Hey all, it's Rick here again.

I've had the Blackberry KEYone for just over a week now and thought it was time to tell you about some of the features and items I like about it.

It's still pretty early in the game and there's been a few maintenance releases and such, but overall I'm finding the Blackberry experience to be quite nice.

Body - I really like the way the Blackbery KEYone (BBK1) feels. It's a nice solid device with a very cool executive look. It's not too thick even with the keyboard and the screen is a wonderful size for email and texting. I was afraid that the keyboard was going to take up too much real-estate when in fact it made it easier to type while still seeing what I was typing. Granted, in landscape mode for watching YouTube and such, the screen is smaller than many of the other devices on the market today. All I can say is watching videos on the BBK1 is a pleasant experience. The picture is crisp, clear and bright. I found it quite comfortable to hold it in landscape mode as I didn't have to place both hands solely around the edges to hold it for fear of blocking the screen.

Did I mention how handsome this device is? I digress...

The Keyboard - oh boy. So, as an old Blackberry user I was really torn up when I had to move to an android device that was all touch keyboard. I got used to it though and never looked back. Coming back to a Blackberry after all this time had me at a slight disadvantage. There's a learning curve to using a physical keyboard. It's only been a week, but I'm getting the hang of using it again. The buttons feel nice. They have a slight click when you push them, though they push easily and smoothly. Word prediction is particularly nice on this device and they built in really cool swiping gestures to choose the predicted words. For example 3 predictive word options pop up. One on the left, one in the middle and one on the right just above the keyboard. Just swipe up on the physical keyboard to the left, right or middle to choose the word. Cool! You can also swipe back to delete.

SWEET FEATURE ALERT! You can set the Physical Keyboard to swipe! I Love this feature. One of the things that made it easier for me to come back to using a physical keyboard is this cool little gem. I have no idea how they added sensors to the keys like they did, but if you go into keyboard settings and activate the physical keyboard swipe options (search Keyboard under settings > Choose Blackberry Keyboard > Type by swiping). It's just super cool. Just running your finger over the key's your normally press types the words on the screen. As I've only figured this little trick out a little while ago I'll have to report back on it, but so far I like it a lot. It's a neat trick. Yeah - I said neat. W'ever.,

The keyboard also works like a track pad on multiple apps - when reading articles, scrolling through text messages, surfing or in the Blackberry Hub. Just swipe your finger up and down to scroll.

Microphone - Look, lets be honest here. Blackberry is highly regarded in the business world. As such, the basics of a phone call are quite important. This phone is great for conference calls! People report being able to hear me loud and clear. I've used the microphone on the device itself with speaker on and off. Not one complaint from the listener on the other end. The noise canceling microphone does a nice job, though as with every device I've ever owned the cancelation is stretched to it's limits when used in NYC with all the sirens and constant background noise. General background noise like typing etc. is still picked up from time to time, though the speakers voice is the prominent sound to pass through. This holds true for the mic when speaker is turned on or off. Also, the headset is great for conference calls. I'm often using 'Skype' with a USB headset which sounds nice and clear. However, when I used the BBK1 to dial in to my conference sessions no one was the wiser. I asked how I sounded and everyone said 'loud and clear'. I haven't tried the headset/earbuds for music yet. They don't look like much, but hey - they could surprise me. From a phone call standpoint they sound great. People come through clear to my ears and not tinny. In a time when some manufacturers don't put any headphones in the box, this is a nice addition to have included.

The finger print scanner is one of the best I've had experience using! Hands down.. seems to just work. It's built into the space bar on the keyboard and hasn't failed me once. I haven't had to clean the sensor like on some of my other devices. It's pretty cool placement and though I initially had it set to read only my thumb, I've also added my pointer finger to make it easier to access while the device is lying down on it's back on the desk.

TIP! When the device is asleep I've found I could just push the spacebar with my finger and it will read my print and unlock at the same time. This is a fantastic way to get the device unlocked and operational very quickly.

Quick Charge 3.0 with the USB-C works really well on this device bringing it to 50% in around 30+ minutes. I find it depends on what's running in the background so they also included a feature called 'Boost Mode' which stops apps from running in the background to conserve energy and charge faster. This Boost Mode only works up to 50% and then switches to regular charging. You can change this setting to boost charge to 100%, but keep in mind Email, Messaging and other apps may not update unless you open them. The BBK1 comes with a 3.0 Quick Charger in the box. with the USB-C works really well on this device bringing it to 50% in around 30+ minutes. I find it depends on what's running in the background so they also included a feature called 'Boost Mode' which stops apps from running in the background to conserve energy and charge faster. This Boost Mode only works up to 50% and then switches to regular charging. You can change this setting to boost charge to 100%, but keep in mind Email, Messaging and other apps may not update unless you open them. The BBK1 comes with a 3.0 Quick Charger in the box.

Battery Life - well, I have to say I'm not a HEAVY user by any stretch. Since most of my days are in front of a computer I don't go to the KEYone that often. That being said, I charged the phone fully the day I activated it and in a week I've only had to charge it again once. I'm at 28% as I write this and will put it on the charger soon.

Blackberry Hub App - love it or hate it? Blackberry Hub comes native on the BBK1. Personally, I like that all my messages, calendar items, emails etc are all in one place. I have the option to pull in other messages from my social networks as well, though since I use this primarily as my work device I opted not to include all the clutter.

Still, Hub is a great way to see everything at a glance. You can open up any of the items you bring into the Hub and get right to the app it's aligned with. If I click on an email from Hub it brings me to the email in the Email app. Nice touch. Missed calls and text message are right there and available. I like it.



There's more.. but I'll get to it as I spend a little more time with this device.



Some things do take getting used to - Power Button on the left instead of the right and I've become reliant on an always-on display. Maybe in a software update? 🙂













Want to know more about the Blackberry KEYone? Give me a shout!





Rick























Disclaimer: The Product Ambassadors are Sprint employees from many different parts of the company that love technology. They volunteer to test out all sorts of Sprint devices and offer opinions freely to the Community. Each Product Ambassador shares their own opinions of these devices, therefore the information in this post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprint. The PA's do not represent the company in an official way, and should not be expected to respond to Community members in an official capacity. My opinions are my own. I am a Device Advocate for Sprint Devices... I am not a Sprint or Device Manufacturer spokesperson.























