BLACKBERRYBlackBerry Classic Review: Get Thumbing Again
BlackBerry recently took the curtains off its brand new QWERTY device and they named it Classic. The company seemed to have packed in some of its notable old features in the device and it runs on the brand new OS.
So, this smartphone brings back the trackpad and also has physical buttons for answering and ending a call.
What Is It?
The Classic is BlackBerry's latest smartphone, but it's also a throwback to the BlackBerry 9900. It's got a 3.5-inch square screen, a hardware keyboard, and no apologies whatsoever. At Rs 31,990, it's a mid-tier smartphone that isn't really trying to vie for supremacy. It's built for die-hard BlackBerry fans; especially the ones that are still holding on to their Bold smartphone.
Why Does It Matter?
BlackBerry is looking at tapping its own fan base with this new phone. It is not a gravity defying phone as the earlier launched Passport, but it is more for the business users who still can't ditch the good 'old' QWERTY keyboard.
Design
Say what you want about BlackBerry's lackluster software, abysmal app store, or its stubborn adherence to physical keyboards, their phones always look great. Light and shadow play nicely across the familiar black-and-silver body and the thin brushed chrome frets that separate each row of keys. Which are flat rows, not curved rows, but they feel good anyways.
I found the BlackBerry Classic to be a better phone, design wise than the BlackBerry Passport as it is much easy to hold and slips in easily in my pockets. With the BlackBerry Passport I was constantly struggling for the place to keep the phone, but it certainly provided the best typing experience ever!
These keys for BlackBerry Classic are just plain satisfying. Clicking through texts, email, and searching the Classic's directory just by typing feels amazing. The rubberized textured backing on the Classic also makes it near impossible to drop this thing, which is good because there won't be many stylish cases for this guy.
The BlackBerry Classic is mercifully easier to hold compared to the Passport, but the relatively diminutive size hides considerable bulk. Weighing in at 178grams, it's actually heavier than the iPhone 6 Plus, which has a monster 5.5-inch display. I didn't notice the weight too much until I began picking up other phones after using the BlackBerry for a few days. Nothing wrong with strong wrists, I guess.
The rest of the Classic's hardware annoyances are relatively minor. The battery isn't removable, which is forgivable but I hate that in smartphones. The BlackBerry does let you upgrade your device's storage up to 128GB, which I definitely don't hate.
Really, the Classic's design has pros and cons like any other smartphone. Yes, the physical keyboard hogging up precious pixel real estate will be a killer for most, but then you get a physical keyboard in return and that is a boon for any texter.
Using it
The Classic is meant for the business users and the BlackBerry devoted, right? So it does give all the old world charm. With this phone I can type with both the thumbs and to me it feels more native and intuitive than anything else.
Also in the past couple of QWERTY BlackBerry 10 devices that I have used (BlackBerry Q5 and the BlackBerry Passport), I kinda missed the physical call button but with the BlackBerry Classic, the company has answered my prayers. Not many of the BlackBerry fans that i spoke to were too excited about it but if you have been one of those that still swear by your BlackBerry Curve and the Classic, then you too will think of it as a good step back!
With BlackBerry's latest operating system BB 10.3, you get your apps two places: BlackBerry World, and the Amazon App Store. These two pretty much offer all the apps that I need to get going.
If you have used any of the old BlackBerry phones, you know how much time these devices take to fire up. Right? Well then you could not be surprised when your BlackBerry Classic takes about a minute to boot up.
BlackBerry Hub, Start Screen, and App Drawer.
BB 10.3 isn't all bad. I'm a big fan of the BlackBerry Hub, same as I was when I gave it a test drive on my BlackBerry Q5. Of course, it would be even more convenient if I could put all my third-party apps into Hub. I also don't get too involved with filters and other "Pro" features.
Also, the stock lock screen with BB10 is pretty great, making all my information from my disparate accounts completely glanceable. When you click on an icon, you can pull up the last three tweets or emails and double tap to open. It reminds me a lot of Android's new notification screen with Lollipop. You can also just start typing whenever and you'll pull up BB's index, displaying apps, messages, contacts, or calendar events you might be searching for. Neat!
The battery also does an admirable job. You won't have to worry about packing any microUSB cable to charge it during the day.
Unfortunately, the 8 megapixel camera is no saving grace. Keeping with the BB Classic trend, the shutter speed on this camera is tremendously slow. However, in decent conditions you get respectable pictures
Like
The keyboard and the whole form factor of the BlackBerry Classic. It has a rustic feel to it and yet with the OS 10.3, you get a good bit of features.
The battery juice that I got from this device, despite the amount of email and calls I receive in a day is exemplary.
Don't Like
The camera: BlackBerry has never offered a great camera on a smartphone and Classic carries that legacy forward. Also the shutter speed of the camera is not something to rave about.
I was really, really hoping that they would take the capacitive touch keyboard on the Passport and add it to the Classic, and just letting you swipe across the keyboard instead. But BlackBerry tells me that I will have to wait a bit longer for the same.
Should you buy it?
Well if you are looking to get back to a keyboard device or upgrading your existing keyboard device with a mid-range offering, then it can't get any better than this. It does all your core smartphone-y things. You can tweet. You can post to Facebook. You can check your email. You can even sideload all the Android apps that you would want even if they are not on its native app store.
BlackBerry Classic Specs
OS: BB 10.3.1
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960
Dimensions:
5.16 (131.1mm) x 2.85 (72.4mm) x 0.4 inches (10.2mm)
Screen: 3.5-inch 720 x 720 294 PPI
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16GB (expandable up to 128GB)
Camera: 8MP rear / 2 MP front
Price: Rs 31,990
So, this smartphone brings back the trackpad and also has physical buttons for answering and ending a call.
What Is It?
The Classic is BlackBerry's latest smartphone, but it's also a throwback to the BlackBerry 9900. It's got a 3.5-inch square screen, a hardware keyboard, and no apologies whatsoever. At Rs 31,990, it's a mid-tier smartphone that isn't really trying to vie for supremacy. It's built for die-hard BlackBerry fans; especially the ones that are still holding on to their Bold smartphone.
Why Does It Matter?
BlackBerry is looking at tapping its own fan base with this new phone. It is not a gravity defying phone as the earlier launched Passport, but it is more for the business users who still can't ditch the good 'old' QWERTY keyboard.
Design
Say what you want about BlackBerry's lackluster software, abysmal app store, or its stubborn adherence to physical keyboards, their phones always look great. Light and shadow play nicely across the familiar black-and-silver body and the thin brushed chrome frets that separate each row of keys. Which are flat rows, not curved rows, but they feel good anyways.
I found the BlackBerry Classic to be a better phone, design wise than the BlackBerry Passport as it is much easy to hold and slips in easily in my pockets. With the BlackBerry Passport I was constantly struggling for the place to keep the phone, but it certainly provided the best typing experience ever!
These keys for BlackBerry Classic are just plain satisfying. Clicking through texts, email, and searching the Classic's directory just by typing feels amazing. The rubberized textured backing on the Classic also makes it near impossible to drop this thing, which is good because there won't be many stylish cases for this guy.
The BlackBerry Classic is mercifully easier to hold compared to the Passport, but the relatively diminutive size hides considerable bulk. Weighing in at 178grams, it's actually heavier than the iPhone 6 Plus, which has a monster 5.5-inch display. I didn't notice the weight too much until I began picking up other phones after using the BlackBerry for a few days. Nothing wrong with strong wrists, I guess.
The rest of the Classic's hardware annoyances are relatively minor. The battery isn't removable, which is forgivable but I hate that in smartphones. The BlackBerry does let you upgrade your device's storage up to 128GB, which I definitely don't hate.
Really, the Classic's design has pros and cons like any other smartphone. Yes, the physical keyboard hogging up precious pixel real estate will be a killer for most, but then you get a physical keyboard in return and that is a boon for any texter.
Using it
The Classic is meant for the business users and the BlackBerry devoted, right? So it does give all the old world charm. With this phone I can type with both the thumbs and to me it feels more native and intuitive than anything else.
Also in the past couple of QWERTY BlackBerry 10 devices that I have used (BlackBerry Q5 and the BlackBerry Passport), I kinda missed the physical call button but with the BlackBerry Classic, the company has answered my prayers. Not many of the BlackBerry fans that i spoke to were too excited about it but if you have been one of those that still swear by your BlackBerry Curve and the Classic, then you too will think of it as a good step back!
With BlackBerry's latest operating system BB 10.3, you get your apps two places: BlackBerry World, and the Amazon App Store. These two pretty much offer all the apps that I need to get going.
If you have used any of the old BlackBerry phones, you know how much time these devices take to fire up. Right? Well then you could not be surprised when your BlackBerry Classic takes about a minute to boot up.
BlackBerry Hub, Start Screen, and App Drawer.
BB 10.3 isn't all bad. I'm a big fan of the BlackBerry Hub, same as I was when I gave it a test drive on my BlackBerry Q5. Of course, it would be even more convenient if I could put all my third-party apps into Hub. I also don't get too involved with filters and other "Pro" features.
Also, the stock lock screen with BB10 is pretty great, making all my information from my disparate accounts completely glanceable. When you click on an icon, you can pull up the last three tweets or emails and double tap to open. It reminds me a lot of Android's new notification screen with Lollipop. You can also just start typing whenever and you'll pull up BB's index, displaying apps, messages, contacts, or calendar events you might be searching for. Neat!
The battery also does an admirable job. You won't have to worry about packing any microUSB cable to charge it during the day.
Unfortunately, the 8 megapixel camera is no saving grace. Keeping with the BB Classic trend, the shutter speed on this camera is tremendously slow. However, in decent conditions you get respectable pictures
Like
The keyboard and the whole form factor of the BlackBerry Classic. It has a rustic feel to it and yet with the OS 10.3, you get a good bit of features.
The battery juice that I got from this device, despite the amount of email and calls I receive in a day is exemplary.
Don't Like
The camera: BlackBerry has never offered a great camera on a smartphone and Classic carries that legacy forward. Also the shutter speed of the camera is not something to rave about.
I was really, really hoping that they would take the capacitive touch keyboard on the Passport and add it to the Classic, and just letting you swipe across the keyboard instead. But BlackBerry tells me that I will have to wait a bit longer for the same.
Should you buy it?
Well if you are looking to get back to a keyboard device or upgrading your existing keyboard device with a mid-range offering, then it can't get any better than this. It does all your core smartphone-y things. You can tweet. You can post to Facebook. You can check your email. You can even sideload all the Android apps that you would want even if they are not on its native app store.
BlackBerry Classic Specs
OS: BB 10.3.1
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960
Dimensions:
5.16 (131.1mm) x 2.85 (72.4mm) x 0.4 inches (10.2mm)
Screen: 3.5-inch 720 x 720 294 PPI
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16GB (expandable up to 128GB)
Camera: 8MP rear / 2 MP front
Price: Rs 31,990
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