BlackBerry KEYOne Gets Mixed Reviews From Phone Experts

Purchasing a BlackBerry KEYOne phone has a lot to do with nostalgia, going beyond its QWERTY physical keyboard. Like a lot of political issues that divide the U.S., the release by Chinese phone manufacturer TCL of the model divides reviewers. On one hand, those who owned a BlackBerry phone before liked the newly released model because it brought back memories of their first mobile phones.

On the other hand, some reviewers who had owned a BlackBerry phone before has since shifted to a smartphone. But they still appreciate the difference between the two and consider BlackBerry devices, including the BlackBerry KEYOne, a relic from the past. Wired points out that in the past, owning a BlackBerry phone meant the owner is a VIP. However, now, it says the person who purchased the newest phone by TCL likely has not bought a new phone in the last 10 years. Or is not aware of the existence of smartphones with no physical keyboards.

Besides that, the website sees the buyer of a BlackBerry KEYOne is a person who still uses an AOL email address. That person likely also curates MySpace Top 8. The person also writes emails with a chain-letter type of message about needing to forward the email to seven other people or face the consequences of not following the command.

However, for The Next Web reviewer who was an owner of a BlackBerry gadget in the past, using the BlackBerry KEYOne’s QWERTYs physical keyboard was compared to “like coming home.” He even finds the keyboard “vastly superior” to virtual keyboards found in smartphones. But despite TCL marketing the new phone as an ultra-secure Android device, some banks refuse making funds transfers if the physical keyboard is used. A virtual keyboard pops up on the screen to make the transaction.

Phone Arena writes that following the swift transition of phones, it was not noticed when the physical keyboard was transformed from a business classic to an indicator of old age. The BlackBerry KEYOne seeks to disprove that the QWERTY physical keyboard is dead.