BlackBerry - KEY2 4G LTE with 64GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) - Black

*This is not a paid review* After watching several YouTube reviews and reading several articles, I decided to give this phone a try. I am truly amazed by this phone and its features already, and its only been a few days. Some of the cons I read were: the camera quality, the speaker sound at high levels, the older 4.5" screen, and the older Snapdragon 660 processor. While I would have liked the camera quality to be better, I did not get this phone just to shot photos. It does a good job just the same. The sound is good for it not being a stereo phone. In fact, it gets quite loud; even louder than my old stereo speaker phones. The screen is also bright enough for me to do everything I need to do, including outside in the sun. Yes, the screen is smaller too, but you are getting an amazing physical keyboard (which is touch capacitive as well). The phone is fast as well. If I hadn't read the processor was an older chipset, I would have never known. I also read some complaints about the spacebar, which is also the fingerprint reader, being loose. Mine doesn't have that issue and it works great. Wrapping this up I think this is an amazing phone. It comes with the latest version of Android, and all of BlackBerry's outstanding apps. The keyboard is amazing and you can scroll with it (so you aren't really losing too much screen size since a virtual keyboard would be there anyway). It comes with 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. I threw a 128 GB microSD in mine and it is working fine as additional storage. It charges via USB-C, and it does this lightning fast. The battery also lasts at least 24 hours. They are saying close to 2 days, and I believe it (though I charge everything nightly). It plays nice with Android Auto in my car and BlackBerry is claiming future software updates for the next few versions of Android. The only improvements I can think to make on this phone would be to improve the camera quality and make it some sort of waterproof. However, these are not deal breakers for me. Disclaimer- As of now, I'm only tracking this phone as being compatible in the USA for AT&T and T-Mobile. Also, there are not many cases available for this phone at this time. Hopefully, that changes down the road.

I will attempt to keep this short, but doubt I will. Bar none this phone will take the cake for battery life compared to any phone of standard size (hard to compare against the S9+ or oversized phones). I ordered it based on wanting a phone that would last all day without issues and this exceeds that expectation. Easily over a full day of use, albeit I'm not a heavy media user. The numerous options for shortcuts, which are completely customizable, is truly a blessing compared with phones which only continue to remove physical buttons. I am not a fan of the voice commands on phones and much prefer quick shortcuts to cut to the chase. I love swiping my finger to unlock the phone then simply holding a key to speed dial anyone without really looking or digging into apps. Leaving the convenience key open to the user is a huge win over the S8 which locks theirs to bixby. The biggest failure on the phone is the camera for low light or the selfie camera. It does well during the day for the rearward facing camera but the front facing camera could use some love along with low light shots. I, personally, don't buy my phones for cameras but worth mentioning. After all that I will state that I am returning the phone. Mine arrived with the "n" key requiring a hard press to register during typing compared to the remainder of the keyboard. Every word requiring the letter "n" is usually misspelled due to a missing "n" unless I'm diligent at pressing the "n" with more pressure. This just puts a shadow of doubt about the physical keyboard longevity. Unfortunately, BestBuy, wouldn't allow me to hold onto the unit until a backorder unit arrived as the exchange requires to take place within 14 days. I would say this is a unique scenario where the exchange item is on backorder and probably requires a more unique solution, but I won't beat a dead horse. Also, I had gone through two KeyOne's...one with speaker phone issues and the other with cell signal failures...so for me this is the 3rd strike and confirms TCL/Blackberry are still struggling with quality. I could be attracted to lemons, but that's my personal experiences thus far. Based on the camera and initial quality issue I dropped the rating one star per issue. I would still recommend the product for work users and those who enjoy productivity shortcuts. To clear up early reviews about screen brightness, speed of phone, and speakers...I found no issues with any of those particular items. Screen is plenty bright enough, speaker works just as well as every other phone, and the CPU is completely fine for this phone (the convenience button with shortcuts switches apps very quickly). Plus, how can you go wrong with 6GB of RAM while other flagships still use 4 (outside the plus sized phones).

I've had my phone for a week now and I can't be more pleased. Just to start off, the phone feels incredible in your hands. Today phones tend to have slippery glass backs, curved corners, curved sides and just tend to slip out of your hands just like a bar of soap in the shower. The Key 2 contradicts all these trends. The phone features a beautiful rubber grip back, solid corners and edges and above all else, a stylish physical keyboard. If you are the type of person that enjoys compliments (and who isn’t, am I right?) you are going to have people engage you regularly about the phone. The design screams “I’m a professional and I use this phone because business is my life”. Moving on to the main course, the keyboard. I love this keyboard! Over the years I have forgotten how much I missed using a physical keyboard, it’s extremely satisfying. The keyboard shortcuts introduce an entire new way to interact with your phone. Jumping from app to app with a single press of a key is delightful. Onto the spacebar, it does have a louder click than the other keys. I have read some complaints that the space bar is loose, though this has not been my experience. Today, it is more important than ever to protect the data on our phones and no one does this better than Blackberry. At first glance its easy to think that this phone is overpriced for what you get but I disagree. The extra dollar is well spent in comparison to the peace of mind I get from knowing that my phone is protected by the BlackBerry standard. Now I can’t provide only praise, there are a few criticisms to be heard. First off, the rumors are true, the camera is nothing to brag about. It’s okay but let’s be honest with ourselves, we’re not considering this phone because we enjoy taking selfies. The phones speakers are not impressive and if this is important to you, you will be disappointed. Another thing are the software glitches you will encounter. I expect most of these to be patched in time, but you will notice them.

Very happy with this device, and would rate it four to four and a half stars. The build quality is great and feels premium, but it is on the light side. I do prefer when handsets have weight to them, but it is great nonetheless. The new keyboard is great and makes typing on it a breeze. This device has really improved upon the disappointing KeyOne. For the Blackberry Key 3, I think TCL should really concentrate on making this device their own because aside from the qwerty keyboard and the preinstalled BB apps – this is a straight up boring vanilla version of Android. Man, is Android a boring OS. I am coming from a Samsung was always a fan of BB till 2013 when I had no choice but to make the switch. If Samsung, LG, and Hauwei can put their own skin on Android, so can BB. Blackberry and TCL, if you are reading this, please put a BB OS overlay on top of Android. Thank you. Pros and cons below: Pro: T-Mobile USA Compatible 4G LTE Wi-fi Calling Qwerty keyboard (like typing on a cloud) Quality feel and premium build 3500 MaH hour battery (Should last 2 days) Quick charge and super charger included (quick charge 3.0) Micro SD card slot 2G/3G/4G/4G LTE Camera Flash USB - C Port (faster file transfers and charging) Cons: Not an official T-Mobile USA release No UHD Display (1080P is good though) 4.5 Inch screen (its adequate) LCD display, but could be BRIGHTER in outdoor settings No native BB Gallery App (Hate Google Photos. BB, COME ON!!!!!!!!) No native BB Video Player app (Hate Google Photos. BB, COME ON!!!!!!!!) No native BB Music Player app (Every phone has one. BB, COME ON!!!!!) Text message background can't be changed No Wireless Charging Not Water Resistant Wish List: Native Blackberry Apps for gallery, video player and music player Native BB Web Browser (I actually liked their browser) 5 or 6 Inch Screen with Keyboard Official T-Mobile USA Release 5G Stereo Speakers Swype pre-installed Legacy BB Ringtones (OS 5) Ability to change text message background BB Browser Wireless Charging Water Resistant Superior Dual Lens Camera

Full disclosure: I am a self identifying BlackBerry fan boy. Last year I was EXTREMELY excited for the release of the KeyOne, but was very disappointed with the keyboard, performance, and camera. I believe BlackBerry successfully addressed 2/3 of those issues with the Key2. The PKB on the Key2 is reminiscent of the classic BB keyboards from yesteryear (think 9900 and Q10). I LOVE the larger matte keys and feel they have an extremely satisfying clicky feel. While many people have commented on having a wobbly spacebar, my silver unit's spacebar is tight and does not make an overly pronounced noise. My second major gripe with the KeyOne was it's lagy performance, often having the phone freeze and/or have apps crash. Admittedly I had the silver KeyOne that hosted 3 GB of ram opposed to the black edition's 4 GB of ram, but the sluggish performance forced me to eliminate BlackBerry apps, use a different launcher, and ultimately move entirely away from the phone. While it's early with the Key2, I have experienced zero lag and have had zippy performance. Despite featuring a mid-level chipset, the Key2 has been optimized to run through email, web surfing, and social media without any hiccups. Finally, while the KeyOne featured Google Pixel's revered lense, the KeyOne's poor software produced very unaspiring photos. The camera was average at best for a 2017 smart phone camera as it had a slow shutter speed and suffered in less than perfect light situations. While I am happy to report this is the best camera ever on a BlackBerry, it is a far cry from an iPhone, Pixel, or Galaxy. In optimal light conditions the Key2 can produce same nice shots including portrait images, but in low light, the camera produces incredibly poor shots. All in all, 2/3 improvements make this a great phone for a Blackberry fan. $650 is a bit pricey for a phone that doesn't feature some 2018 premium offerings such as a high end chipset, wireless charging, and a killer screen. That being said, in landscape of boring all glass phones, the Key2 is nostalgic if not fun phone to fall in love with.

Upgrading from a BB Priv. I skipped the Key1 and very pleased with this second generation. The keyboard is improved and a real pleasure to use. Fingerprint sensor in the spacebar is great. With a dedicated keyboard you get a real 4.5" of screen real estate at all times unlike other phones. Missing the 5.5" screen of the Priv, but less than I expected -- a full 100% at all times 4.5" is still very good. The short-cuts, convenience key, BB specific apps (DTEK, Locker, Hub, Redactor), keyboard trackpad are really what make this phone hum. The 3:2 aspect ratio is very much a positive for the type of usage that this device handles best. The rubber backing, love it -- no need for a bumper or case, pleasure to hold, doesn't slip, duh? Is this a gaming device? No, get a different phone. Is this a movie/video watching device? No, get a different phone. Is this a photographer's device? No, get a different phone. Is this a really good, get things done, email, texting, calling, reading and WRITING accurate documents, news articles, linkedin, podcasts, device and most other day to day apps? Definitely Yes. I'm very happy, I enjoy using this phone. The battery life and then charge-up time is insane. The camera could be a tad better, but I'm hoping that the software upgrades will take this from average to quite sufficiently good. I need to spend more time with this to be fair. One piece of advice... to get the most of this phone, you must put the time into optimizing your setup, your workflow, your shortcuts, your google privacy settings, the locker... The reasons that you get a BB phone require more thought and self-training of how you plan to use it, so to maximize the benefit, you must put time into the preparation.

The non-LE Blackberry Key2 blends all the highs of a flagship smartphone while having some unique features (physical keyboard). With the massive chin of having a physical QWERTY keyboard, this phone still exemplifies a great use of space. High end wifi radio, headphone jack, USB 3.1 Type C with QC 3.0, 6GB of RAM, MicroSD expandability, and unlocked SIM. Combine that with the fact that the convenience key can be used to open any app you'd like (I use it to engage Google Assistant) and any key on the keyboard can be bound to also do something neat. Tons of customization here. Ships with Locker preinstalled (secure encrypted partition to put photos, apps, and documents and keep ultra secure) Locker also has Firefox Focus built into it, which is a browser with every sort of tracking turned off. No pop ups allowed, no cookies, no certificate maintenance. It's basically Incognito mode on steroids. Fingerprint sensor built into the space bar. Fantastic call quality. I'm just rattling stuff off now. Awesome battery life. Cons: Camera is as bad in low light as you've heard. Secondary optical zoom lens needs tons of light and a steady hand to not be blurry, but it still beats only digital zoom. Snapdragon 600 series CPU gives it awesome battery, but eliminates this phone from being a gaming phone. GPU is too slow to feel like a flagship in games like Fortnite, PUBG Mobile, or CSR 2. CPU and RAM combo is plenty powerful for most games, every app, and the phone consistently feels fast. Screen is tiny because of the keyboard. Verdict: This is a phone for the security conscious business customer who want a physical keyboard, not the weekend warrior who needs an awesome camera and a waterproof phone. Coming from a touchscreen keyboard to a physical keyboard was a learning curve, but now that I've had the phone for a few months, I'm faster at typing on the physical keyboard than I ever was on a touch screen keyboard.

Yes, I'm one of those people from whom her Blackberry will have to be pried away from her cold, dead fingers. Nevertheless, I'd been a bit discouraged with offerings of late. No more! Blackberry is back! The Key2 feels like the Blackberry keyboard of old. So much like my old Bold... I'd have even settled for the Q10, especially after the Priv. This is the Blackberry/Android marriage we've been waiting for. Zippy, great feel on the keys, the security we love, and the productivity we need. If you're looking for the perfect social media or online media smart phone - nope, sorry. Camera is okay, but it's no Pixel. Dispite the keyboard, this is a phone first for business. And the screen ratio isn't perfect for movies or videos. But if those aren't the way you primarily use your smart phone, then keep looking at the Key2 Wonderful form factor, thin and light. Great productivity options with the new smart key which allows for customizable shortcuts to any app or function. Expandable storage via micro SD. Full GSM phone, though at this time only supported by AT&T and TMobile in the US. Verizon has not agreed to whitelist it. WiFi calling available through TMobile. MUCH stronger reception than I experienced with my Priv. Unbelievable battery performance. I have yet to have a full day's hard usage take it under 50% by the time I charge it at bedtime. Sorry, powerbanks, you are back in the drawer - I don't need you anymore! Quick charging (through USB C). If you're missing your old Blackberry... time to come back! Want to see why Blackberries were so popular? Try it out! While I never left, I'm once again very proud to be among the Blackberry loyal.