[rudyalexc]

I bought a Q10 earlier today and it's going back tomorrow for the sole reason that the camera isn't up to scratch. The photos, from both cameras, are consistently dark, have bad white balances and lack the crispness that my iPod manages to take. The best way I can describe the photos the Q10 takes is that they look like screenshots taken from a video. Crucially, the front-facing camera doesn't even have autofocus which is simply inexcusable for a phone of this price.

Software updates in the future 'may' fix the poor camera quality - but it's not going to fix the lack of autofocus on the front facing camera and that is unforgivable. I could overlook the lack of key apps - I've already sideloaded instagram and could live with the hidden buttons and so on - but the fact that this �500+ phone cannot even take nice, bright, crisp photos... unbelievable.

I have given BlackBerry a lot of patience (and money!) over the years - but this has to be where I jump ship.

I appreciate that you said you have given BlackBerry a lot of patience, but when have they ever flaunted their camera versus other platforms? If I remember correctly, the 9900 had a no-camera variant. This phone really doesn't need a camera. If you want to take pictures, you could have used a REAL phone, the Q10, and taken pics with your iPod Also, I have an iPhone, and admittedly the camera IS better, but I won't leave a company just because the camera is bad, especially when you have secondary devices that can use it more (i.e. your iPod for Instagram, etc.)

[xristfer]

The Q10 is a marvellous work horse and I love everything BlackBerry lets you do that iOS doesn't -this is marvellous. I'm ready to be patient as BlackBerry irons out OS10! The only black point that really disappoints me with my Q10 is the camera quality which actually limits my pleasure. It's awful. With 8mp you'd expect a higher level of quality especially given all the social media platforms out there to post to! Very approximate autofocus, blurry hues in normal daylight, general overexposure and light line across the screen when a night scene is attempted... I'm keeping my BlackBerry of course! Could a future update improve on this?

christopherk67

[rudyalexc]

The Q10 is a marvellous work horse and I love everything BlackBerry lets you do that iOS doesn't -this is marvellous. I'm ready to be patient as BlackBerry irons out OS10! The only black point that really disappoints me with my Q10 is the camera quality which actually limits my pleasure. It's awful. With 8mp you'd expect a higher level of quality especially given all the social media platforms out there to post to! Very approximate autofocus, blurry hues in normal daylight, general overexposure and light line across the screen when a night scene is attempted... I'm keeping my BlackBerry of course! Could a future update improve on this?

christopherk67

Maybe, but BlackBerry's aren't necessarily meant to be strong in the camera aspect. I took some pics and they came out GREAT, and then some pics come out TERRIBLY, it all depends on other conditions as well. For a phone that doesn't have a camera system as it's forte, I think they have done a great job on it.

[xristfer]

About two to three years ago, yes a smartphone with an iffy camera was fine or now on a mid- to entry-level market smartphone . Today a relatively good camera is run-of-the mill on all top-notch smartphones. The Z10 and Q10 are definitely upper-market devices!

christopherk67

[rudyalexc]

It has a good camera, but not the best camera from smartphones, which is expected. View this thread:

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...camera-803079/

[Giagazzo]

Sorry but this fairytale is funny to me and screams "enemy advertising". I'm sure you're not here to be laughed at, but check your thinking...

You blame Blackberry for lack of a TMO service?

Interesting how people can complain about the manufacturer and they have absolutely NOTHING to do with your carrier service problem. Did you pay Blackberry $19.99 a month for this service? Did Blackberry offer this service? When you get back to the US, will you be suing Blackberry to get your money back? No.. No.. No.. so why are you upset with Blackberry. exactly?

As far as I see, from your complaint, it seems as though TMO didn't extend THEIR service to the BB Q10. That's not up to BB to decide. That's up to TMO to decide. I can appreciate your frustration but place blame where it belongs. You paid for TMO service and there's no reason you shouldn't continue to expect that service after upgrading especially if you're still paying it. The question is, why did TMO choose NOT to extend service to the Q10 or is the Z10 included? But, don't say it's the phone.

When I upgraded on AT&T, the rep let me know what services I wouldn't have anymore. Why didn't the TMO rep do that for you? Why didn't they tell you the problem when you first called instead of offering you a refund for a service you clearly paid for? I guess ol Heins put in the call to TMO right when you landed. If that's the case, I'd switch too. That damn Heins, always setting me up just before I land in a foreign country.

I am blaming blackberry because TMO told me that the reason why they can not offer that feature is because of the different tecnology of the bb10, which is completely different from previous generations bb.

[Joey Fowler]

Thank you for saying, in so many words, what I couldn't bring myself to say. I'm 27 days in with my Q and spent a good portion of this evening looking for my new phone. That said, I spent two solid years with no cell phone at all, waiting for this phone, because I flat refused to spend one dime on any iCrap and Droids are the most non-intuitive and hard to use devices I've ever picked up. I have to add, I've never owned a phone that wasn't a Blackberry since the very first Blackberry came out. A week or so after I got my Q, I learned, while trying to video my new puppy, that the video recorder had suddenly stopped recording sound and Blackberry can't figure out why. I tried the Parrot (voice recorder) app and still no sound. They say they think it may be a hardware problem. The microphone works fine for phone calls and voice control. I tried a new Q10 in the store tonight. It captured sound on the video recorder. If I switch to a new one, will it work a week from now? The forums on Crackberry say that I'm not nearly the only one with this problem. I have yet to take a clear picture with my Q, even in "stabilization mode" unless I'm outdoors in full sunlight. My ex sent me like 10 pictures of my kids and as I was cleaning up my Hub, I deleted them all; only to find out they were gone from the server for good. This is supposed to be a business phone. I was SHOCKED to see that I could invoice customers using Quickbooks and even have contracts signed, using the S pen on the Galaxy. Like you, I'm not a techie and I don't want a phone to watch t.v. or movies on but damn this screen is small and it won't even flip sideways. I too miss the ability to easily call someone quickly, with the touch of a button, from a chat or my address book. I put my card in, from my Bold 9000, and instantly, every picture, song, and video I ever had was there but...not my contacts? I can't take a picture of a check and deposit it to my Bluebird by American Express card like I can with my friend's Galaxy. I don't know how to side load any apps nor do I really want to take the time to learn. Especially when all I read is that the apps rarely work right. I've already had to back up all the data I loaded in 27 days and do a security wipe, at the request of @Blackberryhelp, just to try and get it to record sound again. It didn't work. At this point, I'm beyond frustrated, annoyed, discouraged, and disappointed. I'm flat out disgusted and embarrassed for pushing BB these past 5+ years and telling everyone I know how BB10 was going to revolutionize the mobile phone industry again. The one good thing I will say about the phone, right before I jump ship and buy my first Samsung Galaxy S4 (I'd get the Active but it's not available on Verizon unfortunately and I can't afford ATT) is that it is beautiful, fits well in my hand, and is the easiest phone to navigate I've ever used. I LOVE the "form" factor and "flow". I just wish I could actually use the phone for anything other than phone calls, e-mail (just be careful with delete), texting, and scrolling around, in and out of limited apps that may or may not work. Samsung, here I come. Even though I'll have to take a class on how to do ANYTHING with it.

I guess while we're at it, I should also mention that I can't even make a phone call from my house because T-Mobile offers no wifi calling for my device and I only get one bar of 2G Edge coverage. :-(

[Snakepitboy]

I can't return my Q10 as I'm stuck in a contract for now.

But I will certainly be switching to a non-BB for the first time once my contract is up.

The lack of BB10 apps is a serious hindrance.

There are a number of teething problems that have driven me round the bend, but I accept that these will probably be ironed out over time. It's simply the lack of apps that lets the whole thing down.

[rudyalexc]

I can't return my Q10 as I'm stuck in a contract for now.

But I will certainly be switching to a non-BB for the first time once my contract is up.

The lack of BB10 apps is a serious hindrance.

There are a number of teething problems that have driven me round the bend, but I accept that these will probably be ironed out over time. It's simply the lack of apps that lets the whole thing down.

You can just side-load.

[richsherman94]

I had a Torch/9810 for two years - and got the Q10 the first day it was available. Bought it with a work colleague so we could work together to sort out the issues. I consider myself fairly techie and adaptable and a quick learner - but both of us were so frustrated and disappointed with this phone. Sure, there are many positives to the Q10, but we're all about efficiency and ease of use. In my opinion, there is nothing more efficient than using the track pad for precise movement, and pressing it to select. Sliding your fingers all over a screen is not faster - and with the terrible and inaccurate selection process, honing in on things took far more time. Lack of the hard keys (call, end, BB menu, escape) made everything more time consuming. The gestures work, but not always on the first try, because you have to hit the screen in the right spot/area, plus the screen responsiveness was not always up to par. We read forum posts to hopefully solve issues, but many issues simply couldn't be solved due to the new hardware/software. We tried to make this phone work for us, but ultimately returned them after 13 days (14 day return policy). Bought Bold/9900s.. Love it.. Fast, efficient, easy to move around. Exactly what we need.
I hope they come out with a BB10 device that has the hard keys (and track pad) and all the shortcuts/efficiencies that OS7.1 has.. Until then, I'm sticking with what works for me.

[wanted198]

Please can someone advise me. I want a phone for mostly forum browsing, emails, communication, and paypal. I also like to browse the internet a LOT and watch videos (mostly when I'm on wifi though). I had a 9790 and that's basically all I did on it, I enjoyed it a lot until I lost it. I don't really care about apps, I mean the skype one interests me and as long as big ones like facebook work correctly I am fine. I basically don't game on phones though, I only like PC gaming. I also sometimes like to watch downloaded TV on it.

I basically NEED a keypad like blackberry to properly enjoy the phone, used touchscreen hate it. I can write a paragraph sometimes, touch screen wouldn't work. My main concern is the quality of the Q10 though. Its pretty much the only phone I would want because I dont want to buy a last season phone like 9790 again or 9900 its just too old.

Can someone just explain to me the quality of the Q10?

[cfoxx]

I appreciate that you said you have given BlackBerry a lot of patience, but when have they ever flaunted their camera versus other platforms? If I remember correctly, the 9900 had a no-camera variant. This phone really doesn't need a camera. If you want to take pictures, you could have used a REAL phone, the Q10, and taken pics with your iPod

When have they flaunted their camera? When they whipped out the 'amazing time-shift mode' guff at every available opportunity when promoting BB10! They missed a serious trick here - people want one device and importantly people now expect to be able to take beautiful, crisp photos on a smartphone - especially one AS EXPENSIVE as the Q10.

Putting two lacklustre cameras in the Q10 is nothing short of a screwup. I don't WANT to carry a BlackBerry AND an iPod- I'd rather just carry one device. The Q10 cameras are so poor, I have no reason whatsoever to upgrade from my Bold 9900 because that too has awful cameras. The Q10 doesn't really do anything better than the 9900, apart from the badly-ported Skype app - so if I'm going to stick with two devices, I'm keeping my 9900 and iPod before getting an iPhone.

[cfoxx]

I want a phone for mostly forum browsing, emails, communication, and paypal. I also like to browse the internet a LOT and watch videos (mostly when I'm on wifi though). I had a 9790 and that's basically all I did on it, I enjoyed it a lot until I lost it. I don't really care about apps, I mean the skype one interests me and as long as big ones like facebook work correctly I am fine. I basically don't game on phones though, I only like PC gaming. I also sometimes like to watch downloaded TV on it.

I basically NEED a keypad like blackberry to properly enjoy the phone, used touchscreen hate it. I can write a paragraph sometimes, touch screen wouldn't work. My main concern is the quality of the Q10 though. Its pretty much the only phone I would want because I dont want to buy a last season phone like 9790 again or 9900 its just too old.

Can someone just explain to me the quality of the Q10?

The quality of the Q10 is high. The physical build quality is nice - it feels robust.

In the short time I had the phone I really enjoyed using BB10, the software is quite intuitive and easy to use - I didn't find I missed the track pad or the 'call' and 'end' buttons which some people say they did miss - but BB10 is not yet a mature operating system. It feels young and some bits aren't quite beautifully designed yet. BB07 had years and years and years of development put into it, and I think at this stage you'd be more satisfied picking up a Bold 9900 than a Q10.

Both cameras in the Q10 are poor - the front facing one is particularly abysmal - and that was enough for me to return the phone. A top-price handset in 2013 should take decent photos - simple.

[wanted198]

That is one of the reasons I feel sad about this, it's �410 but lacks features like a high end camera which is what you'd expect for that sort of money. If the BB10 OS is going to be greatly improved in the future I don't mind the temporary lack of apps or bad porting. Is skype good enough to use on BB10? And can you be logged into multiple skype accounts at once?

Another question, I used to use the trackpad on 9790 as the cursor for clicking small links on websites. Is there any kind of cursor on the browser now or do you just click the links yourself on the touchscreen?

Overall is the Q10 worth �410, or will it be when BB10 OS is improved and the app market is good? I really want a phone with a keypad but it feels like I'm going to spend so much just for that and everything else is far behind any other Android at the same price.

Also a slightly off topic question, what does "cashback" on a monthly SIM deal mean? I'm going to buy an unlocked Q10 if I get one and I don't understand what cashback means in this context:

"Vodafone SIM only
�20.50 per month
With �60 Cashback"

[cfoxx]

Is skype good enough to use on BB10? And can you be logged into multiple skype accounts at once?

I read on here it crashes a lot. It crashed for me on day 1 and I had to do a battery pull to fix it because even if you kill the app and reopen it, it remains permanently open and crashed in Android Player.

Another question, I used to use the trackpad on 9790 as the cursor for clicking small links on websites. Is there any kind of cursor on the browser now or do you just click the links yourself on the touchscreen?

You just touch them - but I didn't have any problems with this as you can just zoom into the website by pinching the screen and it's so buttery smooth and fast, it's not a big issue.

Overall is the Q10 worth �410

A million times no. They were arrogant to price it that high - when it first came out it was more expensive than the iPhone 5 - I'm a BlackBerry fan but that's utterly laughable. It has the same shortcomings as the Bold 9900 - lack of apps, poor camera, software crashes.

Also a slightly off topic question, what does "cashback" on a monthly SIM deal mean?

Typically it means they give you �60 when you sign up for the contract (or, when you finish the contract) - think of it as a discount on your monthly tariff. Sometimes they make you jump through hoops to get it though - ie 'send your first three phone bills to us in the post to claim your cash back' - in the hope that you'll forget.

[BlazorBoy]

I am blaming blackberry because TMO told me that the reason why they can not offer that feature is because of the different tecnology of the bb10, which is completely different from previous generations bb.

I agree it is one of the worst aspects of OS10 and will never be changed.

[rambo47]

I can't return my Q10 as I'm stuck in a contract for now.

But I will certainly be switching to a non-BB for the first time once my contract is up.

The lack of BB10 apps is a serious hindrance.

There are a number of teething problems that have driven me round the bend, but I accept that these will probably be ironed out over time. It's simply the lack of apps that lets the whole thing down.

By the time you're out of contract there may be a plethora of BlackBerry apps available!

[BlazorBoy]

By the time you're out of contract there may be a plethora of BlackBerry apps available!

Maybe more APPS but never the old email system. A real shame.

[rambo47]

Maybe more APPS but never the old email system. A real shame.

I'm actually thrilled that BIS is gone. One thing I was pining for was access to my email subfolders on BIS and it never came. I'll take the current system in a heartbeat over the old one. I would like to see them remove the 30-day limit on accessing old emails though.

[Money Soldiers]

I'm glad I got the Bold 9900 instead of the Q10, I made the right decision.

[rambo47]

Kudos for doing your research and getting the right device for you! If more people did their research before buying we'd have far fewer discussions about how "This is horrible" and "I'm returning this junk" and we'd have more discussions about folks being satisfied, productive, and happy.

[wanted198]

I read on here it crashes a lot. It crashed for me on day 1 and I had to do a battery pull to fix it because even if you kill the app and reopen it, it remains permanently open and crashed in Android Player.

You just touch them - but I didn't have any problems with this as you can just zoom into the website by pinching the screen and it's so buttery smooth and fast, it's not a big issue.

A million times no. They were arrogant to price it that high - when it first came out it was more expensive than the iPhone 5 - I'm a BlackBerry fan but that's utterly laughable. It has the same shortcomings as the Bold 9900 - lack of apps, poor camera, software crashes.

Typically it means they give you �60 when you sign up for the contract (or, when you finish the contract) - think of it as a discount on your monthly tariff. Sometimes they make you jump through hoops to get it though - ie 'send your first three phone bills to us in the post to claim your cash back' - in the hope that you'll forget.

Damn it. I really want to get one but I know it's not worth that much, I am hoping by September it will at least be �350. Is the OS10 going to have all its bugs fixed and a huge app market like they said or will it always be like this? I really don't want to spend a high amount on it if not and I don't want to buy a 9900 because it's now outdated to me and I had a 9790 so it would be a complete waste of money.

[BlazorBoy]

I'm actually thrilled that BIS is gone. One thing I was pining for was access to my email subfolders on BIS and it never came. I'll take the current system in a heartbeat over the old one. I would like to see them remove the 30-day limit on accessing old emails though.

Do you travel abroad? If so you may wish again for BIS. I use BES so get my folders and subs on my company email system but do miss it for my yahoo mail. Yet the data usage while abroad is one of the deal breakers.

[baffin]

I've used BBRY for the past 10 years working in the UK Defence Industry. We use BBRY because of the 'enhanced security' it offers.

The issue of being unable to synch directly to PC with USB is a complete deal breaker. My Q10 is heading back to the store this afternoon and revert to my reliable old 9360.

We spoke to Vodafone UK support (based in Egypt) who confirmed that this particular problem is resulting in many of these devices (Q10 / Z10) being returned to stores. The lady explained to us that she is dealing with some angry and frustrated people.

How could BBRY allow this to happen?

As a BBRY supporter I feel let down and embarrassed that having defended my BBRY to my friends and colleagues who possess androids and iPhones, I find myself about to ditch my personal BBRY and head off elsewhere.

Loyalty is a two way street. It seems our loyalty to BBRY has been met with silence and misinformation.

The negative impact of having your own loyal supporters turn against you will be difficult to recover from. Regain our respect by sticking your hand up and admitting that you have made a mistake. People admire corporations that take responsibility for their errors, those who do not are despised.

Good luck BBRY.

[xrepublique]

thinking of returning mine! the thing that i loved the most about blackberry is their amazing top row of buttons with trackpad, menu, send and back key - now it's removed and makes it increbidly inconvinient to execute basic funtions. there is no one button to bring you to a default screen, it's so frustrating!! hate touch screen. just to see a new message it might take upto 4 swipes in different directions and a lot of concetration. started "losing" (not noticing ) new messages and email, just like i used to in iphone because if the red star dissapears sometimes before you even look at a new message/email..

among other things:
contacts don't sync with gmail
no useful keyboard shortcuts like "silent mode"
why emails are only in the hub and do not have an icon like evrything else (bbm, text messages etc..)?
preloaded ringtones suck

there are 2 cool things for me with this phone that are stopping me from going back to an older version of bb.
1. front video camera that allows video calling and skype
2. amazing wireless sync with you desktop

beware tho!! - bq10 forced me to upgrade my operating system on mac and uprage iphoto cuz otherwise it wouldn't sync with my old os x and iphoto software. new os x messed up my parallels that i previously had instaleld and i had to upgrade that as well. all of that cost money, wasn't prepared.