[Homo Erectus]

Raymond James‘s Tavis McCourt, who rates Research in Motion (RIMM) shares Market Perform, this evening writes that a review of the company’s forthcoming smartphone for its BB10 operating system, published yesterday by Raymond Wong of The Boy Genius Report, suggests the device may be more competitive with current smartphone offerings.

Wong’s review is of what’s rumored to be the “Z10” smartphone suggests some models will have a Qualcomm (QCOM) processor, some a Texas Instruments (TXN) processor, a 4.2-inch display at 1,280 by 768 resolution, 2 gigabytes of RAM, and up to 32 gigs of flash storage, and an 8-megapixel camera.

Writes McCourt,

4.2 inch screen, 355ppi (higher than iphone, lower than htc droid dna) resolution and a dual core snapdragon 1.5GHz processor (omap outside the U.S.) puts it squarely on par with many high end android devices today, although we expect quad core snapdragons will be the norm very soon. It also features 2GB of RAM, which will add $10 or more to the cost relative to most smartphones, but likely necessary if rim is going to focus on multitasking features. These hardware specs, if true, are clearly not a leapfrog of the competition, but relative to Research in Motion’s last few launches, this device should be much more comparable in performance to leading flagship smartphones.

McCourt doesn’t say how he expects the Z10 to do in the marketplace.

RIM is expected to unveil BB10 at a press event in New York City on January 30th.

RIM shares today closed up 3 cents at $11.79.

[00stryder]

Although he keeps his analysis strictly to the hardware, he's also doing a disservice by neglecting the software. It's the BB10 operating system that will turn heads, not necessarily that RIM is going to introduce the next behemoth of a phone. If you're going to compare it to high-end Android devices out there, that essentially compete with one another over hardware specs since they all use the same OS, then this makes sense. But James' analysis seems to based on the assumption that BB10 won't bring anything significant to the table to challenge Android (or iOS) as a software platform.

Personally, I'm not going to read too much into this or let it bother me much. All these analyses are pure conjecture until BB10 is released.

[Bobert_123]

Cool, its nice to hear positive things for a change.

[00stryder]

Cool, its nice to hear positive things for a change.

I think the author might be suggesting that by the time the Z10 and QWERTY BB10 phone come out, they'll have out-dated hardware specs that make it difficult to compete with the NEXT (i.e. 2013) devices on Android and iOS.

That, or I'm just looking at this glass half-empty...

[jakie55]

I am taking what he said at face value. Compared to previous BB products, that were definitely lacking, and not up to their current market specs, the Z10 WILL be compatible with current Android market leading phones. That is all.

[Colleennl]

Writes McCourt,

4.2 inch screen, 355ppi (higher than iphone, lower than htc droid dna) resolution and a dual core snapdragon 1.5GHz processor (omap outside the U.S.) puts it squarely on par with many high end android devices today, although we expect quad core snapdragons will be the norm very soon. It also features 2GB of RAM, which will add $10 or more to the cost relative to most smartphones, but likely necessary if rim is going to focus on multitasking features. These hardware specs, if true, are clearly not a leapfrog of the competition, but relative to Research in Motion’s last few launches, this device should be much more comparable in performance to leading flagship smartphones.

McCourt doesn’t say how he expects the Z10 to do in the marketplace.

RIM is expected to unveil BB10 at a press event in New York City on January 30th.

RIM shares today closed up 3 cents at $11.79.

Why does only the usa get a snapdragon seems odd to me

[jakie55]

Canada and US have the snapdragon because of the LTE component, if I remember correctly. The TI processor does not have that functionality. Of course, i could be totally wrong.

[Skeevecr]

Canada and US have the snapdragon because of the LTE component, if I remember correctly. The TI processor does not have that functionality. Of course, i could be totally wrong.

That is correct about LTE, although he would be wrong about them being the only ones getting that chipset (probably just assuming that NA = the world as far as LTE) since we have already had confirmation from EE in the UK that they will be launching a 4g model and I would expect the same would be equally true for other carriers globally that have launched or are about to launch their LTE networks.

[Colleennl]

Even in Sweden Tele2 tested lte + voice. Also i find i odd that they are going to support 2 chipsets for 1 device i know samsung does that to

[astraith]

I am taking what he said at face value. Compared to previous BB products, that were definitely lacking, and not up to their current market specs, the Z10 WILL be compatible with current Android market leading phones. That is all.

Exactly. He didn't even take a guess if it would do well or not.

[Anon_M_Lee]

Hardware comparisons are important to power users. The average consumer is concerned with experience. So I am not concerned with the hardware specs getting old. I look at the Droid DNA and do not see the reason for a quad core processor because the software does not bring any new experiences that require the power. This is simply a "me too" ploy to compete with Samsung.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

[DJM626]

Exactly. He didn't even take a guess if it would do well or not.

Maybe that is a good thing by most on here. We do know from the write up that he is not knocking it. Best to stay neutral if you are a column writer. I personally think a lot more people should do that then people who have never had the phone in their hands and are just going by "hearsay" or from what they might have seen online or in vids. True, none of really know what to expect at this point, but I know they are not going to fail this time around. Even if this is only marginally improved over my 9850, I am still going to be very happy that is has come this far and will be offering features that I have never had the pleasure of seeing or using before. It's a win situation for me either way

[aha]

Last year many analysts were pretty sure RIM was going to be gone by the end of the year, and some of them were sure enough to call it. This year it becomes unclear where RIM is going to go so there will be fewer analyst willing to come out and call it again.

Yeah, the trend is good.

[Skeevecr]

Even in Sweden Tele2 tested lte + voice. Also i find i odd that they are going to support 2 chipsets for 1 device i know samsung does that to

It is probably so that they are not so completely reliant on a single source for either components or radio fixes, it will be interesting to see if they try to find a new 2nd option for future devices with TI getting out of the market.

[peter9477]

Exactly. He didn't even take a guess if it would do well or not.

Given that every time an analyst does attempt to do that, everyone jumps on them unless they say it will do exceptionally well, maybe he's smart enough to see there's little point in playing that game. ;-)

[koool1]

I can see the Z10 moving to a quadcore processor in 6-8 months.

[DJM626]

I can see the Z10 moving to a quadcore processor in 6-8 months.

If that were the case, that may just as well be the Aristo model. I would tend to think that RIM would not take the same phone and just up the processor without doing anything else to it, and trying to market it again. Most people would probably hold out for the Aristo. I know I surely would. Otherwise we are going to be going down the same path that Apple has taken. Release a phone with more horsepower and make very minimal other significant changes. Would not be a smart move in my estimation.

RIM has to continue moving forward in a positive sense and continue to innovate and not stagnate. Otherwise they are going to be in the same boat as they are prior to the release of Z10 and trying to play catch up once again. One can almost be certain they would not want to fall back again by resting on it's laurels. They need to keep building what they have with new and fresh ideas to be able to compete in today's market. I do have faith in them, and I know they can and WILL do it

[jakie55]

I can see the Aristo, with the larger screen, and quad core, to somewhat compete with the phablet market, possibly for the Christmas period next fall.(getting us back on the regular launch cycle)

[gezzledinho]

I just hope that RIM have learned their lesson and it's push, push, push; innovate, innovate, innovate long after the launch of BB10. This new OS appears to be a leap ahead of the competition.
No reason to be pleased about just being comparable.

[Raptor007]

The total package is what the users are looking for, a great UI that is easy to use and is fluid, powered by a solid device specs wise. I don't need quad core processors if dual core w/ 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage are standard. I want fast email, web, content playback not necessarily gaming (I have a nexus for that).

[RubberChicken76]

Hardware comparisons are important to power users. The average consumer is concerned with experience.

I think some 'average consumers' are concerned with hardware specs though they don't understand the role that they play.

See the people talking about megapixels on cameras yet only share photos to Facebook for example.

Specs are important in that they help deliver a smooth experience. But just to compare specs without also comparing software that runs on said hardware is a bit silly.

[aha]

I think some 'average consumers' are concerned with hardware specs though they don't understand the role that they play.

See the people talking about megapixels on cameras yet only share photos to Facebook for example.

Specs are important in that they help deliver a smooth experience. But just to compare specs without also comparing software that runs on said hardware is a bit silly.

most people compare both

[tnewton3]

Although he keeps his analysis strictly to the hardware, he's also doing a disservice by neglecting the software. It's the BB10 operating system that will turn heads, not necessarily that RIM is going to introduce the next behemoth of a phone. If you're going to compare it to high-end Android devices out there, that essentially compete with one another over hardware specs since they all use the same OS, then this makes sense. But James' analysis seems to based on the assumption that BB10 won't bring anything significant to the table to challenge Android (or iOS) as a software platform.

Personally, I'm not going to read too much into this or let it bother me much. All these analyses are pure conjecture until BB10 is released.

I do not see this as a negative review/comment by the analyst but rather a positive outlook into the hardware the new Blackberry is going to be packing. When the OS stacks up and comes through like I know it will I believe it will only add to the positive reviews.