In a world of black slabs, one company dared to be different. The design seemed rather ridiculous at first, but after a week with the new BlackBerry Passport I am convinced BlackBerry is serious about competing for the enterprise customer.

BlackBerry has always been known for its hardware QWERTY keyboards and when the company moved to the BlackBerry 10 OS, consumer-focused all touchscreen devices were launched first, with the QWERTY Q10 coming a few months later. Enterprise and government BlackBerry users continued to use older QWERTY devices. (I still see many government employees using BB 7 devices.) Now they can jump to the Passport and stop carrying around an iPhone to satisfy their modern smartphone needs.

Specifications

Processors : Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.2 GHz quad-core CPU and Adreno 330, 450MHz GPU

: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.2 GHz quad-core CPU and Adreno 330, 450MHz GPU Display : 4.5-inch square Gorilla Glass 3 LCD display with 1440 x 1440 pixel resolution (453 pixels-per-inch)

: 4.5-inch square Gorilla Glass 3 LCD display with 1440 x 1440 pixel resolution (453 pixels-per-inch) RAM : 3GB, the iPhone 6/6 Plus have just 1 GB

: 3GB, the iPhone 6/6 Plus have just 1 GB Storage capacity : 32 GB internal with microSD card slot

: 32 GB internal with microSD card slot Cameras : 13-megapixel rear with optical image stabilization (OIS), and 2 megapixel front facing

: 13-megapixel rear with optical image stabilization (OIS), and 2 megapixel front facing Radios : 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, near-field communications (NFC), GPS, FM radio

: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, near-field communications (NFC), GPS, FM radio Battery capacity : 3,450 mAh with advertised 24 hour UMTS talk time and 91 hours of audio playback

: 3,450 mAh with advertised 24 hour UMTS talk time and 91 hours of audio playback Dimensions: 128 x 90.3 x 9.3mm, and 196 grams (6.91 ounces)

Look again at the list of specifications above. The BlackBerry Passport is not lacking in any single area and the only other smartphone we have seen with such industry-leading specifications in a single handset is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

On the hardware

The display and keyboard are unlike anything you have ever seen before; and it turns out they work together to provide an experience unlike anything else out there.

I was skeptical when I first saw the rumors and thought it was all some kind of joke. It turns out that the BlackBerry design team was able to deliver one of the first modern smartphones targeted primarily to the business user — while everyone else focuses on the consumer.

Square 4.5-inch display: The display is advertised as being 30 percent wider than average 5-inch slabs with the capacity to show 60 characters across. Most devices show 40 characters across the display. It's a joy to use spreadsheets, read eBooks, browse web pages, manage communications in the Hub, and more with the wide display.

QWERTY keyboard: BlackBerry has always had the best hardware QWERTY keyboards. BlackBerry took it to the next level with the Passport and it is easily the finest hardware keyboard ever created for a mobile device.

When I first saw that the Passport only had three rows of keys, I thought it was destined to fail. Once again BlackBerry showed me the error in my initial impressions: Additional characters show up in one to four rows above the hardware keyboard, based upon the context of the text entry field. This behavior is absolutely brilliant and I was able to figure out how to enter text quickly in no time.

BlackBerry's Passport from every angle: Browse my gallery.

The Passport is clearly a two-handed device, but the era of single-handed smartphone use is over so that is not something to worry about. The width allows BlackBerry to provide you with ample key sizes, angled to perfectly support thumb typing. The space bar is a bit small — the width of two typical keys — but I haven't had a problem missing it or anything.

There are some awesome shortcuts to make the keyboard useful and efficient; look for my follow-up post covering these in a day or two. The keyboard also has touch-sensitive functionality to make predictive selection simple and provide you with a way to scroll quickly through web pages and lists without ever touching the display. It's simply a brilliant approach to hardware QWERTY keyboards.

Battery: I used to be satisfied with devices that could get me through most of the day, like my original Moto X, but am not buying another phone that requires me to charge up a device to get through a full long day. Long battery life is a major reason I bought the iPhone 6 Plus over the iPhone 6 and is why I put up with the size of the Nokia Lumia 1520.

The BlackBerry Passport has been able to carry me through each of my long days, 4:30 am to 10:30 pm, without a problem. I typically still have 30 percent or more left to carry me into the next morning before I have to worry about topping off.

BlackBerry users are used to having removable batteries, but with such a massive capacity and solid performance I think they will be satisfied with the Passport.

Design: BlackBerry is known for solid hardware and the Passport continues that legacy. The Passport currently retails for $599 as a GSM SIM-unlocked device and exceeded my expectations for quality.

The glass display curves into the edges and down into the keyboard. The keyboard is rock solid with excellent tactile feedback and angular design so that the keys are easy to press. Two substantial metal rails line each side with thin strips of metal connecting the two halves.

The back is covered in black soft-touch material to make it a joy to handle the Passport. The top eighth of the back is removable to provide access to the microSD card slot and SIM card. Centered on the back is a 13 megapixel camera with flash centered above the lens.

Stereo speakers are positioned along the bottom and sound great. They are not as good as the HTC M8 speakers, but good enough for typical usage.

The power button and 3.5mm headset jack are positioned at the top with the microUSB/microHDMI port centered on the bottom.

Metal volume buttons and a center BlackBerry Assistant button are found near the top right side with nothing on the left metal rail.

Camera: BlackBerrys are not known for capturing great photos, but in good lighting most smartphones do just fine. BlackBerry did put some effort into the Passport camera and it comes with a 13 megapixel shooter with optical image stabilization.

Some readers commented that my Passport sample photos impressed them in my smartphone camera shootout and so far I have been pleased with the results. I like the way the camera software checks conditions and prompts me to change the shooting mode, for example to include HDR, for optimal shots.