alright ill go ahead and post a review. This may end up being longer than I want so skip to the TL;DR at the end.
First a bit of background- I've used every generation of iPhone, most android flagships ever (starting with the original G1/2), a couple W7/8 phones, and a lot of blackberry's too. I own a macbook, iPad, apple tv so Im a heavy apple user.
Design: First thing you'll notice is the curved display that is not as curved as the s6 edge but still noticeable (and with less screen distortion than the s6). The large front facing speaker seems like it will be very loud but only the left half is the speaker, other half is the microphone. Its loud but not HTC M7/8/9 loud. When you pick it up you'll notice first how its not a light phone, heaver than the 6s+, but its still not too heavy. Its a "premium" sort of heft it you want to call it that. The back is made of this carbon fiber/weve that is soft touch like the nexus 5 so its not slippery. What will stand out is the thinness of the Priv. The one plus two is a thicker phone yet has a smaller battery. Let that soak in for a minute: the Priv, with a larger battery (3400 mah) and keyboard is thinner than a phone with a smaller battery and no keyboard. The screen is qHD but if feels a bit white washed ( I like saturated screens) but you can change the calibration which is nice. This isn't some half inch thick sidekick, its a legit premium phone that is worth the $700
Rest of the hardware: It has a microsd slot that pairs with an onboard 32gb of storage. I think 32gb is fine for me and most people but if you want more, you can add to your hearts desire. The power button is on the left side which I found weird at first but after a bit I got over it (its not as bad as the HTC power button on top). Also the double tap to wake/slide open keyboard help even out the power button location.
Keyboard: The defining feature to this phone is the keyboard. The layout is the same as legacy bb devices so its not new or surprising. The keyboard, because it has to fit under a screen, is thinner than what you'd find on an older BB. Its not bad, but just different. Best analogy I can think of is to compare the new macbook keyboard to the older macbook ones. Its thinner, the keys click less, but after a bit you get used to it and life moves on. Its the same way, the Priv keyboard is thinner with less travel but you get used to it (it took me like a couple hours) and eventually you'll be hammering away. The touchpad function is really nice as well since you can scroll through messages or anything really without covering up space. if you double tap the keyboard the text selection window pops up, if you swipe back it delete the word, if you swipe up it picks a predicted word, if you swipe down it brings up a symbols menu on screen. Thats a whole lot of new functionality brought to something that many think is out of date. Overall, if you like a physical keyboard or want one, then the keyboard on this will be great. it'll take some getting used to just like any other PKB but eventually after muscle memory you'll be a better typer.
Software: So first of all, you'll have to update the pre-installed blackberry apps. If you dont manually, then it will eventually prompt you to. Once you have updated the apps, the performance issues or heating issues seen in most reviews is pretty much gone. It still gets warm, but as warm as any other phone. It doesn't lag anymore or less than any other flagship. it runs mostly stock with a few bb features but Ill discuss that in a second. The 5.1.1 isn't a big issue to me, and shouldn't be an issue for anyone since theres only 2 phones, both of which are not the easiest to buy, that ship with 6.0. Bb has said that they will update to 6.0 in the upcoming months. But the bb apps can be updated through the play store at any point so that really is a huge plus not many phones can attest to at this point. BB kept the ability to customize notifications so you can set whatever LED color you want for an app or customize it anyway you want (ex: 1 vibrate 2 rings green LED for email and 2 vibrate 1 ring, blue LED for sms) all in the BB settings.
Camera: Im not a camera guy. the FFC is 2mp which is poor and not sure how that ended up in the phone. But its usable. If you require HD selfies then you probably shouldn't buy this phone. The back camera is as good as any other camera I've used. iPhone obviously has everything beat when it comes to how quickly and easy it is to take an amazing photo but the Privs camera holds up well to the competition
Battery: the battery is pretty good, its not gonna last you a week but with heavy use will get you through the day. without wifi, only LTE I'm getting 4.5-5.5 hours SOT, and with wifi it jumps up an hour. Im running 2 exchange accounts set to push, subscribed calendar and other notifications.
Perspectives:
Iphone: If you are coming from an iPhone, then the overall experience will be similar to what any other android will give you. The hub, which adds your notifications from email, text, fb, twitter, and bbm in one spot really add to the functionality and you'll enjoy it. The multitasking screen is really really one of my favorite features. Unlike the side carousel of the iPhone, everything is laid out in boxes that adjust to your use. and everything is right there so you dont have to scroll as much to find an app if you have a lot of apps open. There is a universal search option built in like the iPhone does. The productivity edge allows you to see a peak at contacts , calendars, hub, tasks.
Android: This is going to be a similar experience that you would feel on your device your currently using. The hub like I state above will make using the phone more efficient. Only downside for now is that not all notifications are supported but thats an android problem (5.0 and above require developers to release api for notifications). The productivity edge is what a curved screen is for. Not some dumb lights or contacts like samsung did, but to actually use it to see your calendar or messages. You can adjust the height and what side you want the edge to be on. The multitasking screen is miles better than the stock carousel (as i mentioned). IF you have more than 10 apps you dont have to scroll endlessly finding an app since its all laid out. Also each app will show with a small preview of whats going on in the app. The device search will be a new function that you may or may not use. Its not on android phones currently (well at least not as implemented as the priv). Overall, you will enjoy it, and probably like the hub and productivity edge.
BB10: You'll hate it. the hub will feel watered down, the productivity edge will feel like a terrible attempt at the flow. You will love the fact you can use apps like snapchat finally. You'll love not having to side load everything and you'll forget about all the shortcomings and wonder why BB didn't switch to android earlier. you get used to the keyboard and be happy you bought the phone.
TL;DR
Its a flagship that deserves its price. The keyboard is innovative and great to use. If you want a PKB then this is the best option. If you want a flagship android its just as good as anything else. BB needed a home run here to stay alive and they really hit it out of the park with the Priv.
I know this was way too long to read but if you want a specific question answered then please ask!
