Blackberry KeyOne Smart Phone With Physical QWERTY Keyboard

Blackberry KeyOne Smart PhonePrice: Amazon eBay

This site is mostly about dumb phones. However, if you’re looking for a *smart* phone with a physical keyboard, you’ll want to get a Blackberry. Yes, Blackberry still exist! And believe it or not: At this point (2020), they are the only cell phone manufacturer that still makes smart phones with a physical keyboard.

More and more people are fed up of typing on a touch screen. I am one of them: There’s just something to be said for having a full QWERTY keyboard with actual physical keys, with a pressure point and some room between individual keys that you can feel with your fingertips. It just makes typing so much faster and more comfortable!

Being a smart phone, the Blackberry KeyOne runs the Android operating system. (If you’re an Apple user looking for a phone with a physical keyboard, you’re out of luck: Apple don’t have any.)

I’ve used this phone myself for a number of years, and I was very happy with it until it fell on an uneven stone floor and the screen cracked. I was happy enough with my KeyOne experience that I decided to get its successor model, the Blackberry Key2 which is more expensive, but also more user friendly. I’m planning to publish a review of the Key2 here soon.

I would have used a dumb phone, except I need to use WhatsApp a lot for professional and private contacts, and Whatsapp unfortunately isn’t available for dumb phones any longer.

Apart from the QWERTY keyboard, one the features I liked best about the KeyOne was its 12 MP rear camera, which shoots super sharp 3996×2664 pixel photos, as well as 4K video. There’s an 8MP front camera also. I don’t use the front camera much, but it’s good enough for your occasional selfie or video call.

Blackberry gear their phones to business customers, so the KeyOne comes with a lot of productivity features installed such as integrated messaging, a sophsticated calendar, and the like. Personally, I don’t have much use for these features and turned them off. Your mileage may vary though.

A typical smart phone app that I do use a lot is Google Maps. It’s just so useful when you’re travelling, or whenever you’re trying to get to an unfamiliar location.

Of course, you can install any app you want on the KeyOne from Google’s play store. Games are available abundantly if you want to have some fun (or need to kill time).

Last but not least, with some good ear phones or external Bluetooth speakers, the KeyOne turns into an excellent music playback device with great sound!

Order now on: Amazon eBay


Specifications & Features:

Battery3500mAh
BluetoothYes
BrowserChrome
Camera12 MP
CarrierUnlocked
ColorsBlack, Silver
Dimensions5.9" x 2.9" x 0.4"
Display4.5" touch, 1080x1620px
Email clientYes
FlashlightYes
Form factorBar
FM radioYes
GamesYes
GPSYes
Headset jack3.5mm
LanguagesEnglish (Any)
Memory (RAM)64GB
MP3 PlayerYes
MP3 ringtonesYes
RuggedNo
SD card slot2TB
SIM card slotNano-SIM
SpeakerphoneYes
Standby time81h
Talk time20h (3G)
USBUSB Type-C 3.1
VibrationYes
WaterproofNo
Weight6.4oz