BlackBerry Motion lurches into UK stores

Wednesday 18th October 2017 16:00 GMT Ben Tasker

And it's got a headphone jack!

It actually looks like it's got some potential, they seem to have at least put some thought into security on the face of it. I'd probably have balked at the price a while back, but given the asking price of some of the more recent releases it seems a lot more reasonable.

Tech-Radar labelled it as "not exciting" (http://www.techradar.com/reviews/blackberry-motion) which kind of misses the point that I don't actually want my phone to be exciting. I want it to work, and not gradually grow into a bigger and bigger mobile security hole over time. Maybe that's just me?

13 0 Reply
1. Wednesday 18th October 2017 16:38 GMT Captain Scarlet
  
  Only problem though is I have a Dtek and although it receives security updates it appears it won't ever receive a new version of the Android OS. Probably not that big of a deal but just seems to me the usual if it flops its immediatly slapped on life support. The Blackberry brand appears to be poison as users would prefer to have cheaper android models or idevices instead
  
  0 2 Reply
2. Wednesday 18th October 2017 17:56 GMT bazza
  
  Yep...
  
  ...I'm buying one. I was seriously tempted by a KeyOne, but this one does it for me.
  
  3 0 Reply
  1. Wednesday 18th October 2017 21:12 GMT jaminbob
    
    Re: Yep...
    
    Finally an affordable price for a decent bb!
    
    2 0 Reply
Wednesday 18th October 2017 16:01 GMT TheRealRoland

Switched to a KeyOne from a Passport last week. While i like the feel of the phone, Android still is just so not ready for business. Almost everything that was integrated in BB10 now needs an app. Resize photos before sending? need an app for that. Bedside Mode? need multiple settings plus an app for that. Stuff like that. Trying to make edits in a text or message? Need to enable some sort of weird virtual joypad that allows you to move the cursor through the text. Just use that scroll-paddy keyboard already!

Infuriating.

But, at least i still have my physical keyboard.

I know i won't switch over to a Motion. I need those keys.

So, yay - another Blackberry released. Here's to hoping more of the BB10 functionality gets built into the Blackberry apps.

8 0 Reply
1. Wednesday 18th October 2017 18:07 GMT Bronek Kozicki
  
  ... amen to that. Can't live without my keyboard, but the apps are nowhere close to where I want them to be.
  
  2 1 Reply
2. Wednesday 18th October 2017 19:38 GMT Anonymous Coward
  
  "Resize photos before sending? need an app for that."
  
  Am I missing something? I have BB Hub installed on a Sony Z5C, and one reason is that it offers to resize photos within the Hub before sending. (Another is that it integrates messaging better than Google manages, but that's a separate issue).
  
  3 0 Reply
Wednesday 18th October 2017 16:57 GMT AJ MacLeod

If the fingerprint scanner really does work as a trackpad and works as well as previous BB trackpads, this would be the first Android phone I think I'd even consider. Especially if the touchscreen could be disabled completely...

Mind you, even then I'd only consider it if my seven year old 9105 died first - one day, perhaps, someone will make another smartphone with multiple-day battery life, easily replaceable battery, a proper numeric keypad and a touchpad instead of (or at least as well as) a touchscreen... probably not, but I live in hope!

2 0 Reply
1. Friday 20th October 2017 16:32 GMT fruitoftheloon
  
  @AJM
  
  AJM,
  
  the fingerprint scanner works so far 99.999% of the time, and it is FAST, individual apps may also ask if they can use it too (such as evernote), which is brill.
  
  Also the sound quality is very good indeed - with some half-decent headphones natch.
  
  Cheers,
  
  Jay
  
  1 0 Reply
  1. Monday 23rd October 2017 08:13 GMT AJ MacLeod
    
    Re: @AJM
    
    Thanks for the confirmation, that is good news... as I said I don't plan on ditching my current phone until it either dies completely or my phone company drop BIS, but it's nice to have some kind of plan for either of those events occurring! I am so fed up with the state of "smart"phones these days that I was seriously considering just ditching them altogether and going back to a featurephone if push came to shove.
    
    1 0 Reply
Wednesday 18th October 2017 19:37 GMT Ken Moorhouse

I was in my local EE shop the other week...

My phone rang and, on getting it out of my pocket, the bloke serving me called all the other staff in the shop to "come and have a look at this guy's phone." I never thought that owning a Blackberry Passport would ever cause such a stir. Now if only I could use WhatsApp and a couple of other apps on it it really would be perfect... Does the Motion correct these deficiencies?

2 0 Reply
1. Monday 23rd October 2017 19:42 GMT fruitoftheloon
  
  @Ken Moorhouse Re: I was in my local EE shop the other week...
  
  Ken,
  
  prior to moving to a new Keyone, I got the only Android app I needed on my Passport [todoist] by copying the .apk across from my tablet.
  
  It whinged that it wouldn't work without google play services... then worked just fine.
  
  Give it a go, you never know...
  
  Cheers,
  
  Jay.
  
  0 0 Reply
  1. Tuesday 24th October 2017 06:25 GMT Ken Moorhouse
    
    Re: Give it a go, you never know...
    
    Thanks Jay, I will.
    
    Not too much of a priority for me though. So long as I can make/receive calls, texts, emails and listen to my Voicemail I'm happy. Sometimes it's useful to know when the next bus/train is, and... and maybe it is worth a look...
    
    BTW Battery life is great. No need to take charging cables or battery extenders with me no matter how busy the day gets.
    
    1 0 Reply
Wednesday 18th October 2017 22:44 GMT John Smith 19

Let me suggest "Exciting" is not something you want in a phone?

How about

Long battery life

Good call quality

Reasonably dust and fluid resistant

Not to heavy.

Standard headphone jack.

Just a thought. No doub most people will prefer the umpteen megapixel camera and the permanent FB connection instead.

7 1 Reply
1. Thursday 19th October 2017 12:42 GMT Anonymous Coward
  
  Re: Let me suggest "Exciting" is not something you want in a phone?
  
  Actually removing Facebook extends battery life, just as removing a tapeworm means people require less food.
  
  7 0 Reply
  1. Friday 20th October 2017 09:23 GMT John Smith 19
    
    "removing Facebook extends battery life, just as removing a tapeworm..people require less food."
    
    My point exactly.
    
    But my suspicion is people will go with the phone with the pre installed data slurping, battery draining app because they simply cannnnn't live without it.
    
    But then I'm just not one of those people who feels the need to post a status change from "sitting at my desk" to "taking a dump" while it reports my location location every second
    
    1 1 Reply
    1. Monday 23rd October 2017 19:44 GMT fruitoftheloon
      
      @John Smith 19: Re: "removing Facebook extends battery life...
      
      JS19,
      
      I picked up my keyone from carphone warhouse - it has zero annoying clutter, incredible battery life - with light use it gets charge up about twice a week, which isn't too shabby, and the keyboard is AWESOME - especially the whizzy shortcuts.
      
      Cheers,
      
      Jay
      
      0 0 Reply
Thursday 19th October 2017 13:16 GMT CrazyOldCatMan

"Can't be rooted"

Yeah, right. That's what they usually call "a challenge".

1 0 Reply