Android Magazine 58 - 2015 UK

Review

hand, the front-facing camera is a thorough
disappointment. It has a paltry 2MP and despite
going in the same direction as HTC by using
large pixels, it still produces grainy pictures with
some peculiar colouring. The disparity between
the two cameras is quite surprising and selfi e
fans will be left extremely frustrated with the
quality of the images. However, if you are into
photography then with the rear-facing camera
you are in for a treat as this challenges the Sony
Xperia Z5 in terms of sharpness.
BlackBerry has always taken security
extremely seriously and has ensured
this isn’t compromised in the Priv. One
of its headline features is DTEK, an
app that keep tabs on any potential
security fl aws or privacy breaches.
DTEK looks at all aspects of your
phone, such as your lockscreen,
encryption and operating

system, and decides if they are a security risk or

not, prompting you to alter your settings to make

it as secure as possible. It also tells you when

and where certain apps have accessed your

details so you can decide if, for example, your

fl ashlight really needs to know your location.

There are plenty of excellent aspects of the

Priv. It is striking, unique and has that

multifunctional keyboard that BlackBerry fans

loved. Whether this phone is the one to turn

BlackBerry’s fortunes around will be interesting

to see in the coming months.

Blackberryhaskepttruetoitsvalues

and added great Android functions.

Definitely worth considering

BlackBerry Priv

»^ Operating system ............. Android 5.1 Lollipop

»^ Processor ................................^ Qualcomm Snapdragon 808

1.8GHz hexa-core

»^ Memory ..................................... 32GB storage / 3GB RAM

»^ Dimensions ............................ 147 x 77.2 x 9.4 mm

»^ Weight .........................................192g

»^ Display size ............................5.4-inches

»^ Display resolution .............1440 x 2560 pixels (540 ppi)

»^ Front camera ........................2MP

»^ Rear camera..........................18MP

»^ Connectivity .......................... Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC

»^ Expansion slot .....................microSD up to 200 GB

Te c h n i c a l s p e c s

The Priv’s 3,410mAh battery lasts just under a day even

with reasonably high usage

Battery life

Verdict

Good for

Bad for

In a world of copycat phones, the Priv really stands out as

a different and well-designed handset

Design quality

It is Blackberry’s signature and this new multipurpose

keyboard is a triumph

That keyboard

It truly is a terrible low-res camera on the front that shoots

grainy, dark images

The front-facing camera

For a 5.4-inch phone it is heavy at 192g. The backing and

keyboard make it noticeably weighty

Weight

£559/$699

»^ More information BlackBerry.com

»^ Supplied by BlackBerry

Raised screen

Therimaroundtheedgeofthe

screenisatinybithigherthan

thescreenitselftoprotectit

from being dropped on a floor.

It’s barely noticeable as it’s only

a millimetre higher and

performs an essential function

On the edge

As with the Samsung Galaxy

S6edgeandNoteedge,

Blackberry utilises the curved

edgeofthescreenasaquick

launch for certain apps and

alsoactsasaquickviewfor

messages and emails

Dual-action keyboard

Eachofthe26letterkeyson

the keyboard can be

customised twice, once with a

short press, once with a long

presssothereistheabilityfor

52shortcutstobesetup