2 week review

[gebco]

TL;DR: I’m keeping the Priv, it’s a great phone, it’s not BB10 which is both good and bad.

I’ve been running the Priv for a couple of weeks now. I came from the Z30; love that phone.
After unboxing and updating to Marshmallow I began looking for apps that would meet my needs. And this is where things got interesting. Apps are a blessing and frustration. Although I knew I wouldn’t get the BB10 experience, I wanted the same or better functionality. Should be easy, right? Not so much. So, much, choice. Who is the developer? Do they datamine? Can the they be trusted? Does the app do what I want? In short, whereas BB10 works well and is integrated right out of the box, it took me a couple of days to find apps I liked for the Priv.

My Priv has never really gotten hot like I hear from others, with the exception of when I updated to Marshmallow. I use the Hub and have 6 email accounts in it, as well as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, BBM and text messages. The Hub has been good for me. No lag. The phone is well built. The pkb is fairly clicky. The screen is gorgeous. I have the wireless charging model using the BlackBerry flip case and I have no squishy back. The screen does seem a bit loose on the bottom when extended and you tap it, but nothing that worries me. Battery life has been fine. Gets me through the day into the evening. I rarely charge the phone after unplugging when I get up. But my use is probably different than your use.

Gestures is still a bit of a challenge. I still find myself swiping when I should be tapping. But that’s only because of motor memory. That being said, sometimes it feels like it is a bit quicker to do things on BB10, but we're talking a second here and there.

Notifications is a bit of a challenge. I still haven’t found a way to assign a sound to my daughter’s bbm messages that is different from other bbms, but I’m sure there’s an app for that (see above regarding apps). I do like the notification drawer at the top. It is a quick way to see what’s new.

Despite apps being a frustration, it is nice having apps that work fully and quickly. No sideloading, no removing gps and nice to have updated features. For example, I typed this in Word for Android; I really like the features in this app. And I like that you control permissions.
I’ve been a vkb aficionado but I’m liking this pkb more and more. It definitely takes some getting used to. I keep missing the spacebar for example. I really like the scrolling feature.
I bought the Priv because of BlackBerry’s hardening of Android (I wasn’t really prepared to look at other Androids) and because of the apps. Apps that have updated features. Apps that work. But the Android OS does not flow as nicely as BB10 and it is missing some of the very useful useful BB10 features. BlackBerry really built a nice OS. My ideal would be BB10 with the fully functioning app ecosystem of Android but that will never happen. In the end, I can do with my Priv what could do with my Z30, but in a different way. And I have the apps. I think this is a good direction for BlackBerry.

Cross posting to CB

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[freedomx20a]

Yep is a great phone I love mine. Had since lainch. But would love a snap dragon 821 Hehe in it.

posted via the lovely innovative Priv by BlackBerry - Powered by Android

 

[BBUniq01]

I love my Priv too. Came from BB10. Enjoy it!

Posted via Priv

 

[Tetragrammaton]

Have it for three days now, can not complain much.

 

[towngirl]

I love mine. There were a few things different, using android, I had to figure out. But I started with Lollipop OS and it changed to Marshmallow which messed up Everything. It hid many of mind folders (such as music / pictures). I sort of wanted to reinstall everything from scratch and start again lol. Feel like a fool asking for help for “where is my music” on forums lol but I didn’t know what was wrong, at first.

My son loved mine, and just bought his own. It is a slight adjustment from BB but he loves it.

 

[RoseBud68]

Both my kids have the Priv with no complaints, And looks like the wife is wanting to move from her Passport to the priv.

 

[yohannrjm]

I've had the Priv since the launch and I've enjoyed it. It's a great phone. I don't think it was worth the original price, but at the prices it sells for now it's a steal.

I really love the keyboard and the other phone hardware is pretty nice. I wish I could find a nice screen protector for it. All the ones I've tried have had issues.

 

[RoseBud68]

Yeah AT&T still has them for full price. Seen a few on Amazon for half price. Not sure what route i'll go.

 

[gebco]

One thing I'm missing so far is the ability to assign notification tones to family contacts. I still use bbm and can't assign a unique tone to a bbm from my daughter like I could on my Z30.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[medic22003]

It's not possible with android bbm but you can on text with the right app. Textra, yaata both allow a lot of customization. If you are on Verizon the message + app works pretty good

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[underway99]

One thing I'm missing so far is the ability to assign notification tones to family contacts. I still use bbm and can't assign a unique tone to a bbm from my daughter like I could on my Z30.

Posted via the Android Central App

The only way I can think of is "BB Ringtones" from the Play store. When it works, you can supposedly assign unique notification tones to individual BBM contacts and groups, along with a lot of other apps. I wasn't able to make it work on a G3 or G4 from LG, a Priv, or Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Maybe you can.

It's from Toysoft, the guy who wrote Power Tools for BB10. The developer isn't very responsive though, so you're kind of on your own if you get stuck. He was working with me for a bit to make the app work, but then he bailed and hasn't responded to my messages.