Originally Posted by
LWKING I know there are a ton of threads buzzing around the A10 right now, but I felt that this one was a little more unique than the others. I also apologize for the length :p
I'm going to try to make this as concise and accurate as possible. If you notice any mistakes, please let me know. I'll address the most obvious issues first.
Specs: Performance Based Review
Processor: Dual Core S4 Pro CPU at 1.7 GHz with Quad core GPU
1. The S4 Pro may appear lackluster at first, but I believe that this setup will make the A10 perform better than just about every Android phone out right now. You have to remember that BB10 isn't Android. The ONLY real processor upgrade over the S4 pro is the 800 and that's only because of the higher clock speed.. All of the other quad core snapdragons are either on par or worse than the S4 Pro for the A10. There are options other than Qualcomm here, but I don't know enough to comment on them.
2. The current iPhone 5 has a 1.3 GHz dual core A6. Apple can pull this off because their OS is optimized. BB10 already boasts great performance compared to the HTC One and S4 with an S3 era processor, yet the S3 is nothing compared to the Z10 performance wise. Imagine the improvement with a higher clock and a quad core GPU.
Display: 720p at 295 ppi.
1. The Z10 and Q10 both had higher pixel densities than the iPhone 5, but the screen on the iPhone 5 was better. Therefore, higher pixel densities don't always make for the best viewing experience. I believe screen brightness and the type of display will hold more weight after a certain ppi ceiling. We'll be getting an S-Stripe pixel arrangement on the Z10. Personally, I'm not sure how that will compare, but we could be in for a surprise here. Let's not knock it quite yet.
Camera: 8MP
1. I admit, I too was really hoping for a bit more in this area. However, as long as the camera is better than the Z10, I think it will be adequate. 10.2 is also bringing Panoramic pictures to the A10. A few more software updates could push this along as well.
Memory: 2 GB of RAM
1. Adequate.
2. The iPhone 5 only has 1 GB of RAM to put things into perspective. All the top end phones have 2 GB. While I would personally like to see more so I can run CAD on my phone just to say that I can, the average user will never utilize it. However, there are some people that are powerhouse users. I think the quad core GPU will take care of pretty much everything.
** In summary, the A10 could very well be faster than the HTC One, the S4, and the iPhone 5S.
Specs: Consumer Based Review
Yes, the A10 may get ripped apart for the 720 p display and the 8 MP camera. I believe these are the only real "weaknesses". For all of you quad core fans, the argument could be made that the A10 is a 6 core phone.
Display
Personally, I've always been one to never judge a display until it's in front of your face and in your hand. That's what consumers are going to see when they walk in a store anyways. They will listen to the store reps, but they will purchase with their eyes. If there is no obvious difference between a 1080p screen and a 720p screen, they're not going to care. Besides, the phone is 5 inches!! That's going to carry more weight than the ppi.
Camera
If I could change one spec about the A10, it would be the camera. This is where the Z10 will lose some points in the store. A good camera matters to some people, but not to everyone. There are plenty of people out there with DSLR's and good digital cameras that may care about other aspects of the phone. There are also people that prefer to just carry their phone around. This one's up in the air. I can't really judge this.
Why I think the A10 will sell
And potentially sell better than the Z10 and Q10. Here is where some of you will disagree with me. I do not believe that specs and features sell phones. To clarify, the specs need to be only as good as it takes for an optimum OS experience. Anything more is unnecessary. I believe that user experience has held more weight in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
Let's consider HTC. HTC and Samsung have been going at it for years with similarly specced phones. However, Samsung always had the edge on them. And while they still do, HTC has definitely come around. While the aluminum build definitely helped them get noticed, I think if they were still running Sense 4.0, the phone wouldn't sell nearly as well. Up until now, Sense sucked compared to anything Samsung put out. The Sense 5.0 experience coupled with the new, flashy build is what makes people buy the phone now.
The low specced iPhone5 goes without explanation. It is the lowest specced flagship and is the best selling phone in the world.
The high specced Optimus phones by LG should also be mentioned. They have great specs, but how many people do you know that actually own them?
I believe the spec race will end in 2013 as the line of performance difference in phones blur. Experience and design will take over in 2014 more than ever. This further supports my point that specs don't and will not sell phones.
Blackberry 10
The Z10 suffered and is still suffering a bit from lack of carrier pushed updates. The random reboots and other kinks certainly did not help with the overall experience of BB10. 10.2 will fix these problems and add much desired features. The app situation will be much better upon the release of the A10, and with the updated support of Android apps, the BB10 experience will be MUCH better and much more fluid. Reviewers won't have as much reason to nit pick as they did in the past and all the more reason to praise it. As long as the A10 is priced reasonably, I think that the A10 will fare much better than the Z10 and Q10 did assuming Blackberry markets the hell out of it
Thoughts?