BlackBerry Priv review roundup: Might be 5 years too late, feel experts

BlackBerry is also promising immediate fixes to Android vulnerabilities and bugs like Stagefright within few hours – something only Samsung has been able to deliver with its Knox security.

Blackberry Priv is launching only in US for now, but reviews have started coming in about the device and the general impression among critics is that the Priv might not be enough to save the company.

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The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern spells out the facts as they stand for BlackBerry, “I don’t know anyone who owns a BlackBerry anymore. Not a single person.” Given the company’s sharp fall, that sentence should not surprise anyone.

According to the WSJ review, the BlackBerry Priv “doesn’t look like a traditional BlackBerry, nor a deformed one,” and typing on the keyboard definitely speeds things up.

But Stern feels that speed notwithstanding, one still prefers the touchscreen. She says in her review, “Even I, a former physical keyboard addict, ended up using the on-screen keyboard most of the time. It’s more convenient and easier to use one-handed.”  She also notes that the phone was slow at times and feels that this phone might have come 5 years too late for BlackBerry.  Read full review here.

A stronger view against the BlackBerry Priv is taken by Gizmodo’s Mario Aguilar, who says that this is not a phone to recommend, even to one’s worst enemy. He notes in this review that “laggy performance”, “outmoded design” are what make it so unimpressive and adds that the overall build of the phone feels cheap. Read the full review here.

However Wired’s Tim Moynihan in his review is impressed by the design, and calls it “the slickest BlackBerry.”  But he also notes in his review that for most “Android and iPhone users”, the phone might not be reason enough to switch. He feels that customers will look for a “better camera, better integration between BlackBerry and Android, a better feeling when you’re typing on the bottom of that touchscreen.”

It’s not all bad for BlackBerry Priv as Android Central’s Russell Holly has given the phone a high approval rating in the review. He’s convinced that, “BlackBerry can make one hell of an Android phone,” and is particularly impressed by its camera and hardware.

He goes on to note in his review that, “This needs to be the start of a long relationship between BlackBerry and Android, as it sets a new standard for the kind of quality we as users should demand from high end smartphones.”

Overall while the critics have appreciated the 18 mp rear camera of the new BlackBerry Priv and its keyboard slider, it hasn’t got an resounding thumbs up.