The Q10 and Word Prediction

I received a new Q10 as a work phone the other day, replacing my Bold 9900. I wasn't too excited about it with the Q10 approaching its second birthday and being eclipsed by later models such as the Z30, Passport and Classic. However, now that I've had the weekend to fool around with it, I have to say I'm really impressed. The overall design and build quality is very strong.

However, it was the text prediction which I was very interested in, and to be honest, I wasn't expecting much at all. The Z10's approach of suggested words appearing between the frets is pretty revolutionary and allows for flick typing allowing one to maintain the typing flow. On the Q10, as you know, suggested words appear at the bottom of the screen, much as they do with the Bold 9900. However, the absence of the tool belt on the Q10 seemed aimed at bringing those work suggestions closer to the thumbs in order to aid the typing flow. The Passport overcame that problem by allowing for "flick" typing on a physical keyboard. The reintroduction of the tool belt on the Classic seems like an admission that the Q10's design is flawed. I'm not sure that word prediction happens on the Classic: I couldn't find a reference to it in Bla1ze's fine review.

At any rate, I was astounded by the word prediction abilities on the Q10 when I put it through it's paces this weekend. It's just so much "smarter" than what was found on either the Bold or the PlayBook meaning that words are anticipated with just one or two keystrokes. It has taken over the suggested word history from my PlayBook. This is definitely a feature that I will continue to use and no doubt it will have an impact on my productivity.

I almost feel a little sorry for the Q10 and its creators. It seems like a great phone but one which did not receive a very positive response in the market place. With its current price, it's a real bargain. It's not my dream phone because of small screen real estate, but I don't see the Classic as providing a solution in that respect. I would be happier with a Passport and as I'm not at wedded to physical keyboards, I would await a new all touch BlackBerry, assuming that one is on the drawing board.

Even though the Q10 is almost two years old, it is still pretty snappy. And thankfully, it will eventually get 10.3, so the software will be fresh as well.

Personally, I do not use the text prediction. I type at about 60 words per minute on most days so it really can't keep up with me! It is helpful for one-handed typing, however. Glad to hear that it still impresses even two years after its release.

The Q10 word predictions is intelligent, as it adds words or names you commonly use to a database, for quicker selection. Its rather amazing, if you pay attention to the suggestions as you type, saving lots of keystrokes. I use two-thumb nails for keystrokes, the fewer strokes the better to avoid RSI.

Would I like a larger screen? like the Classic at 3.5", but at cost of weight and physical size -- questionable, with wasted space for extra row of keys. Now with the touch-sensitive keys of the Passport, I am really interested for easy readying web articles and blogs, particularly for the older set who likes larger fonts (for which I'd accept weight and size). Unfortunately, I have Sprint, which sells more free data, but no new BB phones, having skipped the Z10, Z30, Q5, Passport, and Classic -- forcing BB users to migrate to ATT or other.