[dbollman423]

Kind of a long article, but balanced.


Once upon a time, a company called Research in Motion started the smartphone revolution. And now, at long last, that company, renamed BlackBerry, is ready to start over.

The future of the original smartphone is finally here. Later this month, at long last, BlackBerry will release its first truly new smartphone in two years, the highly anticipated BlackBerry

BlackBerry Z10 reivew: Is it a threat to iPhone, Android ?

It's the flagbearer of a brand new, truly ambitious operating system, BlackBerry 10, and it aims to put the venerable old company back into competition with those new champions, Apple and Samsung.

No, none of it is brilliant enough to lure happy iOS and Android users from preferred platforms. But BlackBerry users who have been patiently waiting to fall in love with BBM all over again will be both satisfied and impressed. The new device and new OS bring the company firmly into the modern era, merging classic BlackBerry ideas with today's smartphone standards.

Start with the device. The Z10, which should land in stores this month, is the first of two devices that BlackBerry will release in the coming months, and as such it bears the great burden of showcasing the new OS. While the upcoming Q10 caters to old-school BlackBerry users who demand a physical keyboard, the Z10 attempts to compete with iPhone nation.

It's an iPhone 5 clone of sorts, with a 4.2-inch full touchscreen that features 1,280x768 WXGA HD resolution, your typical front and rear-facing cameras, and a volume rocker on the right side. Heck, the BlackBerry logo is even imprinted in the center on the back, much like the classic Apple icon on the iPhone's back. BlackBerry touts the fact that it doesn't need a Home button to function, but on its top end is a button that functions as a power button. You won't use it often, but yes, it's there.

On the one hand, the plastic build of the Z10 makes it look like a budget-priced knockoff next to the iPhone 5, and even Samsung's Galaxy S3, and the plastic back snaps off a bit too easily, with just a little pressure (although that's not all that different from the Galaxy S3's back frame).

On the other hand, BlackBerry's design smarts shine when you look closely. There's a removable battery and a microSD card slot that can take a 32GB card, according to BlackBerry's reviewers' guide. You even get a microHDMI slot, a nice feature even if you never use it, and that BlackBerry logo doubles as an NFC antenna.

Overall, it's a package that feels more utilitarian than ultra-stylish and elegant, but that's not all bad; after all, to some extent, that's BlackBerry's personality. You won't feel the need to run out and buy some ultra-expensive case, the included holster will work just fine (and it has other advantages we'll discuss later), and the textured back feels good in your hands. The Z10 is equally at home - and nearly unnoticeable - in the back of a jeans pocket or the front chest pocket of a button-down.

The rest of the hardware also performs well. The eight-megapixel camera on the back takes solid shots, especially in sunlight, the details matching and sometimes exceeding shots taken by an iPhone 4S. Call quality is solid on both ends, and the Z10's speakers are exceptional. A trailer for "Twilight: Breaking Dawn: Part 2" showcased clear voices and strong background music.

The screen, meanwhile, truly shines. Text is clear and readable on the Z10, and video showcases a level of sharpness that surpasses even the S3. Apple's Retina screen may be perceived as dominant, but competitors are closing the gap, and the Z10 is the latest proof.


BlackBerry

The new BlackBerry Z10 may win few converts from the rest of the smartphone world, but it will be a gratifying step into the present for existing Blackberry users.

A 1.5GHZ Qualcomm dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus chip does all the driving for the Z10, and for the most part, it's up to the task. BlackBerry touts true multitasking, and while that idea remains a tad illusory on such a small phone, the Snapdragon does let you handle most day-to-day business without a hitch. And the battery is solid, surviving a day of normal use.

Really, it's the device that casual BlackBerry users have been waiting for. You won't feel embarrassed or left out when your friends watch movies on their iPhones, and you can take pictures just as easily as they can.

You may feel embarrassed, however, when you can't quite work your phone, and therein lies the challenge of BlackBerry 10. The new operating system, like everything about this new age of BlackBerry, has some original ideas, but it functions much like things you've already seen on the market. And it's not exactly intuitive, which will keep Google and Apple fans from ever giving BlackBerry a try.

Give BlackBerry props, though, for what they have accomplished. Neither Android nor iOS was a finished product upon initial release; those two platforms have matured into the accessible experience that they are today. BlackBerry 10, by comparison, is hardly a mature OS, yet it manages to be both usable and pleasant once you figure out its quirks.

First, the good stuff. And this conversation starts with what is easily the finest virtual keyboard on the market. The Z10's virtual keys are large and easy to handle whether you're using one thumb or two. The nifty thing is the predictive text. Like many predictive text sets, the Z10 will try to finish spelling words for you, but it does so in a perfectly unobtrusive yet helpful way, putting the possible word you might be typing above the key that represents the next letter.

From there, you can simply flick it into place, or you can choose to ignore it entirely and go on typing on the virtual keyboard. It's both simple and incredibly intuitive, and it feels natural. There's no telling how this will work - or if it will work at all in some capacity - on the Q10, but on the Z10, it's a perfect touch.

BlackBerry claimed that the keyboard eventually adapted to your word habits, your misspelling habits and even your preferred thumb placement, and in the last month or so, I've found that to be true. The BlackBerry Z10 keyboard runs circles around the default messes on Android, and once you grow acquainted with it, it's far better than the iOS virtual keyboard.

The typing had to be good, of course; that has long been BlackBerry's strength. So, too, has been email. And, as expected, BlackBerry 10 delivers a solid experience here, pushing to let you attach files, format text and do other crucial stuff. BlackBerry Messenger - better known as BBM to longtime users - also makes a return, and it's been beefed up to go toe-to-toe with Apple's FaceTime and Google's own chat functions, including video conferencing and other sharing tools this time around.

The entire interface is built around the idea of swiping, and in many ways, it draws on BlackBerry's PlayBook tablet from a few years ago. You'll open apps from an iPhone-like menu with a simple tap, but most other functions are handled with swipes.

A swipe from the bottom of the light bezel upwards wakes up your phone. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how skillfully this is implemented, too; even if you simply remove the Z10 from its holster, that sensitive brush upward unlocks the phone before you even think about it. When you're in a program, that same upwards swipe will essentially pause the program and send you to a multitasking window where you can open another program or tap the X to shut down the program that you're in.

By and large, this all works easily, although the entire interface takes awhile to get used to. Overall, it's not exactly intuitive, and, especially if you're coming from an Android or iOS background, you'll find yourself asking confused. To BlackBerry's credit, fully closing out of a program has never been this easy. And while you won't use much of the supposedly "true" multitasking on this tiny device, it is cool to know that you, um, have it.

Left-to-right swipes are the key to the entire OS. At any time when you're in a program, you can swipe from left to right to get to what's called the Blackberry Hub. This essentially lets you take a quick "peek" at emails, Facebook messages, texts and even your Twitter feed, just to see if anything important is going on. If there's something important, you can easily access the respective app from the Hub.


BlackBerry

The new BlackBerry Z10 merges ideas from the classic Blackberry withthose from state-of-the-art smartphones.

If not, however, you can go back to casually watching a movie or playing a game as long as you didn't take your finger off the screen. It's a nice and subtle addition that makes your life just a little bit easier.

Overall, though , is this method of navigation, dubbed BlackBerry Flow, truly different from the extensive drag-down menu on an Android phone? Only slightly, and it's far more challenging to learn. The somewhat steep learning curve is worth the trouble, though, BlackBerry fans, because it opens a new and simplified world of email and Twitter monitoring.

BlackBerry 10 pushes past productivity upgrades, aiming to round out its phone with multimedia chops. The camera software winds up being a shining example of smart thought, and disappointing shortcomings.

A new "TimeShift" mode essentially takes a series of quick shots, then lets you choose and save the best one. There is also a plethora of photo editing options built right into the camera app.

Unfortunately, those pluses are at least somewhat offset by the lack of some basic functions such as Geotagging. Other camera-specific functions lacking include white balancing and such subtle adjustments. But you can understand their absence: If you really wanted them, you'd probably use a real camera.


Many other features are similarly mixed bags. The music player is much improved over previous BlackBerry music apps, but the Maps app is a nightmare, nowhere near the level of Android's Google Maps or the iPhone's new setup. There's a decent voice control function, and the Internet browser performs solidly, although video did seem to take longer to load on the Z10 than it did on the S3.

The main software shortcoming for BlackBerry, however, lays in its App World. BlackBerry App World certainly has come a long way, and the user experience is friendly, letting you explore video, music and apps with ease, switching between them with one of those left-to-right menu swipes.

The thing is, it still all falls short of matching iOS and Android. BlackBerry has deals in place with several major studios, so the video and music content should eventually catch up. And while apps and games may take longer to build, they may eventually blossom, too. �Where's My Perry� and �Angry Birds� and �Star Wars� are already available in the App World.

BlackBerry users, this is the content you've long been waiting for, and it seems to be solidly growing. But it's highly unlikely that iPhone users will ditch their precious libraries on Apple to join BlackBerry Nation, and, to a lesser extent, that same idea applies to Android fans as well.

Apple and Google followers love their apps and video and music libraries as much as their devices, and it's here where the Z10 - and future BlackBerries - face the greatest challenge. If BlackBerry hopes to eat into the iOS - and Android - dominated market, it must give consumers some incentive to switch phones and sacrifice robust catalogues of movies and music and games on other platforms.

Unless a device showcases truly otherworldly brilliance - and the Z10, while solid, does not - the device itself is only a small piece of the push to regain the market, especially with Samsung and Apple showing no signs of slowing down, and Samsung expected to announce its newest phone, the S4, later this month.

Still, give BlackBerry this: The company is off to an excellent restart. It hasn't fielded a true smartphone contender in years, fading from many users' memories, but its latest offerings should restore at least a little bit of luster.

The originator of the smartphone revolution is indeed making a comeback. It just remains to be seen whether they can truly return to the top of the mountain.

[dbollman423]

SYSTEM UPDATE: Get ready for BlackBerry's comeback - NY Daily News

[Shanerredflag]

Thanks...a few missed points like geotaging but overall not bad.

Posted via CB10

[mathking606]

I actually like the design and think they made it very durable(blackberry dna) but also modern and a device that looks nice.

[abwan11]

It was a fair assessment Imo,with some misinterpretations. what I find most interesting is the fact that I'm coming from Iphone to blackberry and I'm finding that my z10 is making the competition look foolish, and that's something the author missed.

[redk]

Seems everyone always puts down the actual physical design of the phone saying is not as nice as everything out there, and I'm also tired of hearing "it looks like an iphone". Really, it looks like the first dev unit which was out way before the iphone. If we think about it the hardware was porbably just about finished 1st quarter of last year. The delay was only meant to polish the OS and allow the eco system to mature a bit. This phone with the specs it has would have been completely up to par with eveyrthing else if it launched last year. Makes you wonder how different the physical design of the next flagship phone will be, giving that they probably have been working on it for a long while now.

[G-bone]

3rd place? Done deal.
1st place?
Coming soon to a BlackBerry near you...


#BB10Believe

[Geeoff]

3rd place? Done deal.
1st place?
Coming soon to a BlackBerry near you...

#BB10Believe

Third place is the most important goal for BB and I'm starting to think that they are going to make it!

The US rollout will be decisive, but there is a really good foundation for the US based on previous rollouts (e.g. U.K., Canada), the respectable OS reviews, and the current user base in the States.

It might be time to long BB again.

[RubberChicken76]

Third place is the most important goal for BB and I'm starting to think that they are going to make it!

They're already in third place with BlackBerry OS. They need to migrate that to BlackBerry 10. In this respect, they have the advantage over Windows Phone in that they aren't forced to purely build from converts and new smartphone buyers. THey have a big body of upgraders as well.


\

[RubberChicken76]

I thought it was a fair review. It still has a bit of the thinking that 'once people go iPhone and Android, they become so in love with their platform and buy so much paid content that they'll never leave.

I sometimes think tech journalists and analysts think people are more invested in a smartphone platform than many actually are

[randall2580]

I liked the article as well thought it was fair except I cannot understand this desire to compare BB10 to the initial releases of iOS and Android. Was not BlackBerry in the smartphone business prior to BB10? By that standard BB10 is tremendous compared to the original BBOS. What exactly does that mean?

Do you think when iOS gets a major upgrade (it will - someday), that folks will compare it to the 7500? Of course not. It will be expected to step into the competitive world that is smartphones at the time and to be competitive at launch, if not higher expectations than that. BB should not get a pass for BB10 on anything, it should be judged not as a 1st gen package but is it competitive again iOS6. and Android 4.2 - which btw it is, and it's a good thing.

[dbollman423]

I really enjoyed how he said that the Z10 keyboard was better than IOS and android. And it came from a NY publication.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

[dbollman423]

I thought it was a fair review. It still has a bit of the thinking that 'once people go iPhone and Android, they become so in love with their platform and buy so much paid content that they'll never leave.

I sometimes think tech journalists and analysts think people are more invested in a smartphone platform than many actually are

Agreed. When you are in the middle of a crisis, the guy with connectivity will be the hero, not the guy with the most apps. BlackBerry does connectivity so well, and that is overlooked.

Not that that was the point of your comment, but it was my take on it.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

[DragonFlyer]

BlackBerry's Thorsten Heins: What Does He Know? - Seeking Alpha