BlackBerry Passport

The BlackBerry Passport is a pure productivity machine, and emblematic of the company's professional, business-focused mindset. It's packing powerful hardware, a slew of clever features, and a great foundation in BlackBerry OS 10.3, which is poised to give iOS and Android a run for their money -- if there are enough apps.

The phone will be available unlocked later this week for $599 in the US, and later in 2014 for €649 in France and Germany, $699 in Canada, and £529 in the UK. It's definitely coming to Australia, but at the moment there's no pricing or even on sale dates available. BlackBerry has announced that AT&T will carry the device in the US, but more information on carrier availability, the phone's price on contract, and specific release dates haven't been announced at time of publication.

I approached this phone with reservations, and came away as something of a fan -- it's really nice! But the Passport has a critical flaw, and you're looking at it. The squat, square chassis that makes the device great for reading and editing documents is the reason for its distinct shape. But it makes for a cumbersome user experience, and one that'll give pause to even those of us cursed with giant hands.

Design and specs

The 4.5-inch BlackBerry Passport is about the same size and shape as a US passport. That squat, distinctive square shape will certainly grab everyone's attention while you're tapping out missives or holding it up against your face. And at 6.9 ounces (just under half a pound or 196 grams) the phone is light, but still feels solid. But it's also 3.5 inches (89mm) wide, which makes it wider than phablets like the 5.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus -- both of which offer larger displays.

Keep in mind that these are completely different phones targeting fundamentally different audiences: the average consumer versus that nebulous "professional" BlackBerry has courted for so long. And if you fall into the latter camp of hard-core BlackBerry devotees or can't do without a physical keyboard, this is the phone for you.