Passport 32GB Factory Unlocked (SQW100-1) GSM 4G LTE Smartphone - Black (International Version, QWERTZ Keyboard)

Wow, this is the most under-rated phone of the 21st century. Lots and lots of screen real estate but not a tab. The physical keyboard (a BB exclusive) is simple and as good, or better, than any on-screen model. Very sweet if you need more working space on your phone than an iPhone or Samsung. The price was unreal (CDN$500).

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Intriguing to BlackBerry fans, ridiculous to Apple fans, the Passport is basically just a big Q10/Blackberry Classic which gets round the essential design limitation of those two phones - i.e. the small screen - by having a BIG screen. There are some other major enhancements though: the main ones being an increased 32GB onboard storage expandable by a further 128GB, a 13MP camera and the ability to use the keyboard as a quasi-touchpad allowing fast scrolling through documents and avoiding accidentally selecting something on the screen. THE OPERATING SYSTEM: The revised BlackBerry 10.3 operating system has, partially, addressed the well known issue of lack of apps by allowing access to Amazon Appstore. Significantly this allows access to Spotify which was lacking from earlier versions of BB10. There are however still some noteable omissions - e.g. Instagram, and the Passport, whilst not lacking in functionality in any way, remains a phone for the individualist rather than the crowd-follower. DESIGN/BUILD QUALITY: Two words - top end. The size may be a little unwieldy for some - it really depends on what you want from your personal communications device. I was looking for something with the versatility of a laptop but the instant accessibility of a phone or tablet (as I did not actually want to buy a tablet) and that is exactly what I got. Existing tablet owners therefore may be happy with a smaller, more ergonomic phone. It's a matter of personal choice. The Passport still fits comfortably in the inside pocket of a jacket or the front pocket of a pair of Levi 511s - though you might want to take it out before taking part in any athletic activity . Its square-ish edges and slightly increased weight (though it's not a heavy machine for what it does) might, time will tell, lead to some wear and tear on pockets - particularly suit pockets. Surprisingly the headphones have not been upgraded from the Q10 - which is fine as they are perfectly serviceable though it might have been nice to see an updated version. Also the volume buttons are a little small and less substantial than my old Q10. The onboard sound on recent BlackBerries is very good and this one is even better, with stereo speakers positioned at the bottom of he unit. The observant will note that the Passport does not have an HDMI connector - don't worry though, the phone is still HDMI enabled but you will just need to buy one of these if you want to use this feature: Official Slimport to HDMI adapter for Amazon Fire, Blackberry Passport, Nexus 5, LG G3, and more - Connect your Slimport phone or tablet to an HDMI TV, monitor, or projector [SP1004 ]. FUNCTIONALITY/PHONE/EMAIL/TEXTING: Blackberry have continually improved the BB10 Operating System and many of the niggles of the earlier iterations have been sorted out. The function to "flick" the predictive text suggestions on to the screen is a good idea but one that take some getting used to. The numeric keys and symbols appear as and when required on screen, though I find the additional symbols display can sometimes be slightly tricky to get rid of when I'm finished with it. Not a major difficulty, since all that does is reduce the size of the viewing screen, just an annoyance. The BlackBerry Hub remains a central feature of the BB10 operating system and is not much different from other BB10 phones and works well. The larger screen makes the phone itself easier to use and to select quickly options like speakerphone when required. WARNING: be careful when placing the Passport down on a coffee table as it could easily be mistaken for a beer mat! CAMERA/VIDEO: Having been very impressed by the 8MP camera on the Q10 I was excited about using the 13MP one on the Passport and it IS an improvement though perhaps not quite as big as I was expecting. Whilst I haven't done technical comparison of the lenses, I'm pretty certain the lense on the Passport is not as much of a wide angle lens as the Q10 - which I personally prefer. The selfie camera remains at 2MP - this lack of improvement could be considered either good or bad by the vain! ACCOMPANYING SOFTWARE: I quite like the accompanying BlackBerry Link software (used for syncing and backing up the content of your phone with your computer) but I do find it to be a little slow and I do hope it gets an update soon. In particular data transfer from your old BlackBerry to the new one isn't great because Link currently overlooks the fact that someone might be upgrading from one BB10 device to another (as I was). The transfer is still fairly easily do-able, if time-consuming, and will depend on how much data you have on your old unit - just be sure to backup before getting underway. The newest version of BB10 also features Blackberry Blend which allows you to use some of the features on the phone, such as texting and the calendar, from your computer if both are on the same WiFi network. This is a nice feature as you can send and receive texts whilst working and without having to dig out your phone. THE CONTRACT: For those not buying the phone outright, the contract on Amazon is as cheap on O2 as you will find anywhere (at time of writing), undercutting Carphone Warehouse. I went for the cheapest option of £23.50 per month - which by my calculation, factoring out the price of the phone, works out at £7.50 per month for the actual contract - which is not bad and in effect a cheaper option than buying outright. If a new SIM is required Amazon will supply this as well (mine came with an O2 nano SIM) automatically, so that you are good to go out of the box on delivery. IN SUMMARY - This is a great phone for work and play. The storage capacity is awesome making it brilliant for music fans such as me (and the music player is good too, plus you can now add Spotify). Some might query why so much storage is required, but anyone who regularly travels around the UK (never mind elsewhere) will know that we don't yet have sufficient 4G or Wi-Fi coverage to be able to place reliance on the cloud. For me, this is the best mobile phone currently on the market - though I am biased towards BlackBerry. I would recommend demoing one in shop before purchase, to check you're happy with the size. If you're not, but you're still a BB fan after a bigger screen, then try the new, cheaper, BlackBerry Leap SIM-Free Smartphone - Shadow Grey which is all touchscreen and has a decent spec though sadly not one to match the Passport, which for now remains the flagship model.

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New to BB. I've us apple, google and windows phones and OS and this is something special. If your phone is for work and not for play, BB and the passport in particular are for you. I'm coming from a Moto x 2nd gen, which I liked, but often made me wonder why I had so much "stuff" on my phone. I would gladly sacrifice thousands of 3rd party apps I vaguely or occasionally find useful for a solid, integrated OS and phone design that does what I need well. I guess I've made that "sacrifice", but I can't help feeling every day (as I get better as mastering this device) I'm in on the best kept secret in the cell phone world. I'm not a government official or a business exec, but I do rely on email, calendar, todos, notes, communication and light research on the go. This phone does that extremely well. Far better than anything else. Yes, sometimes the heathens laugh when I pull out my passport, thinking in their primitive, apple groomed minds this is some kind of steroidal pager. I tell them it was a gift from Nikola Tesla and that shuts them up. PROS Overall typing is faster on longer emails, documents and the like Typing lends itself to more advanced sentence structure, proper grammar and more developed thought Typing feels fun and more engaging for my brain (higher quality thinking, like with a pen and pad of paper) Integrates office software, emails and productivity apps seamlessly Extremely fast and streamlined OS interface (I though androis was fast, and it is, but this is another level of fast) Square screen ideal for web browsing, email navigation and writing/reading docsp Square shape strangely fits better in my pocket than traditional smart device Unique but not ostentatious/beautifully functional design--the kind of phone I imagine Nikola Tesla choosing Resolution and brightness are best I've seen from any device Hotkeys using keyboard add all kinds of fun I have around 150gb of storage in my phone =) With BB blend on my PC that makes my phone a mobile document carrier I can also play powerpoints and load docs on a projector from my phone (also chromecast works) I am now officially a walking office NOT PROS I can type faster on SWYPE for short phrases and words If you have a long session typing on the BB keyboard, your hands my ache Dictating doesn't give a live preview as you talk (biggest drawback I've found so far) Integration with HUB (the best part of BBOS) is spotty with 3rd party apps, i.e. android apps Learning curve is real (not unlike a first-time android user)(even a chicken can scratch iOS and figure it out) Snap and sideloading 3rd party apps is easy to pick up but occasionally glitchy to use (when using android apps) Online help and instructions, while available and abundant, are often several years old/dead threads Phone is insanely loud (not really a con, or something I'd change, but it's obnoxious for me on full volume) Feels hard to use at first when you're used to android OS