Hands-on Review:- BlackBerry Perv

DISCLAIMER

The opinion of this product is not to discourage the buyers for buying such product.

The opinion is just to state the pros and cons, with some introduction and specifications.

1. Introduction

A curved screen QWERTY slider by BlackBerry that runs Android, am I getting this right? I double checked and the Priv is just as exciting as it is unique. Honestly, it is one of those things many may've fantasized about but nobody actually believed would happen. It's also probably the last chance for BlackBerry to try and turn things around.

The BlackBerry Priv is a risky and costly venture - acknowledging the irony of saying that about a device, which is both superbly equipped and tightly secured.

Hopefully, for BlackBerry's sake, the Priv will meet the expectations it set for itself and go down as a visionary, not an anomaly. Before we start exploring it though, we simply feel compelled to stop and let its marvelous ambivalence sink in.

The Priv looks strikingly like a highly customized car. It is almost as if BlackBerry walked into the dealership and ticked every possible box, even some that are barely compatible, and then went on to request a completely different engine. 

And if that wasn't enough, BlackBerry then took it upon itself to fit its own security protocols so that the level of communication privacy matches its own high standards.
What i like about it

2. BlackBerry Priv key test findings:

An Android slider is an extremely rare occurrence nowadays and the Priv has adopted the form factor masterfully for a stylish overall look.The Priv makes use of little premium materials like metal or glass, despite its premium price. 

Plastic isn't a bad choice in itself, but the particular one doesn't quite feel flagship-worthy. Built quality is only ok with some annoying flaws.Gorgeous 5.4-inch AMOLED display, with nice and punchy colors. The slight edge curve gives it an extra refined look. However, it exhibits a somewhat weird behavior where the pixels wouldn't completely shut off when showing black, which could potentially hurt the battery life, which we didn't have the opportunity to properly test.

The 4-row BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard is a powerful productivity tool. It works great, plus the added touch functionality with gestures really enables using the phone without touching the screen, almost like a touchpad. The keyboard is, however, a bit too small and a bit more crammed with less key travel than most other BlackBerry phones.With an endurance rating of 62h the battery life is good overall, but it's on the lower side of the segment.

All-round connectivity with future-proof LTE Cat.9, no dual-SIM option available.The Snapdragon 808 is highly underutilized. The software is definitely to blame. As a first attempt at Android it does quite alright, but a lot of additional optimization is needed to get comparably good CPU and GPU performance out of the otherwise capable chipset.

Audio output quality is quite good, despite some distortion with headphones. The front-mounted speaker is on the quiet side.Still images offer lots of detail, and it offers some excellent panorama images. Quality is pretty good, but tends to deteriorate fast in poor light. We found the camera app is quite unstable, tending to crash and shooting stills can be slow.Video capture is exquisite. 4K comes out smooth with lots of detail and accurate colors. 1080p fairs equally well and so does the extra 60fps mode. Overall, great video quality.Multimedia software is all but missing from the Priv. In an effort to shave off bloatware, BlackBerry has left the handset with no dedicated gallery, video player or file explorer.

 Playback for most things is handled by Google apps, but you would need to download a few proper apps to make working with files and multimedia properly convenient.

Blackberry's first take on Android is a near-stock experience, which despite bad optimization and a few stability issues does offer full access to the BlackBerry app and communication ecosystem, as well as at least a few clever performance-improvement features.

3. Main disadvantages

Non-removable batteryNo quick charger in the bundleWireless charging available only on the US modelUnderwhelming front-facing cameraQuite a handful but for a better reason than most

On the outside, the Priv is extremely attractive and instantly credible. Hardly a surprise though - the premium BlackBerries have always had it.

Now, the entire concept of a BlackBerry/Android hybrid has some enormous potential but the very first of this breed is definitely not for everyone. There're many unknowns and there's the price tag to consider as well.

That's what Apple's charging on the iPhone 6s, which I don't say it's fair, but last time I checked BlackBerry and Cupertino weren't exactly neck to neck in the ratings.

There's nothing wrong with exclusivity and fewer devices can do better at that than the Priv, but we can understand every bit of skepticism as to how well this will work out in BlackBerry's current situation.

It's exactly the less-than-the-stellar state of affairs though that makes one appreciate BlackBerry's courage. Even more so for the attempt to maintain its high security standards on an open-source platform.

    

Now, Android inside doesn't make the Priv a mainstream device. It will still end up in mostly executive hands, plus a small group of true BlackBerry fans. It's a matching name by the way - officially, Priv stands for both privilege and privacy. 

Now Privacy has always been BlackBerry's core business. Security is up to scratch, as usual, but will BlackBerry convince enough people that it's aprivilege as well? Let's see.

4. In my Opinion (Read the Disclaimer above before reading the following)

I have bought this phones & I have had my fair share of phones over the years. I'm not going to say it's the best phone ever, blah, blah, blah, however, it is a stunner, far better than what a lot of Tech Websites give credit, I have had Samsung's, Sony's etc. 

All I’m going to say is, the Blackberry Priv is right up there with them without a shadow of a doubt. If you want something that's a little different from the sheep, & a phone that performs well & far better than some of the competition then this is for you. Buy it, & I promise you that you won't be disappointed guaranteed.

After we're so used to dual SIM phones, how do we go back in progress to compromise and settle for a single SIM phone?

I bought this phone and believe me when I say it’s the best phone ever everything about it is perfect one comment though its getting worm while browsing the net I hope it’s a software issue only

Phone looks good but the price is a killer. I think BB should have made more to make this one a sure winner. Only current phone boasting the best front facing camera is the HTC desire eye. If BB did that, those selfie lovers would add interest to the Priv in masses.

Although i really liked that firm and always thought it was strictly addressed to Americans who wanted their mobile able to write down reports and accept e-mails. Them and bb realized too slow that android can offer all that and further more... They switched on apple and rim to unexistence... 

And now they have returned, unlike nokia, who was always afraid a direct comparison with other firms on the same os platform, they have given a try at flagship . This phone had some great ideas, but it was ruined by the pairing of the 808 with a 2k screen. now bankruptucy will follow this fatal mistake. A 1080p screen would have much better performance resdults and decent battery stamina. 

The 2k screen has everything, the 810 could cope easier, but with even more pitiful battery results, but at least it would give more to justify the price tag. As it is, it is destined to fail and I doubt that people will blindly follow it because they respected the G3, as it happened with its sibling , the G4...

5. Specification

NETWORK

Technology GSM / HSPA / LTE
2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 - USA (STV100-1), Europe (STV100-4)
4G bands LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 12(700), 17(700), 20(800), 29(700), 30(2300) - USA (STV100-1) LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 7(2600), 8(900), 13(700), 17(700), 20(800), 28(700) - Europe (STV100-4)
Speed HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat9 450/50 Mbps
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes

LAUNCH Announced2015, October
Status Available. Released 2015, November

BODY
Dimensions 147 x 77.2 x 9.4 mm (5.79 x 3.04 x 0.37 in)
Weight 192 g (6.77 oz)
Keyboard QWERTY
SIM Nano-SIM - Capacitive touch 4-row BlackBerry keyboard

DISPLAY
Type AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 5.4 inches (~71.9% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution 1440 x 2560 pixels (~540 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch Yes, up to 10 fingers
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 4 - Curved edge screen

PLATFORM
OS Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8992 Snapdragon 808
CPU Dual-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A57 & quad-core 1.44 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU Adreno 418

MEMORY
Card slot microSD, up to 200 GB
Internal 32 GB, 3 GB RAM

CAMERA
Primary 18 MP, f/2.2, 27mm, Schneider-Kreuznach optics, OIS, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 1/2.4'' sensor size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama
Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 
 Secondary 2 MP, 720p

SOUND
Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes

COMMS
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetoothv4.1, A2DP, EDR, LE
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC Yes
Radio No
USB microUSB v2.0 (SlimPort 4K)

FEATURES
Sensors Accelerometer, altimeter, gyro, ToF proximity, compass
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM, BBM
Browser HTML5
Java No - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- Fast battery charging: 60% in 30 min (Quick Charge 2.0)
- Optional Wireless Charging (Qi/PMA-enabled)
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/FlAC player
- MP4/H.264 player
- Photo/video editor
- Document viewer

BATTERY
 Non-removable Li-Ion 3410 mAh battery
Stand-by Up to 420 h (3G)
Talk time Up to 24 h (3G)
Music play Up to 73 h

MISC
Colors Black

 Let me know what you think; anything missing? tell me for next time. Just tap on G+ icon down below. Add on Google+, follow on twitter