BlackBerry Z10 Band Switching LTE to 4G to EDGE

I have been testing band switching (network mode)  on the BlackBerry Z10. As many of you are aware Z10 battery life is the one feature that is a nuisance.

To circumvent that issue, I thought if I switched from LTE  to 4G that it would somewhat improve battery life. Well it got even worse. Battery life lasted only about 6 hours. Whats up with that?

My next test involved switching network mode from 4G to EDGE. Traditionally BlackBerry phones that ran on EDGE could last for days with heavy usage. Unfortunately, that was not the case with the Z10. It average about the same battery life on EDGE as it did on 4G (moderate use).

Surprisingly LTE averaged the highest battery life on moderate usage at around 9 hours.

In conclusion, hopefully I have LTE coverage wherever I go, or I’ll need a secondary battery in my pocket.

Blackberry Passport

I haven’t had the opportunity to see Blackberry Passport in person, but according to the specifications, it is absolutely an exciting form factor. The code name for Passport was/is “Windermere” and its supposedly thinner then any current BB10 models (including Q10). The most notable difference is the actual physical keyboard that doubles up as a touchpad.

The touchpad capability is interesting. Predictive text you are actually able to swipe up and select the proper word, just as you would on the current BB10 models via on-screen keyboard. Swiping, gestures and highlighting works the same way.

The form factor actual size has not been confirmed, however some specifications have been confirmed: 1440 x 1440 pixels, 4.5 inches (~453 ppi pixel density) screen, 3GB RAM, and 32GB internal space.

There have been a couple of videos that have surfaced demonstrating Blackberry Passport, however the posters never confirmed much of the information about the actual hardware. Their test run seem to demo the software portion only.

Blackberry assistant surfaced for the first time on the device (can be compared to Siri). I’m unsure if it will be included for those who have a BB10 device or will be exclusive for Passport users and future next generation BB10 devices.

For the first time in a long time I’m actually excited about a BB device.

Release is expected to be in October of 2014.

If you want to be notified for pre-orders in regards to BlackBerry Passport, you can register here.

VIDEO demo of BB Passport