Blackberry Z10

Blackberry Z10 

Could this save Blackberry?

At a first look the Blackberry Z10 looks like a stretched iphone 5. There were no design risks here, everything is simple and industrial as a safe move from RIM (now renamed to Blackberry). At a closer look though this is a unique device that was given the task, together with the blackberry Q10, to save Blackberry. Is this good enough to save Blackberry? Well surprisingly this is a great effort but is it too late? Three other platforms, Android, iOS and Windows Phone already are at the top of the market and there is no more space for a fourth one. Bottom line is Blackberry will fight for the third position with Windows Phone and to keep itself alive.

"At a first look the Blackberry Z10 looks like a stretched iphone 5"

With the absense of a home button, Blackberry hopes to invest in gesture use to get through apps and use the phone. This might not be for everyone as it takes some getting used to. 

Overally though the Z10 has some decent specs and competes with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3, iphone 5 and Lumia 920. On the plus side it has expandable memory and a removable battery which is a huge plus when you are on the go. The Blackberry App world is limited and might not be enough for the app junkies out there, but hopefully this will change in the future. 

Specs:

Processor: Dual-Core 1.5GHz - Snapdragon S4 Plus

Display: 4.2”, 4 point multi-touch LCD display, 1280 x 768 resolution at 356 DPI

Camera: 8MP rear facing camera, Auto Focus, 5X digital zoom, 1080p HD video recording ・2MP front facing camera, 3X digital zoom, 720p HD video recording
Memory: 2GB RAM ・16GB Internal Storage ・ microSD Slot up to 64GB
WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n ・2.4/5GHz ・4G Mobile Hotspot
GPS: Assisted, Autonomous, and Simultaneous GPS
Battery: 1800mAh Removable ・Talk Time: up to 10 hours on 3G・Standby Time: up to 305 hours on 3G, up to 316 hours on 2G・Audio Playback: up to 60 hours・Video PlayBack: up to 11 hours
Sensors: Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Proximity, Gyroscope, Ambient light sensor
Connectivity: NFC ・microUSB ・microHDMI-Out ・Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy ・4G LTE
Size (LxWxD): 130mm x 65.6mm x 9mm

The Verdict:

It all comes down to personal preferences. If you were and still are a blackberry fan this might be the phone for you, but if you are not is it worth spending your money on the Z10 when there are many alternatives coming out now, like the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 at the same price levels?