Cheng Shouzong, CEO of BlackBerry, who recently made a lot of noise at the Code/Mobile conference, said that if the mobile phone business is not profitable within a year, he may choose to give up. However, it is not so easy to make profits when Android and iOS are divided. So BlackBerry has also changed its style. It launched the Priv with Android system for the first time, and the iconic physical keyboard is not absent.
Reporters from WebStandard website were lucky to experience this unlisted Priv, which is of course the engineering machine of Not for Sale. Derstand recorded its experience completely, Love to play computer games Translate and sort it out for your reference.
First of all, we need to make a statement in advance. This experience is based on engineering machines, so there may be differences between this experience and the last released machine in terms of parameter configuration. Please pay attention. In fact, the hardware part of the hands-on experience is nearly completed, and there may be some small places to be modified. As for the software part, it has not yet been finalized, which may be quite different from the released machine, and is expected to be released in early 2016.
Editor's note: Coming this Fall has been noted on the official Blackberry website, and CEO Cheng Shouzong also said at the conference that it would be launched before the end of the year. Considering that Derstand website is in Europe, the beginning of 2016 may be the time for its listing in Europe.
Hardware parameters
Priv has a 5.4 inch curved screen, but this curved screen is different from the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. The resolution is 2560x1440 (2K), and the PPI up to 544 may be useful for VR, but the naked eye does not feel the difference with 1080P in daily use.
Priv uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor as LG G4, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of ROM, of which 22 GB is available to users. It also supports LTE, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC and other wireless connections. It is equipped with 18 million pixel Schneider lens, 5 million front camera, and dual color temperature flash. Unfortunately, USB2.0 microUSB is still used, and the updated USB 3.0 or USB Type-C is not used.
Editor's note: Recently, it has been reported that the BlackBerry Priv may use Sony's IMX230 CMOS, and the final version for sale may be the 21 megapixel main camera. The specific situation can only be known after the actual launch.
Designed for two handed use
Priv's 5.4 inch screen design is not suitable for single hand operation, as well as the physical full keyboard and the small speaker chin. Although the use of virtual navigation keys saves a little space, most Priv operations still have to be completed with both hands.
The back of the machine is composed of various materials, including Kevlar. It feels a bit "cheap", but the advantage is that the friction is good, and it is not easy to slip when holding it in the hand. At the bottom of the screen is the full keyboard that BlackBerry has always insisted on. It looks solid and durable, but there is a gap between the keys, which is easy to accumulate dust and needs to be cleaned frequently.
The display effect of the screen is no less than that of the widely acclaimed LG G4, with bright colors and high contrast. BlackBerry is trying to add some small functions like Samsung to the side curved screen, such as animation during charging. This engineering machine has not been implemented due to software problems. The left side of the fuselage is the power key, which is too high to touch easily. On the right side is the same as the previous BlackBerry models, which are equipped with a volume adjustment key and a "Mute" key. However, the "Mute" key in the middle does not realize the mute function. When pressed, a notification will pop up, which can be used even when the camera is running. I wonder if BlackBerry will add more functions to this button in the future.
Useful, not outstanding
The score of the 32 bit rabbit was 46000, just ahead of the HTC M8 and OnePlus launched in 2014, which was not outstanding. In most cases, it runs smoothly, and in some cases, it will get stuck. Considering that this is a normal phenomenon for engineering machines, and BlackBerry can also be optimized before the official launch. The system UI is almost the same as the native UI, but the BlackBerry adds a keyboard button next to the navigation key at the bottom. Click it to pop up the virtual keyboard. For Privs with physical keyboards, it is unnecessary. It is expected that this button will be canceled when it is officially released. (It's very good for BlackBerry to use 808. When other manufacturers started to use dual core processors, this product was still using a 624MHz single core.)
Still excellent keyboard
According to the expert reporter's evaluation, this keyboard still has excellent feel, clear keys and reasonable key schedule design. But now most people are used to the virtual keyboard. The physical keyboard has a slightly smaller key grain and needs a little hard hitting. After a period of adaptation, the input efficiency should be better. The experienced engineering machine keyboard is a classic QWERTY layout. It is aimed at English speaking countries. According to the past practice of BlackBerry, different models of keyboard layout should be sold in different regions.
About Application
When setting, you can import user data from iPhone, Android or BlackBerry OS (above 5.0) to Priv. BlackBerry also has its own pre installed applications, such as the IM application of BlackBerry Messenger, and the security application called safe guard. Give a score for the current security settings. Similarly, as an Android machine, Google's home applications are also pre installed, including Gmail, Chrome and Play Store. As the biggest weakness of BlackBerry before, third-party applications, due to the addition of Android, are no longer a problem. How to maintain the same security and confidentiality in the Android system as before is the focus of this Priv.
Camera, call and endurance
The camera is good, but it doesn't make people see. In the daytime, the focus speed is fast, the details are clear, and the color is restored to reality; When the flash is turned on at night, the focusing speed of the shutter is significantly reduced. Although OIS is equipped, it still has a certain impact on imaging. BlackBerry still needs to optimize and tune the camera. In terms of taking photos, there is no evidence to speak, but we still throw out samples for everyone to judge. The last one is a self shot by using the front camera.
Talk and listen to music, whether in the mobile network or Wi Fi, all perform well and maintain a consistent tradition. In terms of endurance, there was no more detailed test due to the time of starting. After two and a half hours of heavy use, the power consumption dropped from 100% to 85%. It is estimated that the normal use of Priv should last from one day to one and a half days.
tail
Due to time constraints, Derstand's hands-on experience article does not have a very in-depth experience. In most cases, it is not very different from other current Android machines, except for the iconic entity full keyboard. Since the name of BlackBerry Priv comes from the word Privacy, the key point is what is special about its system. However, this experience article does not introduce much about the system. It is uncertain whether it is because the confidentiality agreement cannot be disclosed, or the engineering machine is not perfect. It seems that we will not know until the real machine is sold.
If BlackBerry wants to rely on Priv, it is not enough to add a keyboard to Android. No matter how much emotion it has, it cannot challenge the market 。
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