The PRIV has garnered plenty of positive reviews from journalists, customers and respected third-party testing agencies since its arrival. And the praise hasn't stopped coming.
Austin Allen from Notebook Review wrote of the PRIV: "This phone just looks like a BlackBerry. And that's a good thing." For one, Austin loves how the PRIV "feels solid and substantial in the hand without being taxing to hold." This "sleek build," Allen continues, "makes using the touch screen easier since the curve makes it feel narrower in the hand. It should also be safe from everyday scratches and short drops due to its use of Corning Gorilla Glass 4."
Indeed, Austin dispels the notion that the PRIV is too unwieldly for single-handed use. "The soft-touch weave material on the back of the device, previously found on the Q10 and Z30, provides excellent grip, making using this large phone fairly easy with one hand."
Austin also praises the "amazing" 2560x1440 AMOLED screen. "With 540 PPI, text is super crisp, blacks are deep and colors pop, while not suffering from the over-saturated settings that come standard on Samsung Galaxy phones."
In a recent article from Android Central comparing the PRIV with the iPhone 6s Plus, Russell Holly echoes Austin's view. BlackBerry's "display is comparable to Apple's 1920x1080 resolution IPS LCD display when looking at video or playing games," Holly says. "But the [PRIV's] higher resolution display is much better for text and images. When coupled with the front-facing speaker block at the bottom of the PRIV, it's clear BlackBerry becomes the better experience for fun and games."
Jay McGregor from Forbes included the PRIV in his ranking of the "Top 15 Smartphones of 2016." He praises the PRIV's "nicely crafted design, with a well-concealed keyboard." The PRIV's slide-out keyboard coupled with the PRIV's ability to run Microsoft Office makes it a productivity beast. Holly says, "the keyboard on the PRIV is a powerful tool that we didn't think we'd ever see again on a high-end smartphone." He adds, "BlackBerry has done some incredibly clever things with this keyboard, including making it double as a trackpad for easy control over the forms you're typing in and allowing for swipe gestures to control autocorrect." Austin calls PRIV's keyboard "versatile" and says it "will make fans of the old BlackBerry trackball happy," while Forbes' McGregor says the keyboard makes the "PRIV a pleasure to use."
"But the best bits happen in the OS," continues McGregor. "BlackBerry has beautifully dovetailed Android with smart features like the Blackberry Productivity Tab, Hotfix and enterprise-managed updates."
As for price, if you are in the market for a new phone and happen to be buying it off contract, Holly says, "there's not a huge difference between the iPhone 6s Plus and the BlackBerry PRIV. Apple's big iPhone starts at $749 for the 16GB model, where BlackBerry will get you 32GB for $699." Another thing to keep in mind is that the IPhone has no SD card slot for extra storage. Meanwhile, Holly points out "the PRIV also includes a MicroSD card slot for adding as much storage as you want whenever you want." (Up to 2 TB of additional storage, actually.)
Austin's conclusion? "Overall, the BlackBerry PRIV is a great device. The display is crisp and not too big. The keyboard scrolling and the software tweaks benefit the user experience."
"It is a premium device you'll have to pay a premium price for. But is it worth it?" According to Austin, "the most recent update addressed all the problems, making this a device to really consider if you are on AT&T or T-Mobile."
"When it's all said and done, the big reason to consider the BlackBerry PRIV over the iPhone 6s Plus comes down to the keyboard and the software than goes along with that hardware," concludes Android Central's Holly. "There's a lot to like about this keyboard, and there are absolutely still plenty of reasons to consider a physical keyboard over a software keyboard on your smartphone. The choice is nice to have, and not something you can get on an iPhone today."
Ready to get your own PRIV? Learn where you can buy PRIV today and in the near future (including Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile).
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