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Blackberry Cellphones Handhelds Technology

BlackBerry Launches Square-Screened Passport Phone 189

Posted by Soulskill from the hip-to-be-square dept.
New submitter Andrewkov writes: BlackBerry released its new Passport phone today. It has a square 4.5" screen and a physical keyboard, and it's aimed at corporate users. The company hopes the larger size, Siri-like voice recognition, 30-hour battery life, and improved security will buoy its market share. Early reviews are not terribly favorable — the Wall Street Journal says BlackBerry is still behind on the software, and "The bulky, awkward design and the unfamiliar keyboard make it hard to justify finding space for it in a pocket or bag." The Verge said, "[T]he Passport got in the way of getting work done more than it helped." Re/code calls it a phone only a BlackBerry user will love.
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BlackBerry Launches Square-Screened Passport Phone More

BlackBerry Launches Square-Screened Passport Phone

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  • As a BlackBerry user (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MyFirstNameIsPaul ( 1552283 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2014 @11:35AM (#47984877) Journal
    I can tell you the only BlackBerry I enjoy using is the 9900/9930. It's the best work productivity messaging tool I've found. It's not a toy, like my Samsung personal phone.
    • Out of interest, what sets those Blackberries apart from the Samsung (and presumably other smartphones), making one a productivity tool and the others toys?
      • Physical keyboard and OS focused on messaging. For those who don't deal with a high volume of messages, such as a salesperson does, the advantages are not really seen, which is why I find the other devices better for personal use.
      • possibly because BB was always designed as a business device where all the others are fashion items for playing music and taking selfies. they just made the mistake of going into the consumer market
    • My workplace is BlackBerry only, and thus I have had various iterations since 2003. I had a Bold 9900 until June of this year when it was switched out for a Z10. As a mobile professional, I must disagree with OP's comment about the Bold being "the best" in that the Bold's major failing was the web browser and email attachment handling. Both were pitiful (I had the BB OS 5, not the later OS 7 models) and hampered my ability to work mobile, not helped. I often had to tell customers and colleagues "you'll have
      • My experience with the 9900 is only with OS 7 and then OS 7.1, the only notable difference to me was increase in battery life, making the stock battery tolerable. Never had any notable issues with viewing websites or attachments, other than the screen is tiny, though PPI is great. Even YouTube embeds work fine. I don't like the keyboard on the new X device and I have a fondness for physical buttons and trackpads. On the very rare occasion that the OS browser isn't playing well with a website, usually due to

  • Lacking developers. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by blueshift_1 ( 3692407 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2014 @11:36AM (#47984891)
    What it comes down to is that it just lacks the development community. People will only spend the time developing apps if it is going to make them money... and with the majority of the user base in android and iOS devices, it's just more reasonable to develop for those platforms. Not to mention, the square screen means you'll have to pretty much rethink the whole layout of you apps. But I guess it'll be useful if you're just going to check your email or make changes in a calendar (I guess it is true that blackberry users are probably only going to do that anyway).

    • Re:Lacking developers. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2014 @11:40AM (#47984961) Journal

      If Microsoft, with all its vast resources, cannot make a dent in the iOS-Android duopoly, I fail to see how a company that has basically been swirling around the drain for six or seven years is going to even carve out enough of a niche to stay alive.

      • Re:Lacking developers. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by CastrTroy ( 595695 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2014 @11:49AM (#47985057)
        Especially considering I haven't heard much criticism of the current generation of Windows Phones, except for that pertaining to lack of apps. The general consensus seem to be (as far as I've read) that Windows Phone is actually quite a good product. From the development standpoint, I've played around with it, and actually find it much easier to get started with than Android or iOS. The only reason I can figure that they aren't succeeding is because of the lack of apps, which leads to less users, which makes it less attractive to developers. It's a circular problem. Blackberry has other sorts of problems. Not only are there no users, but from what I've heard, developing apps on it isn't easy.

        • Need customers first (Score:5, Funny)

          by sjbe ( 173966 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2014 @11:57AM (#47985141)

          Especially considering I haven't heard much criticism of the current generation of Windows Phones, except for that pertaining to lack of apps.

          I think someone would have to actually buy one for anyone to criticize it...

        • Nothing wrong with Windows Phone. But they still lag behind Android phones by 6-12 months. The prime example of this is the HTC One. Windows version released months after the Android version, with the exact same hardware.

          • Lag in what regards? Most useful apps are now finally on par with IOS and Android ones.

            The rest of the phone is just a phone. The one thing that works for them is the fact that their developer base is HUGE since all code crosses over platforms minus interfaces (For obvious reasons).

            • since all code crosses over platforms minus interfaces (For obvious reasons).

              Someone should tell that to microsoft.

            • Lag in hardware releases. Windows Phones have the same hardware as Androids released 6-12 months before. And the price is similar or even higher. So even if Windows Phone was a perfect clone of Android with as many developers and users, people would still get Androids.

              • Most users really don't care. I know I don't. I'm not encoding videos with my phone. I click on shit and it comes up. And the price point where I live is $0.00 with a plan. It was $0.00 at release because they are trying to pierce the market.

                • I agree that last-year specs are often enough. That's why I get a used phone for half the price. I am pretty sure most users don't like paying full price for last year hardware. That's why Apple sells much more iPhones on the day of a new release than the day before.
        • "Not only are there no users, but from what I've heard, developing apps on it isn't easy."

          such generalisations. you should say there are not as many users as there used to be. and from what you've heard why aren't developing apps on it easy?

        • The apps isn't really even that big of an issue any more. There will always be a gap in the number of apps but it's getting closer in terms of a usefulness gap. With the exception of an official Starbucks app there's not anything I feel I'm missing.

      • I get your point and it's a good one but I just want to put a pin in the myth of the mobile OS duopoly. Windows Phone isn't very far behind IOS. Both are waaay behind Android. It's more accurate to think of it as an Android monopoly and then everyone else.

        • By "not very far behind iOS", you mean with actual sales (and no, shipping from factory to warehouse or outlet is not a sale), that are all but insignificant compared to iOS.

          Does anyone seriously believe that Windows Phone has any market share of any kind?

          • I agree that Windows Phone has very little market share. If we think of this in PC terms, Android is MS, Apple is still Apple and MS is Linux.
            As of 2nd quarter data:
            Android:84.7% Apple:11.7% and MS:2.5%

            My point is that it doesn't make sense to talk about Apple as though they're part of a Coke/Pepsi style duopoly. There's really just Android with everyone else way back there.

            • In units sold you're right. In revenue you're not. Apple has demonstrated with the iPhone 6 that, despite all the claims that it was over the hill, that it still commands significant brand loyalty and dominates the high end smart phone market. All Blackberry and Microsoft have been able to demonstrate is the number of people who actually give a damn about their phones is so small as to be deemed insignificant. Neither Google or Apple are losing much sleep over Windows or Blackberry phones.

        • I don't think there are accurate market share numbers available, and most of what you see are educated guesses. Here's a link to mobile usage [netmarketshare.com] which shows Android at 45.01%, iOS at 44.34%, Java ME (!!!!) at 3.77%, and Windows Phone at 2.69%. BlackBerry at 1.18% comes in behind Symbian at 2.61%.

          As I can't think of a good reason why Windows would be disproportionately undercounted compared to iOS (unlike Android which is widely available on dirt cheap phones in developing nations), I'd say Windows Phone is a w

          • Those stats mix in tablets where Apple does have a solid lead. Looking at just 2nd quarter phone data from IDC:
            Android:84.7% Apple:11.7% and MS:2.5%

            If this were the PC days Andorid would be MS, Apple would still be Apple, and MS would be Linux so it doesn't make sense to talk about Android and Apple as though they're a Coke/Pepsi style duopoly.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Octorian ( 14086 )

            I still wonder what platform(s) those numbers lump into the "Java ME" bucket, since that's not really a platform as much as a category. A category that the older BlackBerry OS "technically" was compatible with, but is rarely counted as part of.
            I'm also suspicious of any mobile marketshare stats, since they vary from hour to hour and always seem to support the point being made in whatever blog post or presentation they're cited in.

    • What it comes down to is that it just lacks the development community.

      And better products. And market share. And a compelling reason to use them.

      RIM may have invented the market for the modern smart phone. But any of the reasons to use them have been dwindling over the last few years.

      Checking you email and updating a calendar can be done from pretty much any phone these days. And those other phones already have apps and other things for them.

      So except for the people who go "ZOMG! Square screens!", I'm

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hattig ( 47930 )

      Luckily it can run Android apps, and includes the Amazon App Store for Android Apps on board.

      But I don't know how it runs Android games that use the NDK, not the Android runtime...

      It's an odd shape, but I've read a couple of things about it that are positive - non-obscured display because the keyboard is also a trackpad for example, natural left/right handed use, solid software...

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Guspaz ( 556486 )

        If the primary reason to use a Blackberry device is because it can run Android apps, why not just use an Android phone in the first place?

        • Re:Lacking developers. (Score:4, Insightful)

          by ArhcAngel ( 247594 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2014 @01:28PM (#47986125)
          The PRIMARY reason to use a BlackBerry device is because I don't want the NSA or 4chan all up in my business.

          • The PRIMARY reason to use a BlackBerry device is because I don't want the NSA or 4chan all up in my business.

            Well the NSA most certainly can [spiegel.de] be "all up in your business" if you use a BlackBerry so perhaps it's time to switch to something else. As for 4chan, well just don't use "cloud services" for hosting stuff you don't want to be public.

      • Developers who want to target multiple platforms try to avoid the NDK as it can be difficult to support and can make their app incompatible with even other Android devices if they aren't running the same platform (ARM/INTEL ATOM). That said there is limited support [blackberry.com] on BlackBerry 10.3

    • It runs Android apps as well. The lack of software support is a BS complaint from 2 years ago. There are hundreds of thousands of apps for the BlackBerry 10 platform.

      • Parent post should be mod-up to match the original post at least. This redundant complaint about the lack of software support is just misinformation.

  • OK (Score:5, Funny)

    by kv9 ( 697238 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2014 @11:37AM (#47984901) Homepage
    But does it bend?

  • Square screens (Score:5, Funny)

    by itzly ( 3699663 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2014 @11:38AM (#47984917)
    Square screens are probably the only way to stop people making vertical videos.

    • Youtube really needs to take the lead in solving vertical video syndrome. I'm sure they can autodetect when some lunkhead is pushing up a vertical video and scrunch it into full view. It would look horrible but might convince people to turn the damn phone. They could also keep a count and after three strikes just refuse to accept vertical videos from the offending party.

  • WTF? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by gstoddart ( 321705 )

    Who has been asking for square screens? And other than people who are die-hard fans of the company, who wants anything from Blackberry?

    My brother was visiting recently, and his POS BlackBerry (no idea what model) wouldn't charge from a standard USB, it kept complaining it needed a special cable.

    Seriously guys, WTF is the point of using a standard connector if you need a magic cable or charger?

    Sorry BlackBerry, but I think this is just one more product which the market nobody really wants.

    The Playbook I bou

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • My work blackberry charges fine off every USB cable I've used. Are you sure you weren't using a data-only USB cable?

        Unplugged the cable I use to charge my Nexus 7 and my cell phone (and half a dozen other things) and plugged it straight into the BB. It had just finished charging my phone.

        Kensington 4 port USB wall wart I've charged dozens of different devices.

        Got the big message that the device couldn't charge the BB.

        If it was data only, I'd never have been able to charge anything else with it. My wife's

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Skater ( 41976 )
        I had a similar problem with a work-issued Blackberry 9930. The only chargers that worked with it were the included Blackberry charger and the charger for my Samsung S3. We have at least 30 chargers laying around our house and cars, ranging from name brands like Apple and Samsung to no-name chargers we got for free, including chargers for my wife's iPad and my Asus tablet, and I tried them all. Only the Blackberry and Samsung adapters worked to charge the Blackberry. The cable didn't seem to matter - as

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Megol ( 3135005 )

        There isn't any "data-only" USB cable! There are 3 connectors theoretically needed for communication: Ground (signal reference), D+, D- (signal) and in practice the power connector (+5V) is needed too. Just having the signal connectors (D+ and D-) wouldn't be of any use as it would be impossible to even detect that a unit is connected!

        Now his charger may have been too weak and the BB simply required more current to charge than it could deliver.

        • There may not be any data-only USB cables, I don't know. But it's perfectly reasonable to transmit data over just a differential pair. LVDS etc. do it just fine with no separate ground and I can't think of any reason why one could not detect device connection. I'm not saying that it does work, just that it could.

    • Hard to recognize if you were talking about Apple or Blackberry.

      Or maybe deep inside Apple owns Blackberry, and pushes it just to compete (unfavorably) with itself?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Guspaz ( 556486 )

        Apple devices charge off regular USB just fine: lightning cables end in a regular USB 2.0 plug on the other end. That means it's a nonstandard cable, not that it doesn't support USB charging.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by gwolf ( 26339 )

          Apple, Blackberry and other providers' devices charge off regular 110/220V AC power just fine: They just require a specific voltage conversor, rectificator and plug.

          But yes, I have to yield: I thought GP was refering to the connector only.

        • And yet I just upgraded a 4S to 8.0 and all of the sudden the Targus 2Amp (2 1A ports) USB charger I've been using for two years will no longer charge the phone. I had to switch to a...BlackBerry charger to get the phone to charge.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Guspaz ( 556486 )

            That may say more about a problem with the Targus thing you're using than anything else. My iPhone 4S running iOS 8 is still charging fine plugged into my Windows PC or my various battery packs... but the fact that you're using your BlackBerry's charger just goes to show that it can charge off regular USB without issue.

            Now, it's definitely true that Apple went a non-standard route for high-power USB charging (charging over USB at amperages in excess of the half amp standard of USB 2), but the worst case sce

    • "wouldn't charge from a standard USB, it kept complaining it needed a special cable." - possibly correct. my girl friend's samsung S3 charges a lot faster on my blackberry supplied cable than it does on her samsung supplied one. At least it uses a standard plug socket so we can both use the same cable.

      The playbook was mainly for Blackberry phone users so it was a bit limited if you got it as a stand alone tablet rather than a Galaxy Tab

      I'll happily stick with BB because i'm not a app junkie, i just need s
    • How is that post considered insightful while it is just flamebait?

  • Awful awful timing of launch (Score:5, Insightful)

    by presidenteloco ( 659168 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2014 @11:52AM (#47985081)

    Trying to launch one week into the shadow of the massive iPhone 6 launch?

    Guaranteed burial and gross embarassment by comparison.

    Execution matters, and now we'll see an execution.

    • Um, you're aware the iPhone6 is getting huge negative press for literally deforming while inside a front pocket? The blackberry passport, by contrast, has a stainless steel frame.

      • You do realize that stainless (in it's most common forms) is no stronger than typical structural aluminums, right?

        • One of the complaints against Apple is that they're using cheap, soft aluminum, not the tempered kind that you're talking about.

      • Re:Awful awful timing of launch (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Guspaz ( 556486 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2014 @01:31PM (#47986171)

        What I'm aware of us that everybody is repeating the same tiny handful of stories/reports of bent iPhone 6 Plus phones over and over again, so it's not clear if the negative press represents a real problem, or just a handful of defective phones that has raised an uproar. They're still selling like gangbusters, and it'll probably take at least a few days or weeks before we can find out if "bendgate" is the result of defective units or an actual design flaw.

        The Blackberry Passport, for its part, is ridiculously wide, roughly equivalent to a six-inch tablet (it's half an inch wider than the 5.7" Galaxy Note 4). The form factor will probably relegate it to niche status.

      • Um, you're aware the iPhone6 is getting huge negative press for literally deforming while inside a front pocket?

        Um, you're aware that the iPhone 6 sold 10 million units launch weekend and is still gong strong? And that any large phone has the same problem so people learn not to sit on them?

        The only thing the articles do is help the case industry.

        • Nobody's sitting on the phones. The issue affected people putting the phone in their front pocket. As to the million of phones sold, yes, Apple has a lot of lemmings.
    • There isn't a lot of overlap between the market for this device and an iPhone, so there's really not much of a comparison to be made.

      This device could be much more useful than regular smart phones to older people with failing vision.

    • I think what's really telling is that Blackberry hopes to sell a million of them over the next year.

      That's what - 2-1/2 days of iPhone sales? Sales by the 10 AM coffee break any day of the week for Android?

      So what does the passport have?

      • 1. A square display - that cuts off video with black bars top and bottom, or drops the sides.
      • 2. A real keyboard - but the shift key is on-screen (along with a bunch of others).
      • 3. A camera that takes non-standard square pictures reminiscent of the old kodaks from 50 ye

  • I just want a good tough phone with nothing except for the phone and minimal software for the phone to function installed. Nothing else. If I want to install a browser, cal, etc.. then I 'd do it after wards

    • Ask and you shall [greatcall.com] receive [amazon.com]!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by praxis ( 19962 )

        Do those have a reasonable browser? That was one of future assassin's requirements--the possibility to install a browser after wards (sic).

        • If I want to install a browser, cal, etc.. then I 'd do it after wards

          That's a big if! I understood it to mean that he really doesn't want one, hence his objections to one being provided by default.

          But really, I was just trying to be an ass and demonstrate that the type of contemporary phones that have nothing more than "telephony" on their feature list are explicitly marketed towards people with one foot in the grave.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by praxis ( 19962 )

            Yes, I wasn't asking if it has a reasonable browser installed, I was asking if there was one available to install later, otherwise that if could never be satisfied. Sorry for the confusion.

  • Review are actually quite positive.... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Maxwell ( 13985 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2014 @12:45PM (#47985689) Homepage

    ...thanks for cherry picking the worst part of every review. Most reviews seem to like it, appreciate it, but are on the fence about the size and form factor.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Octorian ( 14086 )

      Its honestly not all that surprising. For a few years now, the majority opinion in the tech press has been that you can't post anything about BlackBerry unless its bad news or has negative commentary injected into it.

  • "it requires no less than three taps on different install buttons, at least two loading bars, and a fair amount of patience before you can actually use the app you're trying to install."

    Heaven forfend.. installing apps is exactly how much time spent on a phone? 0.1%?
  • of shareholder equity before they close their doors.
  • As an ex-user (had Storm 2, now I'm a disgruntled iSheep), I found these problems with Blackberry:
    1. Ergonomics - Touch was often very hard and mobile unresponsive.
    2. Overheating when playing games (there were only 2 of them, which brings me to 3rd point)
    3. all the apps were extremely costly
    4. battery wouldn't last
    5. had to pay extra for internet connectivity, when my sim had free internet.

    Unless Blackberry corrects these issues (issues like ergonomics are still missing from latest one), I don't think they'd

  • I use a Blackberry. A BB Bold, to be precise. It makes me look with pity upon iOS / Android / Windows Phone users. Security is tight, the OS is as stable as QNX ever was. Someone here complained about the thing getting hot when used for gaming. Heck - a BB is **not** a toy, you use it for doing business. Apps ? Over more than 2 years, I downloaded exactly 2, for very precisely described needs. All the rest I need ( email, contacts management, evernote, calendar, LinkedIn ) was **already** on the phone when

    • I use a Blackberry. A BB Bold, to be precise.

      I'm sorry. My mother had one of those. One of the worst interfaces on a smartphone I've ever had the miserable experience of using. Absolutely hated working with it when she needed something fixed.

      It makes me look with pity upon iOS / Android / Windows Phone users.

      Can you hear the sound of the rest of us not caring?

      a BB is **not** a toy, you use it for doing business

      I use my iPhone for "doing business" quite successfully thanks. I could say the same about quite a few Android phones I've worked with too. BB has precisely zero features that make it better than the alternatives for "doing business" that are relevant to me

      • Interesting. This issue seems to have about the same potential to form the subject of a religion war as, say, programming languages, IDEs, editors or OSes. Very interesting.

    • That reeks of sour grapes. "I don't want to play the games I can't run! I don't want to download the apps that aren't available!"

      My iPhone is **not** a toy, I use it for doing business. I have roughly a zillion apps, for very precisely described needs. Only the bare basics were on the phone when I got it, and I was able to pick a great SSH client, slick personal finance app, excellent public transit apps, a nice RPN calculator, my bank's app (so I can deposit checks by taking pictures of them), Yelp for whe

  • Square phones are for square [wikipedia.org] people.

  • so of course nobody could possibly be interested in this format either, right? I mean look at it! its like holding a piece of toast up to your ear. And who wants to be able to read a whole email without having to swipe left right up and down and lets not forget pinch and zoom. Thats just plain boring. And with this great economy we're in I can totally slack off at work and watch videos half the day so all those pixels best be showing my videos (and pron!)

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