[Niallac]

Dear all,

I am looking for some advice re a return to BlackBerry: My last BB device, a Z30, gave up about 6 weeks ago, at 4 months old, and despite BB's seemingly total lack of interest in this and most other warranty claims, the good people at Expansys gave me an exchange. My Nokia Lumia 830 arrived about 3 weeks ago. It is a nice-looking device with an absolutely brilliant camera, but it's not for me: The UI is schizophrenic in places, and the disjointed messaging, calendar and productivity suite are a nightmare compared to BB10.

So, the 830 is going on eBay tomorrow, and I have started looking for a BB10 replacement. I really liked the Z30 and the Z10 before it, but both developed fatal hardware problems which were inherent to their manufacture (i.e. I didn't break 'em).

I am a bit wary of buying another Z-series device, but from looking on the forums, Z30 defects seem to be rare. I am considering a Q10 or a Classic: The Passport is out on size grounds - I do a physical job, and also don't like having to readjust the position of a phone in my hip pocket when sitting etc - the Z30 and 830 caused this problem. I need a device primarily for organisational reasons, with a decent camera as second priority. I have not owned a mobile phone with a hardware keyboard for about 6 years, but would be willing to go back if there was a real benefit in productivity. I can get a Q10 for less than half the price of a Classic or Z30, but that is not a deal-breaker.

Thoughts, please.

Niall

[Peevish]

Niall, I would say try the Passport and return it if you're unhappy with it. I definitely didn't think I'd like it because of the size, but it's the best phone I've had to date.

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[Ment]

Get another Z30 and then evaluate the Slider when it comes later in the year.

[Dave Bourque]

A cheap Z30 is the best bang for your buck in my opinion. Otherwise go for passport or classic.

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[incey2000]

I've got a Z10, Z30 and a Q10 and I always use the Q10 it just feels right to hold and use.

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[Andreas Uberman Z]

No Q5 love?

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[TheBirdDog]

I love my Passport but I can understand how the size is an issue for some. I really don't carry it in my pocket as often as I would otherwise. I had the Z30 before this one and it was very solid. Not one issue. OEM screen protector and Otterbox commuter made it indestructible. If you look carefully on the back panel, it also had dust protection on the speaker ports which is something that most phones (and, very sadly, even Otterboxes) neglect to include. You had a fluke with the defective model as I think it's one of the most solid phones around.

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[jevinzac]

Since u don't want the Passport which is the best and the fastest BB10 phone yet! Get the Z30, it's faster than the rest of the BB10 phones n got awesome battery life too. If you want a handy device with good battery backup, get the Q10, and it has got an awesome AMOLED display too or classic if you want the toolbelt, LCD display and slightly better battery life than Q10.

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[Prem WatsApp]

Z30 too big?

Get a Q10 then, even the Classic is comparatively large, I found it pretty fat...

.


I posted a photo somewhere, Classic + Note 4, but can't find it right now on my device or CrackBerry.


�   "Oh Classic, you are the fairest here so true. But Passport is a thousand times more powerful than you..." (no offense, Classic is a great device, when it's charged)   �

[Thorsten Heinsight]

As you said, Z30 defects are definitely much more rare than defects on other devices, from my experience most Z30 users (myself included) are quite happy with their devices (except those who upgraded to 10.3.1 and let their battery fully drain - that's a nasty bug).
The Passport is definitely the most powerful BlackBerry device on the market right now, but it's completely understandable if its size makes it a no-go.
In my opinion the bigger, brighter screen and more comfortable keyboard (with no wide-spread double-typing issues) make the Classic a clear winner over the Q10 (even if you have to pay more for it).
So that leaves the Z30 and the Classic, both of which I think are very nice devices. The Z30 is a bit more powerful but it will mostly come to personal preference whether you like the physical keyboard or if you prefer a full-touch device.

[jojo beaconsfield]

Passport all the way!! Or Z30

[Niallac]

Folks, thanks a lot for your sage words. I reckon I will probably just take the plunge with another Z30, although the prospect of a cheap Q10 is tempting, mainly for the possibility of keyboard shortcuts. Not sure I am ready for a 3.1" screen again, though, it would be like going back to my HTC Hero, albeit with 3.5 times the resolution... and no on-screen keyboard.

[Niallac]

Boom - just pulled the trigger on a nearly-new Z30 on eBay - probably paid as much (converted to US/CAN) as you guys would for anew Passport... Z30 is not officially available in the uk any more (except at �480/CAD900!!! from Shop BlackBerry) Will console myself with my �14/month, 2gb LTE and unlimited calling plan... Thanks again for the help. Now to waiting for the postman and pondering whether or not to go 10.3.1...

[jevinzac]

Boom - just pulled the trigger on a nearly-new Z30 on eBay - probably paid as much (converted to US/CAN) as you guys would for anew Passport... Z30 is not officially available in the uk any more (except at �480/CAD900!!! from Shop BlackBerry) Will console myself with my �14/month, 2gb LTE and unlimited calling plan... Thanks again for the help. Now to waiting for the postman and pondering whether or not to go 10.3.1...

You should and you must update to 10.3.1.
Download OS10.3.1.2582 from here https://drive.bitcasa.com/send/ReutM...ZEOrhd0CRRUWdn.

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[Thorsten Heinsight]

Boom - just pulled the trigger on a nearly-new Z30 on eBay - probably paid as much (converted to US/CAN) as you guys would for anew Passport... Z30 is not officially available in the uk any more (except at �480/CAD900!!! from Shop BlackBerry) Will console myself with my �14/month, 2gb LTE and unlimited calling plan... Thanks again for the help. Now to waiting for the postman and pondering whether or not to go 10.3.1...

I agree with jevinsac, the new 10.3.1 releases (10.3.1.2558/10.3.1.2576/10.3.1.2582) run beautifully on the Z30, highly recommend you update.

[fmb8]

No phone is perfect, you're bound to find hiccups with any device but the Z30 has to be the best phone that nobody knows about.
If I'm not mistaken, Crackberry is actually selling the white version now for $250!!! If you're not into the white, buy yourself a black battery cover and voila!... Awesomeness! Coincidentally, that's what I did and it looks great and works even better!

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[FirstBerry101]

No Q5 love?

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

I love my q5


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[ChicaneBT]

Stay Windows Phone. Blackberry is pushing a half baked OS updates which puts customers in the cold. People have all sorts of problems but BB doesn't respond with fast fixes nor an explanation.

[Thalestr]

Snip

[curvezzz]

No Q5 love?

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

Who would downgrade specs from z to q? I say passport.

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[whitetux]

Dont do the Q10. Passport first choice and classic second choice. Z30 third choice.

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[Niallac]

Stay Windows Phone. Blackberry is pushing a half baked OS updates which puts customers in the cold. People have all sorts of problems but BB doesn't respond with fast fixes nor an explanation.

End of day 2 with my new Z30: What a relief to be back to the only properly integrated mobile OS on the market

Joking aside, I can see that Windows for phones will be massive. The mechanical design of the Nokia hardware (�220 brand new at release) is as good or better than the Z30. The Carl Zeiss lens and big, 10MP sensor were amazing. However, that is the surface of the mobile computing experience and (for me at least) that was where the Windows Lumia Denim experience ran out of steam.

The keyboard was disappointing. Allegedly it is the record-holder for typing rate on a software keyboard, but I remain skeptical - the auto-correction seemed clunky, and it just doesn't seem to learn how the user physically uses the keys. Integration between core apps is non-existent, IE11 is like a beta, and third party browsers crash regularly. The core navigation system in the OS is confusing, and the hardware specs are just not enough for the OS (1GB RAM - really?).

In contrast, I recently donated my PlayBook to my mother in-law as her very first connected device (she is 80 and is getting on fine with it), and replaced it with a Lenovo S8 tablet running KitKat:

Whilst the overall flow of the Android experience is not quite up to BlackBerry 10, and the hardware feels a bit flimsy, it is far superior in use to Windows Phone 8.1.

The recent black-screen issues with BlackBerry OS 10.3.1 OTAs are unforgivable - I hope a class action is raised and the floodgates open for a recall. However, the Z30 is still a mobile computing product which is superior to anything else on the market, and at the current price surely cannot be bettered?

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[Thorsten Heinsight]

The recent black-screen issues with BlackBerry OS 10.3.1 OTAs are unforgivable - I hope a class action is raised and the floodgates open for a recall. However, the Z30 is still a mobile computing product which is superior to anything else on the market, and at the current price surely cannot be bettered?

Stay Windows Phone. Blackberry is pushing a half baked OS updates which puts customers in the cold. People have all sorts of problems but BB doesn't respond with fast fixes nor an explanation.

First, I would just like to agree with you that the black-screen issue on the Z30 was a colossal screw-up by BlackBerry, and users affected by it have every right to be mad/sue/not return to BlackBerry.

That being said, I don't think I've ever seen a new update pushed out faster than the 10.3.1.2558 update for Z30s to fix the issue (I received it only a few days after the original update - I have no idea how they heard about it, fixed the software, and got all the carriers to get on-board with it in that time).
Even the 10.3.1.2576/10.3.1.2582 updates are already starting to get pushed out only a few weeks after the original 10.3.1.2243/10.3.1.2267 updates. If that's not BlackBerry responding with fixes, I don't know what you're looking for. As far as 'unforgivable', I've forgiven them for the buggy release because I can see they're actually trying to fix the problem for once, but Z30 users affected by the black-screen issue might feel differently.

[DenKlomps]

I started with a Z10 and make the leap 'er jump to a Passport. Size was never an issue. I used both for about 2 weeks after which the Z10 and the PlayBook fell almost completely out of use. I really liked the Z10 and think the Z30 is beautiful (great reviews). After 4 months with a Passport (love...) I watch a phone review of an all touch it seems archaic, fingers in front and all over a big beautiful screen, scrolling, zooming. The keyboard shortcuts for that and more are just under your right thumb. The virtual keyboard on BB is awesome. Give up this Passport, yes when they pry it out of my cold dead fingers. No help here.
P.S. In a whispered voice, "Passport".

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