Durban - You’ve heard of the “phablet”, right, a hybrid creature that’s part smartphone and part tablet? Now meet the “wablet”.
This even more annoying portmanteau describes an extra-wide phone or tablet, so wide in fact that it’s almost square. “Is that even a thing?”, I hear you ask? I’m afraid so and to prove my case here’s exhibit A, the BlackBerry Passport.
So named because it’s almost exactly the dimensions of the standard American travel document (128mm tall, 90.3mm wide and 9.3mm thick) the Passport makes a big first impression. At around 12mm wider than the already grip challenging Samsung Galaxy Note 4, and encased attractively in stainless steel, BlackBerry’s new baby is, quite literally, a real handful. In fact, feedback for early testers is that it’s virtually impossible to use one-handed.
I don’t think it’s been designed for that, though. Think of how CrackBerry addicts used the old-fashioned chiclet-style keyboards on the models so popular just a few years ago. It was predominantly with two hands, typing alarmingly quickly with the thumbs.
Which brings me to the Passport’s second stand-out feature, its keyboard. In an age of touch screen smartphones and phablets, BlackBerry’s returned to its roots with a physical keyboard, but one with some really nifty, modern touches.
For ex-BlackBerry users it’ll be like meeting on old friend who’s had a chic makeover. It’s a typical QWERTY keyboard, although a lot wider. But it’s also touch sensitive. If you double tap on the keyboard a cursor appears on the screen above, one you can manipulate with ease by sliding your finger in any direction on the keypad.
Turn the Passport on its side and the keyboard doubles as a responsive scroll bar for navigating through long web pages and documents.
And those web pages and documents look so much better on the big, square, 4.5-inch touchscreen than on previous BlackBerry phones. Videos are reportedly remarkably crisp and clear thanks to the superb pixel density (453 pixels-per-inch), although the square shape means you’ll have to put up with those annoying bars across the top and bottom of movies.
The Passport’s innards are as imposing as its exterior. It’s powered by a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with 3GB of RAM, so you shouldn’t expect annoying lags and stutters while browsing websites or editing spreadsheets.
It runs BlackBerry’s latest 10.3 operating system which supports many – but unfortunately not all – Android applications, which is a good thing because BlackBerry’s own app marketplace offers slim pickings for those used to the abundance on offer on Apple and Google’s virtual store shelves.
Another mark in the Passport’s favour is the 13MP autofocus camera which, at last, brings to BlackBerry fans features long enjoyed by owners of competing devices, including optical image stabilisation and 1080p HD video recording.
There’s also a 2MP front-facing camera for the selfie conscious, which is just as well because I wouldn’t want to even try twisting this beast around to snap one with the rear-facing camera.
It comes with 32GB of internal storage, upgradeable to 120GB via a microSD memory card and the 3450mAh battery (non-removable, alas) offers a claimed 30 hours of mixed use, something I look forward to testing when the Passport lands on South African shores.
BlackBerry SA hasn’t announced when that’ll be, or how much it’ll cost, but given the brand’s hugely loyal local support base I’m sure it’ll be before the end of the year. If the US price tag of $599 is anything to go by, expect it to land in a similar price bracket to range-topping competitors like the aforementioned Note 4 and Apple’s two new iPhone 6 models, due to go on sale here later this month and November, respectively.
The Passport’s up against some tough competitors. But it may just be the device that changes BlackBerry’s flagging global fortunes and proves it really is hip to be square.
Are you excited about the direction BlackBerry’s taken with the Passport? Or do you think it’s finally booked itself a one-way-ticket to oblivion? E-mail [email protected] or tweet @alanqcooper.
Sunday Tribune