BlackBerry KEYone is the best phone for using Office 365 on the go

With varying levels of features and quality, mobile Office 365 apps are now available on Android and iOS, in addition to Windows 10 Mobile. On Windows 10 Mobile and Samsung Galaxy DeX-enabled phones, Office 365 apps offer a PC-like experience while docked, tied to a larger monitor and a keyboard. Office on iOS devices such as the iPad Pro also offers a PC-like experience, complete with full keyboard capabilities.

All of these scenarios, however, rely on larger screens and external keyboards. Sometimes it just isn't feasible or even desirable to carry a larger device, and thankfully, Word, Powerpoint, and Excel are all available for Windows, Android, and iOS phone devices too.

But there's a problem.

Despite advancements in touchscreen technology, shape writing algorithms and predictive messaging, touch screen typing still totally sucks. It's designed for quick messaging scenarios, rather than long drawn-out sessions of word processing. While shape-writing systems like Word Flow on Windows 10 Mobile have helped improve the situation, at least in English (UK), my Lumia 950 XL still makes far too many grammatical mistakes while shape writing, selecting completely irrelevant words and adding capital letters where they're not wanted.

Recently, I got my hands on a BlackBerry KEYone, which runs Android. As much as I dislike Android, there are things about the KEYone that make i far superior for using mobile Office apps than Windows 10 Mobile, iOS, and many other Android phones. Why? It has a really good QWERTY keyboard.

BlackBerry and Windows phones are kindred spirits

BlackBerry has many things in common with Windows phones. Its user base is collapsing, but it enjoys a bustling fandom of techies who appreciate its unique features. Our sister site, Crackberry.com, still retains a vibrant community, and many of its members are currently celebrating the launch of BlackBerry's KEYone.

This isn't just a bunch of mechanical keys squashed into a phone — it's something special.

The KEYone is a QWERTY Android phone that focuses on productivity above all else. It sports industry-grade security, positively insane battery life (bolstered by a power-efficient chipset and a comparatively smaller display), and of course, that "physical" QWERTY keyboard. This isn't just a bunch of mechanical keys squashed into a phone — it's something special.

The keyboard on the BlackBerry KEYone rocks some unique features that make word processing on mobile, dare I say, a pleasant experience. Combine that with Microsoft Office on Android and you have a winning combination.

The BlackBerry KEYone keys are quite resistant and will require double thumbs to get the most out of it, but with a bit of practice, you'll be word processing like a boss, far beyond what shape writing can offer. A long press gives you a capital letter, and the KEYone also has Shift and Alt keys, for special characters and numbers. It also has a dedicated button for even more symbols, and, if you need it, emoji access. None of this is what makes the KEYone keyboard truly special, though.

The KEYone keyboard is touch sensitive. The space bar acts as a lightning-fast fingerprint scanner, and you can even scroll up and down documents or web pages by swiping vertically. Best of all for word processing is the ability to swipe left to delete a word, which mimics the cross-out action of the Surface Pen. A double-tap of the keyboard lets you enter cursor mode, allowing you to move the cursor between letters effortlessly. It's far superior to the tap-and-drag cursor implementation that smartphone apps apologetically use in place of a real mouse. Windows 10 Mobile's touch cursor in apps like Outlook, Word, and OneNote, is simply terrible in comparison.

Simply put, all of the KEYone's features coalesce to make Word, OneNote and Excel incredibly easy to use on mobile. Combine that with crazy battery life, the fingerprint scanner, and customizable keyboard shortcuts and the BlackBerry KEYone emerges as a mobile productivity powerhouse.

I wish there was a similar QWERTY option for Windows 10 Mobile.

Microsoft Office: Android vs. Windows 10 Mobile

Windows 10 Mobile has unrivaled security, perhaps in part because of its small market share. The lack of users decreases the likelihood nefarious groups will even bother to break through the phone's security measures, and Windows 10 Mobile also enjoys device encryption, similar to Android.

When it comes to how Microsoft's flagship productivity suite functions across both platforms, there are some key differences Office fans should consider when deciding between Android and Windows 10 Mobile.

While Android has the BlackBerry KEYone and other QWERTY keyboard phone options, Windows 10 Mobile has Continuum, which allows you to connect the phone to a larger display and enjoy a true PC-like Office experience. You can connect a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and use Office as you might expect on your desk at work. The HP Elite x3 even comes with an HDMI-capable dock, allowing you to plug your phone into a hotel TV to use Office when out of the, well, office.

However, the BlackBerry KEYone, due to its keyboard, potentially renders the travel scenario of Continuum (or Samsung DeX) docks, extra cables, and peripherals, a little pointless. Why bother carrying all that extra equipment around for simple word processing if you can do it to a satisfactory degree on your phone's built-in keyboard?

Additionally, Android Office is at least slightly better than Windows 10 Mobile's Universal Windows Platform (UWP) Office. When you upload files to OneDrive on Android, you get a progress bar right in the action center. I find OneDrive on Windows 10 Mobile to be a little inconsistent with uploads. OneNote on Android has a home screen badge which gives you quick access to new notes, camera notes, and more. Word and Excel, however, are largely identical, which is fairly impressive. But that QWERTY keyboard simply elevates the whole experience.

Wrapping up

The BlackBerry KEYone is arguably the best way to use Office on the go right now. For quick commutes, it beats whipping out a tablet, laptop, or 2-in-1 PC, and it doesn't ask you to suffer docks or extra cables for that Continuum experience. Everything is in one, tidy, pocketable device, and it's a little frustrating as a Windows 10 Mobile fan that Microsoft hasn't really considered ways in which it could improve the typing experience on the OS, considering the company claims Windows 10 Mobile is an enterprise-focused endeavor now.

The HP Elite x3 is the BlackBerry KEYone's closest rival in the Windows 10 Mobile world, sporting similar battery life. However, the KEYone's keyboard and battery are simply unbeatable for Office on the go. If you're a Microsoft Office fan and frequent commuter, you have to consider this device.

Your thoughts

I'd love to know what you think of Office for Android and Windows 10 Mobile. Also, let me know if you would be interested in hearing more of my thoughts surrounding Android versus Windows 10 Mobile. Sound off in the comments!

Jez Corden a Managing Editor at Windows Central, focusing primarily on all things Xbox and gaming. Jez is known for breaking exclusive news and analysis as relates to the Microsoft ecosystem while being powered by caffeine. Follow on Twitter @JezCorden and listen to his Xbox Two podcast, all about, you guessed it, Xbox!

112 Comments

Snapdragon 625 :/
hahahahaha.....not in 2017.
Why?? This phone is designed for people looking for a work phone that will last them all day on a charge, without having to be constantly worried about battery drain. So it doesn't play the latest fad games or useless time wasting apps like Snapchat or other garbage. Who cares other than spec junkies? It is designed for working people, not children. If you want to game, go buy an Xbox or PS4.
SD625 will play any game without issue.
Don't worry about the kids ! And btw SD 625 is no slouch. Far from it. My Lumia 735 running on SD 4xx series is a charm !
I agree.
Look how cool WP looks.. MS is dumb.
why? they created it. people didn't buy it
People didn't know enough about it. Who's fault is that????
Snappy n Responsive UI, enough for Emulators and some Games. You don't want Galaxy on Fire 3 there - with one thumb stretching above the whole keyboard - or other dualstick highend games. Battery life is impressive, and instead of some newer 8xx it has *no thermal throtteling* on ambient temperatures above 90°F / 30°C while doing 100% CPU/GPU on Fullbrightness for a whole hour. Now tell me a highend droid which does this, and got the same idle/browsing/gaming battery time...
Is a perfectly fine chip with insane battery life.
Yes but at the price of 821/835 price
Not when a S8 is going for nearly $900 with a SD835 and the next Iphone is rumored to be close to $1000. Compare the actual phone prices rather than just the chipset prices, and the Keyone actaully is a decent price for an upper mid-level work-capable phone with very good battery. Can't claim that about the 821/835's. Over-priced chipsets for marginal boosts in performance and so-so battery life.
What 821/825 has a physical keyboard?
Samsung GS8
As a separate purchase on top of the already expensive phone. And the keyboard isn't as good as the one on the KeyOne.
You are kidding, right? Yep, lets add a snap on case to an already boring looking phone and make it look like a Motorola Droid Pro from 20011. That will boost sales. Lol
Nothing as boring looking as them plain bricks called lumias, lol....
if you don't plan on playing games, the 625 is perfect for this phone. good performance and long battery life.
The 625 processor is designed for efficiency, gives the phone a 2 day battery life. If you are typing a large document or reviewing excel or other office docs when you travel - video games are not your priority. As powerful as the top line processors are - they are too excessive for business use
BlackBerry.... Not dead
It' s a great chip, very snappy and power effective.
newer cpu not need with the smaller screensize and resolution, still responsive as bigger screened phones with faster cpu......and you'll get 2 days of usage before needing to charge, newer cpu with bigger screens cant compare.
newer cpu not need with the smaller screensize and resolution, still responsive as bigger screened phones with faster cpu......and you'll get 2 days of usage before needing to charge, newer cpu with bigger screens cant compare.
newer cpu not need with the smaller screensize and resolution, still responsive as bigger screened phones with faster cpu......and you'll get 2 days of usage before needing to charge, newer cpu with bigger screens cant compare.
Regarding this bit: Also, let me know if you would be interested in hearing more of my thoughts surrounding Android versus Windows 10 Mobile. Sound off in the comments!
.
Please do! If I had to jump ship, Android would be it, so I'd appreciate any input here.
Will do!
Working with fixing and restoring Android phones... They hardly ever work like they should, and they are ALL inconsistent.
You can't generalised Android. You can say Samsung or Nokia or blackberry, but not Android. They're not actually the same.
Yeah...It's not the Office apps that are better on Android...I find them ever-so-slightly worse. But OneDrive on W10M is basically broken, and it works much better on Android. That difference alone (combined with the Arrow launcher which keeps a list of all my recent docs) makes the Office experience on Android quite a bit better than W10M.
I'm curious as to the advantages of OneDrive on Android over Windows 10 Mobile. I have an Android tablet and a W10M phone, but I haven't seen anything that makes me think OneDrive is so much better on Android. I'm just wondering if I'm missing something due to how I use it or something like that.
I regularly find that documents just never load--even if I leave them overnight to try--on W10M, and the auto-saving feature often just isn't actually saving. Also, the app crashes regularly--as in, most of the time--when trying to set up large files for offline use.
i haven't used it for anything larger than around a gig (video file), but i've never had any issue that you've mentioned. and wouldn't the auto-save feature be part of word/excel/etc. and not onedrive?
> wouldn't the auto-save feature be part of word/excel/etc. and not onedrive Well, I guess so...but it seems to work fine when the files are locally saved and only have issues when I'm accessing a file from OneDrive. And I agree, it mostly happens with larger files, but I use a lot of those. I have a lot of Word docs and PowerPoints with embedded images and vidoes that can be tens or even hundreds of gigs, and while neither Android nor W10M loves those big files, the latter basically can't handle them, whereas Android does okay.
What android device do you use that handles files hundreds of gigs in size?
LoL...I don't. I use hundreds of megs. Brain fart!
Haha who would have thought that Blackberry has something better than Windows
Millions of people have thought so since the beginning of Blackberry... This can't be news for you. Blackberry had a very strong and devoted fan base until they went down with android.
just like "millions of people" thought windows mobile deivces were awesome too....look how they turned out...Jesus, BB10 has a bigger market share....those in glass houses giddora
Yeah, it is very good. And no, BB10 does not have a higher market share and is not longer developed.
If you count all Windows Phones, then BB10 is smaller. But if you only count W10 phones, yes, BB10 is bigger.
No...
Blackberry was THE phone to have. Where have you been??
Your comment doesn't make sense. Blackberry is a company. You're comparing a company to Windows, which is an OS. Do you want to compare Blackberry to Microsoft, or BB10 to Windows? Fine. If Microsoft had partnered with Blackberry to come out with a phone with a REAL keyboard, it would have taken the business world by storm. The writer of this article is right - typing on a screen totally SUCKS.
being that Blackberry has both the name of the company and the OS, its a safe bet that i'm comparing the OS to Windows duh
RIP Windows Phone
Why?
Would never give up my Elite for this.
"For quick commutes, it beats whipping out a tablet, laptop, or 2-in-1 PC"... And now, this is just bullsh*t... Who the hell wants to do office on a 4.5 inch phone (with or without a QWERTY keyboard), if you can use a ten inch 2in1 with a real, much better keyboard? Any cheap Windows 10 tablet / 2in1 beats this thing to death in productivity.... Sorry Jez, but this is honestly what I think...
Yes it gives comfort and ease of use. I have hp stream 13 notebook which is cheap and best for office use with 8hrs of battery life.
for quick commutes, its a pain to pull out a full system, especially on a crowded train or bus. a phone on the other hand is easy. that is what he's referring to.
And calling a ten inch (or even an eight inch) tablet with a keyboard makes no sense. And on a bus or tram, you can sit down, and rest it on your lap. And if the bus/tram is so crowded, that you can't even sit down, why the hell do you want to do any work? Finally, on a 4.5 inch screen, you can't see sh*t from the document you're working on, and a keyboard this small is not comfortable enough to compare it with any other physical keyboard. So I think, it just makes things more complicated. For example, you can't just easily switch between QWERTY and QWERTZ, which is very important for me on a phone, because I type in three languages. Should I go on, or is this enough? 😁
typing on a touch screen was already touched on as being sub par, even you imply a "real" keyboard is superior. and many people can read on a small screen. and a vast majority of people don't type in 3 languages during their quick commutes. and you may want to work on a crowded train or bus because you *need* to, not because you feel like it. i find all of your points to be either extremely personal or easily explained away. i don't want to grab anything out of my bag when i can just pull something from my pocket, especially since backpacks tend to be more popular than briefcases these days it seems. so, i can *easily* see why this would possibly be preferrable. i haven't used it, so i couldn't say for sure, but some of those features sound like they could really help to type out a lot as opposed to touch screen keyboards, particuarly w10m or worse, a tablet with *no* word shaping technology (at least not yet).
Why1re just squeezed together would a touchscreen keyboard be subpar to this? The real benefit of a physical keyboard is the way the keys are arranged. On this phone, they're just squeezed together, sacrificing screen real-estate on the phone itself (like physical home, back and search keys do). And most people write things at least in two languages, you know, not everyone in every country is a native English-speaker, but many people use it as their second language, because yeah, English is a popular language. Think outside of the average American box, please :D And yeah, backpacks suck (this one is the only personal thing :D ). Your reasons are just as easily explained away as mine. So don't brag about them :P :D
you didn't explain away needing to use a train or bus... I'll take a guess you'll say "you should just call uber instead".....
I can't call an Uber, because... yeah, our government is a POS, and they made Uber leave the country... 😕 And I like buses 😁
Emphasis on quick commutes. Why would I bother getting my laptop out on the tube for a 20 minute ride when I can whack out a couple of paragraphs on my phone, ESPECIALLY if I'm going somewhere where I don't need a laptop?
Because you have a full PC in your briefcase, that turns on as fast as your smartphone, and doesn't take more time to get out than your phone from your pocket? And yeah, it's also thin and light, weighing not much more than a smartphone. I'm not talking about your Razer gaming laptop, but about something like a Surface Pro, or a Lenovo Miix, etc... You just get it out in a second, press the power button, log in, and bam, you have the capabilities of a full PC. Not slower than doing all this on your phone, and typing on it is way more comfy, and way faster than on this thing. And just to mix a bit of personal stuff in there, phones with screens smaller than 5 inches are inferior to anything... :D But that last one is really just a matter of taste :D
Since when did a surface pro... or *any* pc boot up in the amount of time it takes for the phones screen to turn on? If it's locked, one or two seconds. *no* PC boots that fast. And again, taking *anything* out of a bag isn't as fast as your pocket. And Jez is right, what if you don't need to bring a laptop around? If you have a desktop at work, you're advocating bringing at entire laptop just for a 20 minute commute?
I work in front of a computer all day, and I always have my 2in1 with me in my bag. And you know why? Because it's so light, I don't even notice it when I accidentally leave it at home. Your other argument is right, if you have a backpack. But if you have a briefcase at the side, it's not slower. And even if it takes one, or maybe two seconds more to turn on the screen when locked, I think it's worth it for full PC capabilities, and to not f*ck around with a smartphone... And what if you don't need a laptop? Does it really bother you to carry a superlight full PC with you?
Since this fall, when WOA arrives.
since the future. good argument. in any case, while you folks may be different (with your larger tolerance of inconvenience and, at least in rodneyej's case, technology that doesn't exist yet), the general public would not be ridiculous for considering Jez's recommendation. It's easily a decent recommendation due to a bunch of points that apply to lots of people. the fact that it doesn't apply to your very specific requirements does not justify your attack on his opinion. its a well-founded opinion based on very popular concepts and ideas. yours is clearly based on one that only you (and maybe rodneyej) hold. If you have more specific requirements, then this isn't targeted at you. It doesn't mean you're wrong, but just because it doesn't apply to you doesn't mean he's wrong either. As a metaphor, someone recommended water to quench thirst and you're arguing that you like steak better than water. You're not wrong, but it has nothing to do with the general recommendation.
As a former Blackberry passport owner I can I understand why this is convient... I genuinely miss the convience of a physical keyboard because I generally dont type near as much on pure touch screen devices. Its just easier to knock out accurate long messages/emails on a pkb. Especially if you have large hands.
The Passport is a whole another thing, because its keyboard is pretty decent, and it's like a mini tablet due to its size. And btw, I genuinely want a Passport to play around with it 😁
and as you can see though, the guy is still agreeing with Jez though.
I'm a current Passport owner and slowing suffering BB10's death of a thousand cuts. I tried a Lumia 950XL for 2 months. While I liked many things about WM10 and the 950XL has great hardware, I discovered I really detest VKB's. Back on the Passport now. I plan to buy the K1 "GooBerry" and it will be my first foray into android. I have heard the Office apps are quite good on android and am encouraged by this article. Now if WM10 had PKB...
I was wondering when the Blackberry PassPort was going to come up :) I really do miss that phone. I loved it, I just wish it actually had good specs, especially in the camera area.
Didn't see you on the CShell article.. That's the biggest news in 2years!
I saw it and liked it. And also wished it was already here 😁
That's until MS releases the new mobile OS running full W10.
QWERTY in 2017? Seriously, BB should stop doing this.
It gives BB a very niche unique selling point though, no other company does this. Up to the consumer what they buy.
I think swipe keyboard is way more easier and faster than qwerty.
for messaging maybe. for typing a lot? i've never had good luck with it. the more words you use, the more likely it's going to choose a wrong one. writing a 5 word message to a friend? yeah, swipe will probably work well. writing a one to two hundred words while in a waiting room or on a train? yeah, you'll be correcting a whole lot.
It's definately better for typing. Less errors, more ergonomic, easier to do blind. For longer content, its unrivaled in a phone. The downside is the lost screen real-estate, which is major, but for some people producing content is more important than consuming it.
no actually they shouldn't. A full QWERTY physical keyboard beats touch screen typing any time.
Relax people MS has just shown us a glimpse of what w10m can be and it looks bright, very bright. New keyboard is coming as well and we'd have the same full functionality that's on PC for office as on our phones. Can't wait.
I came back to Windows from my Blacberry Bold. Even though the processor is a little long in the tooth, I would take a real hard look at that one, if push comes to shove!
Arrow Launcher + Lines Icon Pack is life 😍😍😍
That's Evie launcher. :D
Nothing has beat the BB Keyboard, both physical and virtual. And its autocorrection is very intuitive and right on. I only had half the mistakes I do on Win10 when I was using my old BB10 device (already forgot what its called). If I'm forced to switch to Android (never going to Apple) because of the continuing decline of Windows 10 on a phone (or whatever they're calling it officially), then I'm going to Android on a BB phone. Probably a DTek60 or whatever the currently not-the-latest-but-reduced-in-price model is.
i still use the qwerty keyboard all the time on my windows 7.8 phone. it's not like microsoft didn't support them. and what about all those bluetooth cases with keyboards for current phones.
Trying the combination of Office365 on Android with this physical keyboard device next week. Currently using iPhone 7 so taking a big jump. Wondering how the arrow launcher looks like on this device. Can be the ultimate mobile device !?
Far from it, if you ask me. :D
if someone wants a mobile device, your recommendations of 2-in-1 laptops will not suffice.
I purchased a KEYone when Amazon released it a day early. It is a fantastic phone. And until you have experienced it, don't knock how productive you can be. I had a sudden thought for a document I was working on and I didn't hesitate to pull out my phone go into Word and edit a few sentences. The keyboard is fantastic. It makes you want to type. Regardless if you are faster on it or not. There's something to be said for tactile feedback and the feedback loop involved. It is a pleasure to use. I don't play games so the processor is more than adequate. With split screen in Android 7 on this phone it is phenomenal being able to have a website open and Word open and keep your reference material open. Sometimes you just don't want to have to open up a laptop to get a few things done and this works. In Mr. Mobile's review he spent all day working on scripts for two of his episodes and never had to touch his battery bank. This phone is one more nail in the tablet's coffin.
Anyone got a link to that wallpaper?
I use an SG8+ (Android) and an HP Elite x3 (WM) with touchscreens every day. Before that I had the 950 XL and before that the Lumia 1520 (both also touchscreens) as daily drivers for the last few years. And every day I've missed the classic physical keyboard from BlackBerry's peak periods. There once was a device known as the Bold 9000 that achieved typing perfection. Not even Blackberry has since been able to match it. If you've recently toyed with a BB Priv or Passport, you have not seen the PKB at its best. The KEYone looks like it may come close, and if that's so, it will be WAY better than the touchscreens on the market. The ascendency of touchscreen and the fall of PKB was foretold since the day they announced the first iPhone. And obviously "they" were right about that. What always irritated me was the way that they had to gratuitously guild the lilly by insisting that everyone would soon be typing faster and more accurately than ever they did on their old PKB's. which made no sense.
I wonder how much more physical damage is being done to people's hands with virtual keyboards as far a ligment damage from pounding on a hard glass surface all day as opposed to using a PKB that makes you think about how much pressure you are putting on the keyboard. Would be interesting to see any studies done as far as long term affects.
I still remember the flawless typing on my HTC Touch Pro2. (Slide-out) physical keyboards rock, no matter what they say.
Geez at least Blackberry fans get new phones to talk about 😢
There's definately a new HP in the works.
Too bad you can't even buy this phone. It is sold out everywhere due to low stock
low stock or high demand or both?
Wish BB would release a windows phone. Love physical keyboards.
Love BB keyboards, but won't touch android with a barge pole.
I actually carry blackberry priv for that reason. Office. And my windows mobile for everything else.
Jez Corden, you've hyped the blackberry keyone a little too much, and you have generalised your personal problems with your use of a virtual keyboard in an exaggerated way.
A physical keyboard always outperforms a virtual keyboard, most of us have always known this. This is not to say that a virtual keyboard is totally bad and unusable. A virtual keyboard is very good and very usable, but it needs you learning or getting used to it.
A mobile device with a physical keyboard has its trade-off; the screen size, in order to have a larger screen along with the physical keyboard, the mobile device will have to be made longer or wider. With this trade-off most people prefer a virtual keyboard device to a physical one, no matter how good it is.
not true if you produce content instead of consuming it.
If I could install w10m on it, and use it with continuum, then it would be an alternative. Hope that once some sort of device like this with W10 can be bought in the future.
Sold - I use Office every day, this will be ideal.
What launchr is it?
best on Windows Phone
Is there anyone left on mobile nations to be wheeled out to do an article on the KeyOne? It's a bit shady that these article and the other articles don't contain a disclaimer that Mobile nations has a direct financial relationship with TCL/Blackberry Mobile.
Yeah, it's probably in their best interest to mentioned somewhere that CrackBerry has a direct financial relationship with TCL. Depending on how CB falls under the Mobile Nations umbrella, this article might not be an explicit #ad.
There is no crackberry in that sense - Mobile nations is the registered company they will have the contract with.
I miss my Dell Venue Pro. That being said, I'm glad I'm using a KEYone. It's not using Windows or BB10 (sadness), but at least I have a physical keyboard.
I'd probably buy one if my Elite X3 would dye. I still have to try it myself though.
The article should state "only in the US/UK". Try switching the HARDWARE keyboard to any other language, french, italian, russian, greek. Do the keys change to reflect the new alphabet? Hmm...No, and you've lost all that precious screen space for a keyboard that can't support your native language. There goes the premium phone down the drain.
BBMo produced azerty and qwertz models too. But yes, latin letter only boards thus far.
I do like that BlackBerry. Shame about its OS though. 😑
Hi, which launcher or theme set are you using on this Keyone shown in the review ?

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BlackBerry and Windows phones are kindred spirits

Microsoft Office: Android vs. Windows 10 Mobile

Wrapping up

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