BlackBerry Keyone User Review

INTRODUCTION:

The Keyone is hands down the longest lasting modern smartphone in late 2017.

It's built for those who wants to stay productive for long periods without having to worry about the battery running out. But I get it, the story about how the BlackBerry is a tool and not a toy is a over beaten horse. Even that sentence that's written by so many bloggers is a little tiresome to read.

Let me break it to you: It can also be a toy!

I've been using the Keyone for about 2 months now and I could do everything I've done on my iPhone, and then some. Speed and functionality is great, and the keyboard? Awesome. I've played The Sims, GTA Vice City, Mario run, Pokémon, and Tom Clancy on it and it ran well.

FEATURES:

Keyboard Shortcuts

What I really enjoy with the Keyone is the ability to move around between all my frequently used apps quickly with the keyboard shortcuts you can program. The Keyone has a 53 keyboard shortcuts function where if you either short press or long press a key, and it'll launch it right from the home screen.

But aside from just launching apps, you can also program shortcuts to:

• start composing an email, text, BBM to someone
• Add Notes/Tasks/Events/Contacts
• Speed dial
• Record video
• Lock screen
• Turn off wireless functions/Bluetooth
• Jump into Driving Mode for Google Maps, Share location, or Traffic
• Music playlist shortcuts
• Custom shortcuts that are built with your apps, like Starbucks, where you can launch your card with a keypress.

Camera Quality

Beats the pants out of all previous blackberries and can compete with some of the flagships out there. I'm not a camera expert but check out some of the shots I took:

Battery

OK, I'm going to say that this is one of the strongest feature of the phone. I'm an average user when you get down to it. I do a lot of texting back and forth to my girlfriend and friends, browse social media throughout the day, and view emails that come into my phone. At night, I like to unwind with YouTube videos and catch up on the latest news.

So with that sort of usage, I'll use up only 40% of the battery for the entire day and not even charge my phone at night, feeling confident it'll last me the next day without leaving me with a dead battery. Ladies and gents, let me tell you, I haven't felt this way since I've owned a Nokia back in the day. It's unbelievable.

Top Build Quality

If you haven't held the Keyone in your hand yet, go to a store and ask them to let you hold their demo. It has just the right amount of weight and bulk to it that you know right away it'll last a long time. It's made with aluminum all the way around and has a rubberized back that allows you to grip the phone. The front glass is scratch resistant and the keyboard is coated to match the shininess of the screen.

Call Quality

For those of you who still makes phone calls to people like I do, Blackberry hasn't change in this area. They've always been great with calls. It's still crisp and loud with zero muffles. Their patented antenna technology greatly reduces any dropped calls.