Review: BlackBerry Classic
Full disclosure: Prior to using an iPhone 5 and then an iPhone 5s, I was a die hard BlackBerry user. My first one was a RIM 957 and I’ve had a succession of BlackBerry devices ending with the Torch. Then with the company, then called Research In Motion, looking like it was on death’s door, I abandoned the BlackBerry for iOS.
Fast forward to today, I have in my possession a BlackBerry Classic supplied to me by Rogers. The goal of this device is to appeal to BlackBerry users who loved BlackBerry devices such as the Curve and the Bold who will then preach the gospel of BlackBerry to their employers who will be swayed to buy BES 12 for their organizations. Personally, I think they’re on to something. Let’s start with the design. If you have seen the last BlackBerry Bold, it looks basically the same. But under the skin are some important details. For starters, it has some weight to it. Something that is missing from most smartphones that I test and something that I welcome. The back is textured, just like the BlackBerry devices of days gone by. But the back is not removable which is something that some die hard’s may freak out about. The screen (a 720×720 pixel IPS display) is bigger and touch sensitive, not to mention way better than any BlackBerry Bold that I recall. All the buttons are in the same spots that BlackBerry users expect them. That includes the ribbon of buttons above the keyboard along with the trackpad that so many BlackBerry users rely upon, but I wonder if it is extraneous in the Classic seeing as there’s a touchscreen in play. It does work and it does feel natural when editing documents. But I have to admit that the trackpad was irrelevant in any other use case. The only major change is the charging port which is now on the bottom centre. As for the keyboard, it looks and feels exactly like BlackBerry keyboards of days gone by. That’s a good thing as it will not be a factor for anyone upgrading from an older BlackBerry.
Now onto the OS. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. BlackBerry OS (version 10.3.1 in this case) is still the most intuitive mobile OS out there. Features such as the BlackBerry Hub and extremely intuitive gesture set are now joined by the BlackBerry Assistant. The latter creates a Siri like interface to do whatever you need to do via voice. BlackBerry Blend is there. If you’re not familiar with it, you should be. Simply download an app on your MacBook, Windows machine, Android and iOS tablet and once your devices are connected, you’ll be able to use them to manage and move files back and forth, send and receive messages (BBM, email and text) remotely, access your contacts and calendar and view movies stored locally on your BlackBerry. It’s just like OS X and its Continuity feature. Only it works with multiple platforms. By the way, you also get access to 300,000 native apps in the BlackBerry App Store and you can use Android apps as well along with having access to the Amazon App Store. Oh, one other thing. For those BlackBerry die hards who miss BrickBreaker in BlackBerry OS 10, it’s back and it is exactly how you remember it.
In terms of what’s under the hood, here’s what the Classic brings to the table:
- 1.5GHz dual-core processor
- 2GB RAM / 16GB internal storage that is expandable via a Micro SD card
- 8MP rear camera
- 2MP front camera
- 1080p video capture @ 30fps, 720p video capture @ 60fps
- LTE
- WiFi (b/g/n/a)
- Bluetooth 4.0
Now those specs aren’t going to set the world on fire seeing as the Passport has a lot more under the hood and is way faster. But you’re likely not going to complain. In my testing, it was perfectly acceptable with the exception of a couple of minor hiccups when loading HTML5 intensive web pages. Speaking of web pages, the Classic is the first BlackBerry that I’ve encountered that doesn’t run Flash. Thus, I could not use speedtest.net to do my speed testing. Instead, I had to go to speedof.me which uses HTML5 to test the speed of your Internet connection and got 37.6 Mbps downstream and 4.73 Mbps upstream on the Rogers LTE network.
As for the camera, it’s an 8MP shooter that appears to be identical to the ones in the Z and Q series BlackBerry devices. Which means that it should be good, but not as good as the one found in the Passport. To test that, I went to Pearson Airport in Toronto to shoot planes landing. First, here’s some still pictures. Click to see them at full size:
Now here’s the video. Set it to full screen and 1080P:
One thing that I should point out is that you can take a video and shoot stills at the same time. That’s what I did in this case and it worked out very well.
Now, the battery live is one area where this phone shines. You’ll get a day and a half out of it easily. That should take away any battery anxiety that you might have. So what is this going to cost you? The BlackBerry Classic is available at Rogers for $49.99 on a two year plan or $500 outright. This is a smartphone that isn’t going to appeal to everyone. If you’ve never used a BlackBerry, this isn’t the BlackBerry for you. You should look at the Passport or one of the Q or Z series BlackBerry devices instead. If however you’ve had a Bold or a Curve and you want something similar, this is the BlackBerry for you. You will feel right at home other than the fact that you’ll have to transition to BlackBerry OS 10. And that’s not a hardship by any means. If BlackBerry had come out with this two years ago, I may not have defected to the iOS camp. Thus I think it will stop other die hard BlackBerry users from defecting from BlackBerry.
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