4/30/2023 0 Comments Keyone blackberry linkThe Hub app is where it's at, at least in terms of sheer power user capability. Even if I did, I can tell you right now that I was not a hardcore user, so the KEYone gave me my first experience with a lot of the apps that BlackBerry loyalists swear by. My time with BlackBerry's phones was so long ago that I hardly remember what BB OS was like (and I never even used v10). This is one of the pillars for BlackBerry's plan to draw potential customers. Not all of it is useful, in my opinion, but it's there. I think you'll be as surprised as I was in regard to the level of depth and detail with each addition made. I'll go through both of those elements in their own sub-sections to follow. On the surface, the software looks like stock Android, but there's a bunch running under the hood, from the apps to the settings and options. Now we're here with the KEYone and that focus is still on-point. There was a commitment to updating to the latest monthly security patches, the DTEK security suite, and even some hardware modifications that all helped to ensure users had the safest and most secure take on Android. When the company shifted over to Android from the corpse that was BB OS, it brought with it some of the hallmarks upon which it had built its reputation. The BlackBerry brand is built on security, reliability, and stability. This is the official blurb on the matter: "For times when you have to take a video conference on the go, the device includes an 8MP front camera with fixed focus, LCD flash, and 84-degree wide angle lens." Just own up to the fact that you put in an LCD flash for selfies there's nothing wrong with that. Supposedly, this is best suited for those video conferences where you're not in a position to get somewhere with better lighting. Moving around to the front, BlackBerry opted for an 8MP fixed focus, 84° wide angle shooter. Will they have that so-called "Wow!" factor? Well, that depends on you. This camera is like a jack-of-all-trades - you'll get great outdoor, indoor, and nighttime photos. My opinion is that this is one of those phones where it's more difficult to take a bad picture. While that certainly can lend itself to good photos, it's not the be-all, end-all. The KEYone can put out good-quality pictures that are crisp in detail, but with some aggressive smoothing in post-processing. Those of you who pay attention will notice that the KEYone packs the same sensor as the Pixel, the IMX378. With all of that being said, it cannot quite hold its own next to the Pixel, GS8/ GS7, or even the P10. Just because they're on opposite sides of the phone does not mean I didn't mix them up from time to time. Finally, the right side is home to the SIM tray, volume rocker (which feels cheap and hollow) and what BlackBerry calls the "Convenience Key." Both it and the power button feel only slightly more solid than the volume rocker and I'd honestly rather see one of them be textured or differentiated in some way from the other. The left side only has the power button, while the bottom houses the speaker grilles and the USB Type-C 3.1 port. On the top of the frame, you will find the 3.5mm headphone jack. The back has the rather large camera module (there's still a hump, by the way, despite this thing being a brick) and BlackBerry logo. The front of the phone has the screen, the capacitive navigation buttons, the keyboard, and the front camera (and earpiece/sensors) along the upper aluminium bezel. Only Huawei's sensors have proven so reliable for me, which should tell you something. Embedded in the space bar, it's lightning quick and very accurate. The KEYone is not beautiful, elegant, slim, or anything else like that it is aimed at a niche that, in theory, cares little for those things in a pocket computer. Not a single person that I've come across thinks that this is a pretty device. The whole front face would throw anyone for a loop, especially when we're starting to see such high screen-to-body ratios these days. The physical keyboard is what drew people's eyes. This phone garnered more looks, comments, and questions in my time with it than any other I've used - I'd say that it comes close to the amount of attention I received when smartwatches were still young. And while that seems like a negative at first glance, the KEYone's design exhibits some modernization in its overall execution. BlackBerry (well, it's really TCL, but you know what I mean) has opted for what you might call the quintessential look that defined the heyday of Research In Motion. Distinctly BlackBerry." That last part, and to an extent the first, is quite true. To give you some perspective on the KEYone and its design, the marketing materials say that the phone is "Distinctly different.
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