BlackBerry - KEY2 LE with 64GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) - Slate Gray

This is my first blackberry. I bought this for two reasons: 1. Miss the gold old days of small screens and physical keyboards like on my Droid and palm treos, and 2. I wanted better battery life than my pixel 2. No regrets on either two points, plus the bonus of several convenience features perfect for my lifestyle. pros: -battery life is great on verizon's LTE only bands. What a difference no CDMA bands makes. -screen, although smaller, is plenty usable and great. Even compared to my Pixel 2. -speed after removing most of the blackberry software except for DTEK, privacy shade, and power center is awesome. Also had to adjust some of erroneous warnings (YouTube this) -Convenience key programming is awesome, and the button doubles as a mute switch for calls. Great for conference calls in the city or while traveling. -The launcher is fantastic. I kept it installed even though I'm normally a stock/Nova kind of person. cons: -camera is not bad, but it is no Pixel. I'm able to capture good pictures of my kids and whiteboards, but I miss my pixel. Thought this would be a deal breaker, but the camera is not that bad. -Software that came with the device was hurting memory usage and performance. I disabled and Uninstaller what I could and now the phone screams with dev options .5 seconds enabled. Replace all utilities with Google's version of the same software and all is well.

The BlackBerry Key2 maintains my favorite aspects of my previous BlackBerry Q10 -- the hard keyboard and outstanding email management -- while significantly improving two big Q10 drawbacks -- terrible apps and a small screen. The Key2 operates on the Android system, giving me access to any app I want. It also has a much bigger screen that provides significantly improved clarity when I read and respond to email and visit websites. The BlackBerry Hub cannot be beat for email management. Also, BlackBerry has the most underrated mobile-phone camera, and the Key2 camera is first-rate. My only worry is whether the Key2 will have enough memory for all the apps to which I now have access. Finally, the BlackBerry Key2 may not be on display at the BestBuy where you usually shop. But it may be in inventory. Ask for it by name.

I’ve been using BB for the past 7 years. It’s been tough because I had to get a second phone line on my plan because I couldn’t get any apps on BB Classic. With the new Key2 LE I get industry best battery life, security, and access to all apps! I did find it hard to find a case for this phone. I find the phone itself to be very slick and slippery. The camera is only average. The phone doesn’t vibrate very hard so I find myself missing lots of calls and texts. I had no problems getting this phone to work perfectly on AT&T.

Got this phone to replace my aging Nokia Lucia 920 with Windows. Never used Android much, having mostly used the aforementioned Windows, an iPhone 6s for work, and a BlackBerry Torch long ago. I'm getting used to the OS. It seems good, more complicated than Apple's but more personalizable. Usually it's pretty fast too. If your phone starts lagging, remember to close unused apps, check your apps for updates and restart after they're downloaded, that should probably fix things and get the phone running smoothly again. The Key2 LE seems to suit my tastes very well. The keyboard is so satisfying to use. The BlackBerry Hub app is the most useful manufacture specific software, though there are a few others. Mapping shortcuts to your letter keys is another cool feature. Wish there was a trackpad or something so selecting within Text would be easier. Apple does it better with their magnifying glass.

Another wonderful Blackberry. Yes, I know, it has an android operating system, but it has all the things I want from my Blackberry, my wonderful Keyboard, my Hub, and the Security no other device can offer. I also love the video and camera quality. Another Blackberry to love!!! I bought the Atomic Red, so cool!

I have been a BlackBerry/Palm user from way back before the iPhone was really a thing. I was hooked on the flashing LED on BlackBerries that told you, without waking up the phone, whether you had anything come in to look at. I left the hardware keyboard market after the BlackBerry Q10 because there really weren't any other alternatives until I saw this phone at Best Buy. I was never happy with an iPhone, never could get used to the keyboard (no matter which third party keyboard I tried, they were all frustrating to me). I was immediately drawn in by that keyboard on the Key2 LE. It's straight like the Q10 keyboard, but still just as good as you remember. The phone is slim, lightweight, and grippy. No case necessary to keep from dropping it. Pretty much the opposite of many modern phones. I looked at the phone and played around with it for probably 10 minutes, loving every minute. I didn't buy the first day, wasn't sure I wanted to switch to Android, and didn't want to spend the money at the time. I did some research online and saw that people were criticizing the camera and the small screen, among other things. Waiting. When I went back to Best Buy a few weeks later, the phone was on sale so I bought. I have found that the camera is every bit as good as my iPhone SE's camera, maybe even a little bit better. Sure it isn't as good as an iPhone Xs camera, but this phone also doesn't cost over a thousand dollars. I hold a Photography bachelor's and I am more than satisfied with this camera. Yeah the screen is small but it isn't really much smaller than many other phones when you consider that with most phones, you lose a huge portion of the screen once you open the keyboard. That never happens with the Key2 LE. However, if you're in Landscape and tap on a text field an onscreen keyboard will pop up. The Hub is a lot like the Q10's - it loads all your emails and texts, and notifications from other apps into one panel. You can sort, search, and dismiss notifications from the Hub and bring it up with a keyboard hotkey. This is the first phone since the Q10 where I have set up both my personal and work emails because the Hub makes it so much easier to manage all the emails I get on a daily basis. There is also a slide-over panel that gives you quick access to your calendar, Hub, and widgets in an instant no matter which app you are on at the time. Every key on the keyboard can launch an app or action, like holding down W will call your wife. You'll find that once you set all this up, you rarely need to hit the home button ever again. I was worried about Android spying on me, but with DTEK (a built in app by Blackberry), I can see every time Google asks for my location, microphone, etc. It's a lot like a firewall app for your phone. You can even prevent Google from asking for your location period. Battery life has been great, it lasts all day easily and I could probably get by with only charging every other day if I wanted to. I haven't had any issues with the phone slowing down or getting hot. It's been crazy reliable. Any downsides? None so far for me. As I use it more over the coming months, I might find some things that nag me but so far I'm very happy.

The front of the box says it is compatible with Verizon. Well, it partially is. The phone itself is great, but it is extremely disappointing that it says it works with Verizon, even though it doesn't. After spending several hours with a Verizon technician trying to troubleshoot why text messaging didn't work, he concluded that the device isn't fully compatible with the Verizon network. Very saddening, as this could have been a great phone.

Blackberry Mobile (TCL) did a great job. Excellent PKB. Better feel than on previous years model. Very nice screen, looks AMAZING in atomic red. Solid speed on the snapdragon 636 and the camera is not too shabby for a mid Ranger. Great non slip grip and once again the atomic red is looking great and already I am getting compliments on this retro PKB made for 2018/19! Well done!