First week with my BlackBerry Passport

Upfront, I am a little biased to the BlackBerry smartphone (anyone who follows me on twitter (@TferThomas) would clearly know this), but having used a variety of BlackBerry devices since 2004 (7100g - 8100 - 8300 - 9000 - 9700 - 9780 - 9810 - 9900 - 9790 - Z10 - Z30 - Q10), now I feel it the time to give my thoughts on the new Passport.

Now that's out of the way, onto the review.

(Image courtesy of Crackberry.com)

My Passport arrived on Monday last week, not through a local Carrier (my preferred Australian Carrier is not stocking the Passport at the moment ... although hopefully that will change @Telstra) but brought in from overseas. I'm afraid I've had to do this a number of times over the years for certain technology items, and living in Australia.

Protection:

The first thing I did was to place an Amzer Pudding Case over it chassis (yes, even though the Passport has gorilla glass and seems to have been sturdily built, I am clumsy, and no tech company can compensate for my clumsiness).

(Image courtesy of Crackberry.com)

The Passport is wide, and at 90.3mm it only just fit my existing car cradle ...at a squeeze. I think I will be sourcing a tablet cradle though to fit to the existing rig, but so far so good.

Operating System:

The Passport runs a version of the proprietary BlackBerry 10 operating system (a derivative of QNX) and currently sits at 10.3 (my current Z30 and Q10 were running leaked versions of 10.3.1 so I am very familiar with 10.3).

Ah yes, the old story of apps:

Not only does the BlackBerry World come preloaded, but also the Amazon Appstore, giving you immediate access to a large proportion of Android apps.

What I have noticed is the Amazon Appstore does lack a few of my favourite Android apps, so I also side-loaded Snap, which is a third party Google Play app, and from there, I have no app deficiencies (to cover my own personal/professional usage). You can also download 1Mobile Market which also does the same / similar job to Snap.

How do Android aps present on the the Passport's screen (quite unique in the current market, being 4.5" diagonal in size)? .... simple answer is all of the ones I use have so far fit the bill. You do have an option with some apps to resize (slide down from the top bezel from within the app) which can make an improvement, but I have only had to do this for two apps.

Some of the Android apps I use on my Passport:

• Feedly (RSS Reader and sharer)
• LinkedIn Pulse
• Facebook Pages Manager
• Pinterest
• Udemy
• Our Groceries
• Tweetspie
• Hootsuite
• CommBank
• Todoist
• Amazon Kindle
• Seek
• Airtasker
• Nespresso
• Shazam

Technical specifications (nope, not going to bore you here):

What I can say is the Passport is the smoothest operating BlackBerry I have used yet, and the difference between it and the Z30 (the previous flagship) is marked. Everything is quicker, smoother and more responsive. Nice one.

Battery life is good, and better than the previous benchmark, that being the Z30. Battery, like that of the Z30, is fixed and non-removable, but I can easily get through a day of heavy social media, email, and call usage, without needing to find external power.

Physical dimensions and "that" keyboard:

Yes, the name relates to a Travel Passport, and the size is essentially the same .... and that makes it an interesting device to get used to.

The Passport is a screen and 3 rows of physical keys. If you were to compare the Passport to a legacy BlackBerry device, you would quickly note the lack of the 4th row of keys (containing the space bar and some speciality keys), where as the Passport has squeezed the space bar into the 3rd row.

But where are the numbers and speciality keys? Simple really .... but it does require a little getting used to. Slide your thumb down the physical keyboard brings up the numbers and speciality keys / symbols in the form of a virtual workspace, with a downward accent to retract (alternatively, you can also press the virtual @123 key which will bring up the virtual workspace).

You do need two hands to be most efficient when using the Passport. With the earlier legacy BlackBerry devices, you cupped your hands together and thumbed out messages very rapidly (on a BlackBerry Bold 9900, I believe I was quicker at thumbing out emails, than from my laptop). With the wider device, your two hands cradle the Passport and your thumbs are positioned well productivity and reach wise. As I said, it does require a wee bit of practice, but at the end of day 1, my thumbs were starting to intuitively find each key, with a high success rate ... soon, back to typing without looking if need be.

But if you are in a hurry, looking at the keyboard brings you an added productivity angle ..... predictive words. Again, whatever has been done here has improved the quality and accuracy from previous BlackBerry 10 devices. It also learns from your typing. You can, after a few days, literally type out a sentence (or mostly thereof) by just using predictive texts and a few key selections.

The accident:

I am accident prone, and last Friday it came home to roost .... gashing my left hand in a clumsy styled accident in the laundry (the front loader won), requiring 5 stitches ....and I am left handed! While I was waiting at the Doctors, I had to message a couple of people, and by only using my right thumb, and predictive text, I was able to accomplish this reasonably quickly .... although, I could not cradle the Passport with just one hand.

The keyboard is more than just physical:

The keyboard also can become your mouse for accurate text copying (think back to the track pad on the legacy BlackBerry and how simple it was to copy large volumes of text ..... with this keyboard, the same is just as easy and just as accurate). Thank you BlackBerry for one of the legacy features I was missing (much better than copying using the touch screen).

When reading web pages, it is suggested, and I concur, tip the Passport onto its side, and use the keyboard to scroll through the website by running your finger from bottom to top over the keyboard). This same function works in all apps, including the Hub.

I felt the Passport would be top heavy, with the keyboard mounted so low, but was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't the case. The Passport easily fits into my suit jacket pockets, and a little snug in my pants pockets. Cargo shorts however, appear to have been custom made for the Passport.

A mate and I went to the Cinema on night 1 with the Passport (we see the movies that our wives aren't interested in) and when I passed the Passport over so that the barcode could be scanned from the booking email, the Attendant (lass of around 17 - 18 years of age) remarked "what a sick looking BlackBerry .... wow!"

Never. Expected. That.

There doesn't seem to be too many Passports out in the wild in Australia currently, and each time I pull mine out to work wide ..... invariably, someone asks a question about the device, and normally hones into the physical dimensions.

BlackBerry Blend:

For anyone who remembers the BlackBerry Playbook, would remember Bridge. Bridge was a way of getting your emails, contacts, tasks, calendar etc from your legacy BlackBerry to the Playbook. It enable you to work from a much bigger device on your projects, tasks as required. When the two devices were disconnected, no information was left on the Playbook.

Blend is the 2014 version of Bridge, but much better. It will connect your Passport or Porsche P'9983 (coming soon to more devices) to an Apple (Mac OSX 10.7+ or iOS 7+ Tablet), Windows (7+) or Android Tablet (4.4+). While the Passport's screen is a great size for delving deeper into more intricate tasks, sometimes a bigger screen is more welcome.

Things you can do with Blend:

• Access your photos and documents and view them on a much larger screen.
• Access your emails, texts and BBMs
• Access your calendar, contacts and tasks
• Access between devices via Wi-Fi, Mobile network or USB connection.

And like Bridge, once you disconnect, nothing is left behind. Smart and secure.

A Blend dashboard demo is here:

http://demos.blackberry.com/blackberry-passport/na/ca/gen/how-to/blackberry-blend/connect-to-computer-or-tablet/getting-around-blend-dashboard/index.html

I've been using Blend between my Passport and my Google Nexus 7 over the past week .... very handy.

Conclusion:

Now that one week has passed, I can definitely say the BlackBerry Passport is the best BlackBerry that I have used across 10 years, and there isn't really anything I found to be lacking, and in fact, the dimensions, design, access to Android apps (and BlackBerry apps), and the legacy features so sorely missed until now, of the Passport have added significantly to the BlackBerry 10 proposition. To quote one of my favourite movie titles ..... a case of "Back to the Future".

Thomas

A cool simple piece of tech.

I love tech, that's very obvious. And I am always on the lookout for tech that makes my life easier and more efficient. 

I came across this piece of tech that fits perfectly in with my tech travel kit. Why? Simple...it takes up virtually no space (read credit card sized), replaces cumbersome data transfer usb cords, fits easily in my Grid-It and looks great!

Money well spent!

My thoughts for now,

Thomas

Why I chose the BlackBerry Torch 9800 over the Bold 9780

If anything is perfectly clear, when it comes to me and my BlackBerry preferences, one thing is abundantly clear... I am not a fan of touch screens. In fact, you could say I dislike touch screens.

So the simple question is, seeing as my Torch arrived today (well at least I believe it has (I am in Melbourne at the moment, and it arrived at the Brisbane office today, and I won't get to confirm this, until Friday evening), is .... why?

If you follow me on twitter, you know my perfect BlackBerry device is one with the qwerty keyboard; the type RIM has spent so much time (and no doubt money) perfecting. And that is not a term taken lightly. But I simply haven't come across a better mobile device keyboard, that I can thumb out emails, tweets, etc more efficiently.

I recently purchased a Torch, but that was for my wife (she served out her apprenticeship on a 9630 Tour), and what I can say, is she took to the Torch, like a duck to water, and it is quite impressive to watch her put the Torch through its paces. But she mainly prefers the touch screen.... almost always ignoring the keyboard.

Now my day to day job is an International Business Manager for a global training company, which specialises in time management, workload management, project management and productivity training. One of our signature programs is Working Smart with BlackBerry (http://www.prioritymanagement.com.au/training/time-management/blackberry), and one that fellow BlackBerry Alliance Members have started taking notice of. The reason? Well, there are phones out there which are more personal devices but have some business tendencies...... and most are touch screens. And there are decision makers out there who prefer the touch screen devices. Our training provides the BlackBerry user with a solid grounding in not only the functionality of the BlackBerry device, but more importantly, how they can save significant time, and plan their days more effectively, by using the BlackBerry as their productivity tool. And a happy BlackBerry user will not have to look elsewhere at other devices. So now, I have fellow BlackBerry Alliance Members starting to refer their clients to myself and Priority Management.

Invariably, during meetings, there will be, as a general rule, BlackBerry users and other devices (touch screens) are normally present.... how to bridge the gap with both? Quite simply, the BlackBerry Torch covers the ground beautifully.

For the touch screen device user, the Torch touch screen walks the walk (and remember, the Torch was specifically designed to operate as 1. a touch screen device only, 2. a keyboard device only. and 3. a combination of both) so we have that type of user covered. For the traditional BlackBerry user (or other lesser keyboard devices) slide out the Torch's keyboard, and let your thumbs do the talking (of interest, apart from the raised lips around the keyboard, the Torch's keyboard is a dead ringer for the Bold 9700's keyboard, and that, my friends, is a good, no, great thing).

So for business, networking and to support our position as a BlackBerry Alliance Member, the BlackBerry Torch 9800 was the most appropriate BlackBerry device, and the Bold 9780 became an also ran.

And that is why a new BlackBerry Torch 9800 arrived for me today (not that I can get my hands on it until Friday evening).

TferThomas

Social networking / media direct from my BlackBerry Bold

Anyone who knows me, both personally or say on twitter, realise how attached to BlackBerry I am, and how much I rely on the BlackBerry to manage as much as possible, my social media/networking duties. What follows is the list of applications I regularly use to achieve all of this.
Row one, left to right:
• Messages:
What the BlackBerry does best. All of my 7 email addresses, google alerts, Facebook alerts, twitterlerts, meeting requests, etc all land.
• Calendar:
I have taken the bold step of combining all calendars (including Facebook) into the one calendar. For me, that equates to ease of referencing from the BlackBerry, and synced to Outlook.
• Address book (contacts):
All of my contacts, business and personal, are included here, even my BlackBerry Messenger contacts, and all synced to Outlook.
• Tasks:
My business life, right here, and again, synced to Outlook. At last count, I had 134 tasks spread over 6 months. Being an Account Manager for a time and workload management training company (Priority Management: http://prioritymanagement.comau/) means these tasks are the be all and end all critical part of my worklife, which frees up time for my social media/networking activities.
• MyListyPro:
My personal life, right here, with cloud computing, and soon to be connected to a web app as well, for your desktop/laptop. I find it easier to keep my personal & work related tasks separate, for now. I can share a task/list with someone else via email or BlackBerry PIN or even post to twitter.
• BlackBerry Messenger:
Of course, using BBM 5.0. The BlackBerry Messenger is like instant messaging but between BlackBerry devices, using the PIN (a combination of numbers and letters unique to each device) as the address. I have 143 contacts currently in my BlackBerry Messenger.
Row two, left to right:
• SocialScope:
I can use twitter more effectively and quicker on the BlackBerry with SocialScope than with any other application (including desktop clients). SocialScope also utilises the native BlackBerry shortcuts and auto-text. It also integrates with Facebook. No other twitter client in my opinion comes close.
• Viigo:
Awesome free RSS reader which in its fullest form, has an inbuilt twitter client and weather app. With Viigo, you can select websites to subscribe to, and post links from these, directly to twitter, Facebook, Delicious, or even email to yourself. I guess you could call Viigo the workhorse of my social networking/media strategy, with SocialScope being the racehorse.
• Facebook:
Accept friend, meeting/event requests, comment on your friends' status, receive and send Facebook emails, right here.
• Xing:
Similar to LinkedIn this is a world wide business networking site (http://xing.com/). Enough said.
• tumblr:
I have both a tumblr and posterous blog. I can post to either using email from my BlackBerry, or in the case of tumblr, this client, whether it is text, photo and text, quote, or links.
• SugarSync:
Recently updated to support BIS this application allows you to access files and photos etc from your PC/laptop from your BlackBerry. Very handy to aid with blogging. I purchased a 30gig plan.
Row three, left to right:
• Wicked Blogging App (wordpress):
This blog is of course on Blogger, but I have a parallel blog on WordPress, for the very reason so I can use the Wicked Blogging App. Again, ScreamingToaster uses cloud computing to keep the memory footprint low. Compared to the free WordPress app, Wicked is much more user friendly and flexible. You can share locations, meet new users, post to twitter and PIN message other BlackBerry users directly from this app. Blogger and TypePad support through Wicked is coming.
• DulyNoted Pro:
This is the third ScreamingToaster app on my BlackBerry, and yes, again, uses cloud computing. It too can post to twitter & share information via email or BlackBerry PIN. I use DulyNoted for my work in progress social media projects, as distinct to MyListy Pro. All three Apps integrate with each other, and will all soon be linked to a web app on your desktop/laptop (so my BlackBerry has five twitter clients).
• Browser:
(this is where I access fftogo (FriendFeedToGo) from and of course any worthwhile links I come across or are referred to. I really can't be bothered using a third party browser, as the native BlackBerry browser is perfectly adequate for my requirements.

• Twitterlerts:
Awesome app to conduct close to real time searches on twitter, using specific keywords. I can state here that I have paid it forward to a some BlackBerry users who were having issues of varying degrees, and we haven't previously met on twitter.
• Shazam:
Music forms a great background for me to blog with or when I am working on a project. If I hear a song I like, I can find it using Shazam, and even purchase it. Awesome for resurrecting that old '80's playlist ;)
• BlackBerry Application World:
here in Australia we only get access to the free apps, or apps that do have a free trial period, but it is a good place to keep an eye out for new BlackBerry apps, especially those which will boost my online experience, right from the BlackBerry.

I have other smaller, integrated apps that assist with my productivity and ensuring my BlackBerry experience is a very positive one, and one blog post soon, we shall go through these in detail.

I hope this helps someone out there...the BlackBerry really is a mobile workhouse, with a social media/networking tendency.

Enjoy!

Handy apps to assist with my mobile BlackBerry productivity

It is no secret that I am working towards being able to do everything I need to from my BlackBerry.

For social/networking I use the following:
• SocialScope for twitter and Facebook (http://SocialScope.net or @SocialScope on twitter)
• Facebook application for BlackBerry
• Viigo for all my RSS feeds (http://getviigo.com or @Viigo on twitter)
• Bit.lify (URL shortener for BlackBerry directly from your menu)
• Snap2twitter
• Xing application for BlackBerry (http://xing.com or @xing on twitter)
• BrightBerry
• GyPSii (http://GyPSii.com or @GyPSii on twitter)

For blogging:
• WordPress Wicked App from ScreamingToaster (http://screamingtoaster.com or @Izabel_Idris_ST on twitter)
• Tumblr for BlackBerry
• Email for blogger (although ScreamingToaster are working on integrating blogger & Typepad blogs with their awesome application)
• SnapScreen or ZonaSnap (screen capturing)

Helpful business/productivity applications:
• Anagram (captures data from email signatures and adds into your contacts)
• Action Pad (currently in beta) replacing your original Memo Pad (not to be deleted though)
• Copy All: able to copy a complete email simply & quickly
• Save Number as: instead of the default saving number as work number, this one provides you with home, mobile or work options.
• Forward with edit: allows you to edit an email prior to forwarding onto someone else.
• Onto task: turns a received email into a task, which then in turn, synchronises with Outlook.
• Onto calendar: turns a received email into a calendar entry, which in turn, synchronises with Outlook.
• Remind Me Later: a simple added menu option to remind you of a call, SMS, email, appointment at a later time.
• Send Timely SMS: never forget an important anniversary ever again. Program in a message and time its delivery...set and forget.
• QuickLaunch: assign a hot key to quickly access the myriad of applications installed on your BlackBerry
• IntelliLaunch: a search function for anything that is stored in your BlackBerry whether it is the internal memory or on the SD Card. Also shows battery life and BlackBerry PIN
• MindBerry: mind mapping on your BlackBerry and exportable to your laptop/PC
• QuickPull: quickly and easily do a soft reset of your BlackBerry without having to complete a battery pull.
• WhatsApp: allows other who are connected to you to see if you are available, without having to ask (@WhatsAppInc on twitter).
• Google Maps: self explanatory.
• Vlingo: voice activation. You can create emails, SMS others, create tasks, remind yourself, call people, search for things, as well as post to twitter and Facebook, all of which activated by one hot key.

Inbuilt applications in the BlackBerry that may not be commonly used:
• AutoText: a simple way of creating words/phrases/signature panels/whole sentences simply by keying a couple of letters into an SMS, email, SocialScope, BlackBerry Messenger etc, and hitting the space bar (eg. "pif" becomes #payingitforward from my AutoText list)
• Tasks: anyone who practices the 4D's (delete, delegate, do it, & date activate) with time and workload management, would welcome the Task folder, which synchronises perfectly with Outlook.
• BlackBerry Messenger: a BlackBerry to BlackBerry (or PIN to PIN) messenging service: quick, simple and free. Like Instant Messaging, it requires other users to accept you as a contact.

This is the list of applications that I use on a daily basis... I haven't provided links to everything here, but as they say in the classics... google is your friend.

I hope it helps you also.

Working Sm@rt with BlackBerry... overcoming the digital deluge

One of the biggest concerns which is raised with me when someone is considering using a BlackBerry, is will the BlackBerry take over my life? And without the proper groundwork, training and implementation of that training, any device accessing email, internet and the like, can try to take your life over.



Priority Management (whom I work for in their Brisbane & Melbourne offices in Australia) have a very effective half day training program for BlackBerry devices, & it's called Working Sm@rt with BlackBerry.



In their words...



"If you have a BlackBerry, and have learnt the basics, we have the process for increasing your productivity.



We created this workshop in conjunction with Research In Motion when the world's largest distributor of BlackBerry devices wanted to train their employees to use this tool more effectively.



Graduates of this class maintain increased productivity and enhanced on the job performance by knowing how to match the right process and skill set when using their BlackBerry."



This half day training program is delivered either in a training room environment (for a group of individuals or a group from a specific company), or across the internet wherever in the world you are, via WebEx (as long as you have a computer accessing the internet and you have a landline.... you need to "play" with BlackBerry during the training).



For more information, check out Working Sm@rt with BlackBerry at Priority Management http://prioritymanagment.com.au/ or email me thomas.s@prioritybrisbane.com



Get your life back! Use the BlackBerry for what it is intended for.... a tool to assist your productivity.



Thomas