BlackBerry Phones Are No More. What Keyboard Phone Options Still Exist? Read On...

[Jack T. Chance]

So, with Onward Mobility officially dead, And with BlackBerry having officially shutdown the BlackBerry X/10 OS Servers, along with ending development/update support for the BlackBerry Android Apps Suite, we are all going to need new phones to replace our aging BlackBerry hardware. It's only a matter of time. I couldn't wait any longer, as my second Key², purchased in 2020, is now suffering from the same swollen battery popping off the phone's backplate that my first one experienced.

These, then, are the options available today for CURRENT phones you can buy RIGHT NOW that still have a physical QWERTY keyboard built-in. These can be purchased either on Amazon, or directly from the manufacturer's website, and you'll have them quickly:

--Unihertz Titan (BlackBerry Passport fans will especially love this form factor, and also fans of beefy, ruggedized phones.) This is the one I've decided to go with after watching numerous in-depth review videos on YouTube.

--Unihertz Titan Pocket (good for fans of classic BlackBerry phones of yesteryear, such as the BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Classic. It's like a ruggedized version of Blackberry phones from 10-15 years ago. But at only 3.1", the screen is super small by today's standards.)

These are phones that should be available SOON™ (done through IndieGoGo campaigns, they were originally hoping to ship in early 2021, but the same global supply chain issues that brought about the death of Onward Mobility have also caused substantial delays for the shipping of these phones. But right now, they HOPE to ship by March 2022.)

--F(x)tec Pro¹ X (This will be the Android Landscape Slider that will appeal to the most people out of all of these options, but it's had substantial delays in shipping. Hopefully it ships in March 2022, but don't be at all surprised if the shipping date is later in the spring, or even early summer.)

--Planet Computers Astro Slide 5G (the only 5G smartphone of the lot, this packs a full, MECHANICAL QWERTY keyboard. The largest keyboard in the whole lot, it may be TOO large for typing with your thumbs, yet too small for typing with your fingertips. But if you want a 5G phone with a QWERTY keyboard, it's the only game in town right now.)

Those last 2 can also still be found on IndieGoGo, with discounted pricing through the InDemand part of the campaigns. The usual crowdfunding risks apply, so you'll have to decide if putting up with those is worth a 20% discount (Pro¹ X) or a 30% discount (Astro Slide 5G). The savings are too much money to ignore, but some may prefer to pay full price for the peace of mind of knowing they can definitely get a refund if the phone takes too long to ship.

Again, I've made my choice. I couldn't wait any longer, so I ordered a Unihertz Titan through Amazon and had it delivered yesterday, only 2 days after I ordered it. I'm setting it up now. SOME BlackBerry Android Apps work on it, and the BlackBerry Launcher works. But Google Play will tell you that some of the Apps aren't available for this device. I'll look into ways to sideload them later.

Good luck to all of my fellow CrackBerry faithful. Ask any questions you have about these phone options here, and let us know what you choose!

I've intentionally NOT covered older QWERTY keyboard devices that may still be available, especially if you buy them used or refurbished, because many of those devices are common knowledge at this point. And given how today's smartphone batteries do as they age, I'll no longer recommend buying used. You deserve to get the full service life out of the battery of whatever phone you choose.

[Jack T. Chance]

UPDATE regarding carrier compatibility: With the sunsetting of their 3G network this year, AT&T Wireless has implemented a "Whitelisted Devices Only" policy in regards to Bring Your Own Phone. What this means is that NONE of the options listed above are likely to work on AT&T Wireless or any of their affiliated MVNOs in North America, effective as of March 2022, because none of the devices are on the Whitelist. Reports are coming in from users of the Unihertz Titan and Titan Pocket that their phones have been banned from AT&T's network within the last few weeks.

If you currently use AT&T, Cricket, or any other MVNO that runs on the AT&T Network, you will have to change carriers BEFORE you can use one of these keyboard-equipped models, until and unless the manufacturers pay AT&T their required "Tribute" to certify the phones for use on its network.

[dkrbnd]

Hi, thank you so much for all these infos and details.

[Jack T. Chance]

Hi, thank you so much for all these infos and details.

No problem.

LAUNCHING ON KICKSTARTER ON TUESDAY, MAY 10TH, 2022: THE UNIHERTZ TITAN SLIM (Slim refers to the WIDTH in comparison to the other Titan phones, NOT the thickness when compared to other Unihertz phones!) This is basically Unihertz's "riff" on the BlackBerry Key One and Key2:





Here's the entire family of Titan devices, from Left to Right, the Unihertz Titan, the upcoming Titan Slim, and the Titan Pocket:



You can sign up for more information at Unihertz's website HERE, and you can see a number of advance reviews on YouTube right NOW!

Based on the advance reviews, be warned: This phone is LTE ONLY, with NO 5G support! Even more importantly for me, it has NO Micro SD Card Slot for expandable storage, and it LACKS the ruggedized design of the other 2 Titan phones. For me, that's 3 strikes and they're OUT, as there's no compelling reason for me to switch from the Titan to this new phone that would be a DOWNGRADE. But some may still like this model.

[AlexKidd1977]

That Unihertz Titan looks really nice. Are those shipping? Has anyone used one to review it's durability and compatibility?

--Kidd

[AlexKidd1977]

The Titan Slim reminds me of my old Motorola Droid Pro.

Sent from my SM-N986U using HoFo mobile app

[MountainMike]

UPDATE regarding carrier compatibility: With the sunsetting of their 3G network this year, AT&T Wireless has implemented a "Whitelisted Devices Only" policy in regards to Bring Your Own Phone. What this means is that NONE of the options listed above are likely to work on AT&T Wireless or any of their affiliated MVNOs in North America, effective as of March 2022, because none of the devices are on the Whitelist. Reports are coming in from users of the Unihertz Titan and Titan Pocket that their phones have been banned from AT&T's network within the last few weeks.

If you currently use AT&T, Cricket, or any other MVNO that runs on the AT&T Network, you will have to change carriers BEFORE you can use one of these keyboard-equipped models, until and unless the manufacturers pay AT&T their required "Tribute" to certify the phones for use on its network.

Thanks for the info, Jack! I'm switching to a T-MOBILE based MVNO today (MINT MOBILE), based on the flakey reception AT&T provides in the SW Washington area.