If you had asked me, or anyone, really, two years ago if I would be using a BlackBerry in 2018 I'd have quietly replied with a no. Like everyone else, I was sure the company was a goner and I hated thinking about that. BlackBerry was not only in financial trouble, but had a stigma following it through conversations on- and offline. BlackBerry was on its way out and it was time to wave goodbye or send a farewell text from a Samsung phone. Thankfully, I'm here to tell you that BlackBerry never left and the KEYone is one of the best Android phones you can buy today.

I've been a BlackBerry user forever. It's awesome to be able to still be one.

I hated saying goodbye to my old Curve. I was a BlackBerry user since forever, as the company I worked for issued me a big, blocky BlackBerry 857 so they could bug me 24 hours a day. Being able to read more than the 240 characters (and the 10-digit sending number counted against them) and reply made the BlackBerry a step above a pager or PDA, and I was fascinated. I'm sure there were some other reasons the IT department loved them, but I got hooked on being able to carry a tiny computer with me wherever I went. I stuck with BlackBerry as my personal phone through the years where it seemed the company struggled to keep up with Apple, but when the T-Mobile G1 was announced I decided I was going to jump ship. I never thought about carrying two phones because nobody did back then. Ahh, the good old days.

My boss can send me any phone I want, but I don't want a different phone.

Thankfully, BlackBerry and Android have hooked up, and after releasing a couple of good phones (the Priv in particular got me itching for a BB again) its new overseer, TCL Communications, released the KEYone. While most every review of the phone was very positive, I think I went a step further than most tech bloggers and knew it was the phone for me. I was lucky enough to get one a bit early, and have been using it ever since. Like a lot of people who also use and love the KEYone (those capital letters, ugh) it does everything I want my phone to do and does it all really well. I also use a Pixel 2 (I ended up carrying two phones after all) and really like it, but it's in my pocket because of where I work — Android Central means I need to know "regular" Android inside and out. But if I'm in your phone book and you give me a call, it will ring on my KEYone because that's my phone.

Changed my phone number for Signal and Allo from my Pixel to my BB Keyone. Shit just got serious now. — Jerry Hildenbrand (@gbhil) May 5, 2017

I want my phone to do three things flawlessly: have a great battery, be secure, and be able to act as my mobile office. I know a lot of people have other priorities when it comes to the things their phone can do, but those are mine. I use a handful of apps, but if you see me with my phone in my hands, chances are I'm "talking" to someone. My phone is a tool. So is yours. And we all need the right tool for the job just as a mechanic or plumber does.