(Updated April 1st) The BlackBerry Passport has won top honors in the reader’s choice contest held by TechnoBuffalo, and remains in contention in the readers’ poll held by Tom’s Guide (voting ends Friday April 3rd).
TechnoBuffalo’s Mobile Madness competition (an homage to the United States’ NCAA college basketball ‘March Madness’ tournament) took your votes until Tuesday March 31st.
“While the Passport may not be on the minds of most buyers when shopping flagship devices, maybe it should be,” wrote TechnoBuffalo in its announcement post. “BlackBerry historically makes solid, durable hardware and the Passport does not disappoint in that respect. The 4.5-inch display is a bit small compared to other flagships but sports a stunning 1440 x 1440-pixel resolution display.”
Tom’s Guide is featuring the similarly-titled Smartphone Madness 2015, where the BlackBerry Passport just bested the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 to enter the Final Four (semi-finals). Voting began on Wednesday April 1st for the Passport versus the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL.
In TechnoBuffalo’s contest, the BlackBerry Passport squared off against the Android variant OnePlus One.
The BlackBerry Passport had bested the Motorola Droid Turbo, Samsung Galaxy Note 4, and the HTC One M9, while notable rivals including the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge fell away earlier in the TechnoBuffalo competition.
The BlackBerry Classic also acquitted itself well at TechnoBuffalo, besting the pure Android Google Nexus 6 and Sony Xperia Z3, making it all the way to the Final Four (semifinals), before losing in the vote to OnePlus One.
Here’s a screenshot of how the contenders have fared so far:
With both the BlackBerry Passport and OnePlus One taking the final two slots in the competition, it seems to signal a thirst for “something different,” even when mobile users today are bombarded by huge ad spends and groupthink pushing them toward the same types of iterative devices over and over.
Meanwhile, a similar battle is emerging at Tom’s Guide, where the BlackBerry Passport will face off against the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL. The winner will face either HTC’s One M9 or, again, the OnePlus One.
BlackBerry Passport: Your Best Bet for Winning the Productivity Game
If you want top-tier productivity and security in your mobile device, you probably already have a Blackberry in your pocket, and as these reader’s choice contests show, the BlackBerry Passport has what it takes to be a compelling pick.
Check out TechnoBuffalo’s hands-on video reviews:
BlackBerry Classic:
BlackBerry Passport:
Make Your Vote Count
It’s time to represent! Go to Tom’s Guide to see how their contest plays out, and make your voice heard.
About Matt Young
Matt Young is a writer and editor with experience in tech, music, news and entertainment. A current Performance Evangelist for Radware, Matt has previous experience with BlackBerry, and Avaya. He has a degree in Journalism from San Jose State University. Follow Matt on Twitter @techunraveler.
