For those of you new here, the Blackberry Z10 is the company’s new flagship smartphone running their completely redesigned BlackBerry 10 OS. BlackBerry has a new CEO, new look, and the ambition to win back consumers with the new OS. Last time with the Blackberry Z10, I went into my first 24 hours with it. Now more thoughts on Blackberry’s latest after spending an entire week with it.
On the back, you have a f/2.2 8MP shooter w/ back-side illumination sensor, single LED flash and 1080p HD video recording. The image quality is pretty decent in regular situations, a bit better in low-light settings. The software processes the image very quickly to go an take the next shot. You have a nice photo editing suite where you can add Instagram-like filters, rotate, crop, fix noise reduction and more. The video quality warrants no complaints with good frame rates and auto-focus.
For starters, the layout offers pages for apps, most recently opened apps (up to 8), and the Hub. To unlock from the lockscreen, you simply swipe from the bottom up. The same gesture is used to get out of apps as well. BB centralizes all of your communications into one place called the Hub. By swiping form the bottom up and then to the right, you can Peek at your notifications. The Hub covers everything from phone calls, text messages, emails, BBMs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn notifications and alerts for app updates. Well done but for those dealing with a massive amount of messages, the Hub can be annoying to accomplish a mass deletion. It takes like 3 steps to delete a single email. I know this will get better over time.
The browser works really well. It is fast experience as BB has equipped it with Flash support. Making it one of the last platforms to support Adobe’s plugin. BBM has been revamped as you can share screens along with video chat with a BBM contact via Wi-Fi or cellular network. BB Maps is powered by Bing so it will get you where you need to go but its no Google Maps though. BB Remember is their Notes app rebranded as supports sync to your Evernote account. The Docs To Go suite is present along with the added Print To Go.
The keyboard uses a predictive software that this as Sure Type 2.0. It is hands-down one of the best native keyboards I’ve used on a touchscreen. After minutes of use, it will feel natural to flick up for the next intended word. And last but not least, the BlackBerry App World. Now touting over 100,000 apps, many of the major players are M.I.A. No Instagram, Netflix, Yelp, but they have Angry Birds Star Wars, Jetpack Joyride, Kindle, NY Times, Waze, OpenTable and Where’s My Water to name a few. The a good portion of the apps in the App World are knock-offs of popular apps. While on the film, TV, & music side of things, the App World is robust with plenty of great content. Just no streaming though, download only. No bueno.
I think once all of the pieces are in place, they can overcome Microsoft’s spot for 3rd mobile platform. They need a bit more to take on Android and iOS at this state. They just face the issue any platform- having an adequate selection of apps. BB10 is off to a better start than Windows Phone but fixing the little things will be needed to garner the attention of masses. For now its off to a great start but it will need some of the major app players to drive consumers towards BB10.
