Long-term experience / tips / update OS 10.3.1

For several months now I use the BlackBerry Passport. My experiences, advice and assessment to update 10.3.1 I want to share. The smartphone has been always a positive impression and accompanied me reliably through everyday life, outdoor activities, rain, bus and train rides. I mention this because I do not use the BlackBerry Passport as carriers of jacket and tie. For me, the BlackBerry has to serve as an outdoor phablet.
Unfortunately, I can not assign 5 stars, I would like to mention a few really annoying sides of my first BlackBerrys.
This review I write on the Passport.

FORMAT AND DISPLAY
Brilliant! For my usage behavior of the square screen is a big advantage. I like the generous, clear presentation of content. Here the square shows its advantages: Google Maps, surfing, mails, read texts, WhatsApp, blogging, directory assistance Apps (rail link, messages, etc.).
Who likes to watch movies on the go will not be happy with the format. Games experience I have hardly, but one or the other simple game to pass the time runs fine with me. The funny thing is though, that the game tunnel stopped working after the update to 10.3.1. At Apple you're better off if you want to use their smartphones for entertainment.
The display, however, is a stunner in color representation, brilliance and brightness. The resolution (sharpness) even beats the iPhone. 6
TIP: Sophisticated can adjust the white balance of the monitor.

PROCESSING
In short wertig, robust and chic (a matter of opinion), not wobble on the table and does not bend so easily. ;) One-hand operation - no more.

NAVIGATING THE SYSTEM
Most convinced me how quickly you can navigate through the system. Here, the keyboard shows its advantages.
TIP: So you can just start as the home screen to type. This is then understood as a search query. With the entered search term you can find super fast settings in the system, emails, contacts, ... or you are looking at his Google. This really is implemented very well.

With simple commands to navigate quickly in the hub or for example in the browser.
TIP: If you tap eg t for top is scrolled to the top of a mail or website. There are several simple commands for answers, create, search the site .... The latter I use often.
I wish to highlight the r command for Read in the browser. This enabled the very successful reading mode.
Apropo browser: If I understood correctly, the setting is new, I still ended up on the last active page when you open the browser again. I like that.

Also new in 10.3.1 - Shortcuts in Home Screen
A successful innovation is to create simple commands to start as an app. I have placed me as an example Google Maps on the M button. But it is also possible to call the number on his sweetheart a key or to open a new email, ...
TIP: The predefined command Q for Quiet is very useful then also ask to be fast Phone mute and naturally return to normal volume.

A large navigation plus is the ability of multitasking. I listen to the radio via an app does not break off the music when I'm on the side on the road in other apps. Also, there is no problem to leave Youtube videos to uninteresting places to surf in between or look up something, and if it is exciting again to reconnect to the video. Say, you hear the video continues in the background.

HUB
The stroke is often rightly praised. Here clearly run all email, WhatsApp messages, SMS, app notifications, phone history together. As in the entire system can also adjust the stroke wonderfully according to his preferences. This variety of settings has me at first very surprised. Color distinctions make the stroke clearly despite many converging information from various sources. But it is also to be no problem in the short term only show emails.
Within the collection can be very quick to delete spam or abmarkieren messages as read.
TIP: you can via a lovingly pinch gesture for example can only filter out the messages sent. Nice!
TIP: What I did not know a long time. With the gesture (a finger from the bottom wipe clean the screen and without wipe out depose the right of the screen) can be reached directly from anywhere in the HUB.
The stroke I can install on my Mac. The connection to the BlackBerry Passport works fine with me, but I do not know why you want to use that.
It's a good idea to pack a list of open apps on the homescreen. I like the design of the tiles less, but it's practical. I also like that you do not have the homescreen with widgets zuballern, since it simply does not exist.
Tip: You can also grab the apps into folders. For the user of it like a minimalist like it is also possible to pack all of its apps in a single folder. So you still fast to the Apps comes off builds to be simple shortcuts.

APPS
It's worth it once to make the effort to load snap on the smartphone. From there you have access to Google Apps from the gates. For me, this is crucial, since many composites public transport offer their apps for IOS or Android. All apps work fine with four exceptions:. Apps like Picasso that are linked to a Google Account, some games, apps specifically optimize the Android OS or ev exotic Apps for rare claims.
In my case I have an exotic app which can be remotely controlled my SLR. With the update to 10.3.1 and the possibility of problem-apps also as developed in the rectangular format display I get those app up and running, but unfortunately the connection works to the camera only sporadically.

WRITING ON THE PASSPORT
The keyboard is very good, the pressure point is there where he belongs. But! I thought that writing on the BlackBerry Passport must be a blessing to this really very good physical keyboard. Unfortunately, unfortunately I have to attach my biggest gripe but here. Although the upper and lower case is super solved simply by longer stays on the button for an uppercase letter. This works great. But each write flow is interrupted when an umlaut evil follows. Then you have to stay longer on the key and stop at random in the right place. Too bad that there is no app on the screen a number of special characters adds. The app Silent Keys may be a small temporary solution for longer to write texts. German quotation marks can not be found also. I have built a roundabout way quotes that I can insert my AutoCorrect when entering gf. Then the display shows. Then I click between the feet and fill it with text.
TIP: Apropo AutoCorrect. It is worth to use this feature. So I have that I saved by default in an e-mail writing by AutoCorrect my greetings.
Or one adds, for example, with input as my signature an its complete multi-line contact. Cool.
Again umlauts are really a horror. Previously, there was apparently an opportunity by AutoCorrect to anzuzeignen a notation that makes B ae r a bear. Why does not it? It would enormously maintain the flow of writing.
The spell checker is good and capable of learning, but not perfect. Double words understands the system first as an error. So he wants to date the word first in separate for now. But by clicking one teaches him the new word.
Incidentally, it is strange that the AutoCorrect just does not work in the search box of your own browser.
I give up hope that the BlackBerry knows most of the words in time with umlauts and as word completion proposes the same to me. Then I can touch the same and paste it, or I wipe them with the touch keyboard on the grid.
Apropo Touch. How is that?

KEYBOARD TOUCH
Blessing or Curse? Both. It is a pleasure with the touch function to scroll through long texts. However, I have the Funtkion turned off date for testing purposes. It is annoying when content zuckeln because a reaction is detected. It annoys even that one mistake when writing suddenly lands elsewhere because the cursor attaches somewhere. At first I was missing on the keyboard arrow keys for forward and backward. But one puts the cursor in the text you can click the arrow buttons to step forward a letter and jump back. It is OK.
Perhaps it would be a solution could adjust the touch function of the keyboard insensitive or individual. Because innovation is almost too good to expose you.
In damp and cold weather, the touch works less well.

CASE OF Goodstyle
The Case of the Goodstyle Zuhaltlasche I use. On the one hand it's awesome that the screen is well protected by this very well-fitting case, but even cooler is if when you open the screen starts as if by magic and starts again when closing. Great!
However, the Case interfere when writing, because the lid is folded back.

NIGHT MODE
A brief mention for practical night mode. This has had its day for me the flight mode. Enables arises from what radiates, a beautiful darkened clock appears and the alarms are to be ready activated. Very well done is the opportunity to move the clock to the laws alarm.
Wipes it from the Night mode out mobile data and mobile services are turned on again.
You can set yourself whether when activating the night mode phone and mobile data is issued, or both or neither.

GPS and compass
ie at BlackBerry place. The location is very, very fast. Since I have nothing to complain about. Perfect. By compass function Google Maps indicates in which direction I look. This has me very helped in the forest was seen as no more way.

BATTERY
Well. The battery life is good, but spends no miracles. BlackBerry indicates a duration of 30 hours. With these expectations I was a little disappointed. I would rate the performance as: A power user is a maximum of the full day. A Springer (the Everything something uses) will load the latest on the second day. A down-to-news-and-time and checker will likely charge on the third day.

Language assistant
Good. A dictated text is remarkably well understood and implemented. Commands such as full stops and commas are also set reliable. A command for a new paragraph, there is not to my knowledge, unfortunately.
After updating to 10.3.1 the assistant works better. He understands me, but the system can interpret only limited information. Means that I have to say exactly to navigate the command can be interpreted. Then it works well. But Siri is still quite stupid A *** yet make no competition. I once tried to write in the car a short email. It worked. Here, however, can be improved.

CALLS
The voice quality is really good. However, the slot of the earpiece is very narrow. Does it not consider it his ear at the correct height you can hear almost nothing. Well, maybe I'm too inexperienced, because I have someone on the line rarely.

CALENDAR
The calendar of BlackBerry synchronized reliably my Google Calendar. That reminds me, but in our own calendar overview is missing I aCalender installed via snap. This can unfortunately only synchronize via an additional software with the Google calendar. And this synchronization must be started manually, unfortunately.
Incidentally, the upcoming appointments are displayed in our own calendar in the HUB (wiping down).

UPDATE 10.3.1
Most innovations that I have discovered are noted in the review.
But there's more: are obtained for example a new email the LED flashes red. The LED color can now be set individually. I have received a Whatsapp message it blinks green for me.
Another new feature is the battery-saving mode. Here darkens at the request of the monitor with low battery. There are, however, other functions which can be all very individually adapted.
With the update to 10.3.1 and the Flash support has been deleted. Now you can no longer look in the browser subsequently as RTL Now broadcasts without App. Whether that's a disadvantage must each decide for themselves.

Conclusion: An innovative and fast Android app compatible phone on the amount of time is the lovingly designed and pioneering with an operating system, but at a different location or even slacking.