardware.
From the beautiful 453 ppi display, to the physical keyboard with capacitive touch, the powerful CPU and the tightly finished case, there’s no mistaking the Passport for a mid-tier device. Plus you get BlackBerry’s legendary security.
CEO John Chen made a point of playing up the Passport as bargain compared to rival smartphones. Quoted by the Globe and Mail’s Michael Babad at the device’s launch, he said the Passport should be priced at $700 instead of $599.
At $599, the Passport undercuts the $649 base price of Apple’s iPhone 6 while offering more storage. It’s unlikely to win over many iPhone or Galaxy S5 owners looking to save fifty bucks, but BlackBerry fans may appreciate the gesture.
BlackBerry Passport Review: Specs
- 4.5-inch touch display at 1440 x 1440 resolution (453 ppi)
- Quad-core Qualcomm (QCOM) Snapdragon 801 processor @ 2.2GHz
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB Flash storage, microSD card storage up to 128 GB
- Capacitive touch 3 row physical keyboard
- 3450 mAH battery rated at up to 24 hours talk time, up to 11 hours video playback
- 13 MP primary camera with autofocus, LED flash and optical image stabilization
- 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, FM radio, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
- Runs BB10
- Weighs 6.91 oz
BlackBerry Passport Review: Conclusion
The Passport is a gamble on BlackBerry’s part. It’s already gone the touchscreen route with limited success and even beat Apple to the punch with a big-screen smartphone — the Z30 — that failed to hit the mark.
The BlackBerry Passport is an awkward size and shape, its BB10 operating system still has rough edges compared to iOS or Google’s (GOOG) Android, and while app selection has been improved through access to Amazon’s (AMZN) Appstore, it still lags other platforms.
Yet the Passport has sold well … for a BlackBerry.
According to Bloomberg’s Gerrit De Vynck, BlackBerry sold 200,000 Passports at launch. That’s small potatoes compared to the 10 million units Apple sold in its iPhone 6 launch. But for the beleaguered Canadian company it shows that the BlackBerry Passport and its focus on productivity is resonating with professional users. And that was its target all along.
So, if you fall into that camp and you don’t mind the big, square design, you might just like the Passport.
As of this writing, Robert Martin did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
