The QWERTY keyboard is back in black with a 3.1in Super AMOLED display for company.
Pros:
Excellent keyboard; Sharp screen; BB10 OS great for message aggregation; Smooth performance
Cons:
Missing core apps; Screen not suited to multimedia playback
Verdict:
The BlackBerry Q10 is the best handset the Canadian firm has ever built.
BlackBerry 10 as a platform also has all the makings of being truly
superb mobile OS, with an already great selection of apps, excellent
developer tools, and stringent security.
After waiting three months, BlackBerry fans can get their hands on the
Q10, which packs the traditional physical keyboard. Released in the UK
on April 26th, the handset is now available from all major networks and
it supports the UK’s burgeoning 4G networks.
Running BlackBerry 10.1 OS, the Q10 combines a touchscreen with the QWERTY keyboard. Although many in the BlackBerry community have been awaiting the handset, the firm claims that just 20 per cent of mobile users want a physical keyboard. The majority prefer touch-only smartphone devices, like the iPhone, HTC One, and Galaxy S, according to BlackBerry, which is why it launched the Z10 first.
With Apple and Samsung now making serious inroads into enterprise sector, is the Q10 too late to kickstart a rival for the Canadian firm? Or is the QWERTY handset worth the wait?
Let's get physical
The Q10’s keyboard is its USP. The keys are slightly raised, sloping up from left to right, and possess a satisfying amount of travel, which accompany the click when depressed.
Typing out long emails and memos on the Q10 is easy. If you’re coming from a touch-only device and haven’t used a keyboard on a mobile device for years, things have improved significantly. The speed and precision of typing you get with this premium keyboard is unmatched.
BB10’s spell checker and text prediction engine are unrecognisable,
with upgrades increasing the usefulness tenfold. The inclusion of
features like Smart Actions ensure the QWERTY keyboard remains at the
heart of the device’s interface.
Smart Actions tap into BB10’s universal search and can be used to search for applications, games, folders, and emails. It also plugs into third party applications like Twitter and Email, and can be used to send quick updates and messages without ever having to locate and open the app itself.
Type ‘tweet this is a tweet from a Q10’ from anywhere in the handset and the Q10 will tweet “this is a tweet from a Q10” to Twitter. Another example: type ‘email [insert name]’ and the email app will open up so you can begin typing. It also works with BBM, and BlackBerry has opened up the functionality to third party developers, so expect to see lots more Smart Actions added very soon.
BlackBerry also include all of the old ‘berry shortcuts inside the Q10’s new keyboard, so you can tap b for bottom, t for top. This combined with better spelling and word prediction and things like Smart Actions combine to create the best keyboard BlackBerry has ever produced.
Running BlackBerry 10.1 OS, the Q10 combines a touchscreen with the QWERTY keyboard. Although many in the BlackBerry community have been awaiting the handset, the firm claims that just 20 per cent of mobile users want a physical keyboard. The majority prefer touch-only smartphone devices, like the iPhone, HTC One, and Galaxy S, according to BlackBerry, which is why it launched the Z10 first.
With Apple and Samsung now making serious inroads into enterprise sector, is the Q10 too late to kickstart a rival for the Canadian firm? Or is the QWERTY handset worth the wait?
Let's get physical
The Q10’s keyboard is its USP. The keys are slightly raised, sloping up from left to right, and possess a satisfying amount of travel, which accompany the click when depressed.
Typing out long emails and memos on the Q10 is easy. If you’re coming from a touch-only device and haven’t used a keyboard on a mobile device for years, things have improved significantly. The speed and precision of typing you get with this premium keyboard is unmatched.
Smart Actions tap into BB10’s universal search and can be used to search for applications, games, folders, and emails. It also plugs into third party applications like Twitter and Email, and can be used to send quick updates and messages without ever having to locate and open the app itself.
Type ‘tweet this is a tweet from a Q10’ from anywhere in the handset and the Q10 will tweet “this is a tweet from a Q10” to Twitter. Another example: type ‘email [insert name]’ and the email app will open up so you can begin typing. It also works with BBM, and BlackBerry has opened up the functionality to third party developers, so expect to see lots more Smart Actions added very soon.
BlackBerry also include all of the old ‘berry shortcuts inside the Q10’s new keyboard, so you can tap b for bottom, t for top. This combined with better spelling and word prediction and things like Smart Actions combine to create the best keyboard BlackBerry has ever produced.
Specifications:
OS: BlackBerry 10.1 OS
Processor: 1.5GHz dual-core processor
Memory/Storage: 2GB RAM, 16GB, up to 64GB microSD
Screen: 3.1in Super AMOLED (720 x 720 ) display, 330 ppi
Connectivity: 802.11 a/b/g/n, 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz, 4G Mobile Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy Assisted, Autonomous and Simultaneous GPS, Preloaded with BlackBerry Maps application, GLONASS support
Other: Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Ambient light sensor
Bands: Quad band LTE 3, 7,8,2, Quad Band HSPA+ 1, 2, 5/6, 8 (850/1900/2100 MHz/900) DC@ 42mbps, Quad band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
Camera: 8MP rear with LED flash and autofocus, 2MP front-facing
Battery: 2,100mAh
Size: 120 x 67 x 10.35 mm (WxDxH)
Weight: 139g
______________________________________________________
Processor: 1.5GHz dual-core processor
Memory/Storage: 2GB RAM, 16GB, up to 64GB microSD
Screen: 3.1in Super AMOLED (720 x 720 ) display, 330 ppi
Connectivity: 802.11 a/b/g/n, 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz, 4G Mobile Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy Assisted, Autonomous and Simultaneous GPS, Preloaded with BlackBerry Maps application, GLONASS support
Other: Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Ambient light sensor
Bands: Quad band LTE 3, 7,8,2, Quad Band HSPA+ 1, 2, 5/6, 8 (850/1900/2100 MHz/900) DC@ 42mbps, Quad band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
Camera: 8MP rear with LED flash and autofocus, 2MP front-facing
Battery: 2,100mAh
Size: 120 x 67 x 10.35 mm (WxDxH)
Weight: 139g
______________________________________________________
Display
The inclusion of a QWERTY keyboard means that the display is not going to be as big as other handsets on the market. The Q10 packs a 3.1in Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 720 x 720 and a pixel density of 328ppi. With its aspect ratio of 1:1, the Q10’s squared off display is different to 99.9 per cent of today’s top flight devices, which tend to use 16:9 setups.
The square screen doesn’t pose a problem – web browsing, video,
messaging, even gaming all work well. The only time you will run into
trouble, however, is with apps: BlackBerry developers need to repurpose
their existing Z10 apps for use on the Q10. Six Guns works on the Z10,
for example, but has not yet been rejigged for the Q10.
Colours appear vivid and detailed for the most part, although whites as is often the case on most Super AMOLED setups are little off, appearing slightly yellow. The Q10’s display is also highly reflective and this does cause problems when using the device in bright sunlight.
Does size matter?
With the Galaxy S4, HTC One, and even the iPhone 5, you have devices designed to offer excellent video, web browsing and gaming capabilities. And that’s great, but it’s not what the Q10 is about. The Q10 is a messaging device, designed for people who need to communicate constantly on the move.
So if you’re looking for a device that’s both a solid work tool and a media player in one, then the Q10 is not for you.
Design
The Q10 is born from the same design ethos as the BlackBerry Bold 9900 with its statesman-like demeanor. In a world of large-form handsets, the Q10 harks back to a simpler age where phones were professional tools, designed with work in mind, and not just gadgets designed for games, multimedia, and social networking.
And when the average smartphone screen size is 4.5in-and-up, it’s a refreshing change, too. The Q10 measures in at 120 x 67 x 10.4mm and weighs just 139g. It does feel chunkier than its contemporaries but because of the nature of the handset, it’s styling and iconic history, you find yourself perfectly at ease with it.
Featuring a stainless steel frame and a fiberglass backpanel complete with metallic edging, the Q10’s 3.1in Super AMOLED is 30 per cent larger than the setup on the Bold 9900.
BlackBerry 10 is entirely gesture-based, so you no longer need
navigation keys and trackballs. With these aspects gone you get more
display, a better keyboard, and very little change to the overall size
and weight of the handset.
BlackBerry refers to the fiberglass-like material employed on the Q10’s backpanel as Glass Weave. The backpanel itself is soft to the touch, slides off completely to reveal the SIM tray, SD-slot and battery cell, and is slightly embossed to aid grip.
The Q10’s keyboard is broken up by several metal fretboards similar to what we saw on the Bold 9900, however, here they’re ever so slightly thicker and the keyboard itself looks as if it is fused directly with the Q10’s steel framing. The overall finish is excellent.
Towards the top on the left side you have micro USB and a micro HDMI-out port. On the opposite side, the volume rocker and voice control key. On top, sits the power/unlock key and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Hidden away on the bottom of the device is a grilled stereo speaker for audio, notifications and speaker-phone conversations.
-________________________________________________________
Hardware
The Q10 is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor alongside 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. You also get 32GB of additional space via the SD-slot (and it is possible to format it to except 64GB cards).
It also packs in the largest battery we’ve seen so far inside a BlackBerry: 2100mAh. NFC, 4G connectivity, Bluetooth 4, and dual-band Wi-Fi, as well as HDMI-out, are all included out the box, bringing BlackBerry well and truly back in line with the competition.
There are no performance issues. Flick around the interface and you’ll experience zero lag, with everything flowing smoothly. During our two weeks with the device we’ve yet to encounter a crash, freeze, or been forced to reboot the handset.
Multitasking sits at the heart of BB10 and the UI has been designed with it in mind. Based around three key gestures, navigating around BB10 is a simple and intuitive experience. You have the Hub on your left, app icons to the right, and the multitasking window in the middle.
Looking like a combination of iOS and Android, it seems like BlackBerry has taken elements from both, implemented plenty of its own ideas, and come up with something entirely different but simple enough for even a complete beginner to pick up.
There is something of a learning curve, of course, but it shouldn’t take you longer than a couple of hours to figure everything out. Read our in-depth look at BlackBerry 10 here for more information about the ins-and-outs of the operating system and the software features.
Applications
There are over 100,000 apps available inside BlackBerry World, which isn’t bad when you consider the platform is four months old. Around 20 per cent of these are said to be Android ports and performance, which in our experience, isn’t always great.
BlackBerry is still a long way behind Apple and Google in this regard, and if you’re coming over from either platform you will notice the difference. That said, apps built specially for BB10 – The Guardian, USA Today, The New York Times, Foursquare, and CrackBerry – look amazing, showing just what’s possible with BlackBerry’s new SDK when it’s in the right hands.
WhatsApp, Skype, Google Talk, Twitter, Facebook, and NFS Underground
are all available and lots more big name launches now the Q10 is readily
available.
Most of Google’s apps, Dropbox, Chrome, Firefox, Instagram, Spotify, Pixlr, YouTube, and Tumblr are some of the key applications missing from BlackBerry World. New content – most recently Skype and WhatsApp – is landing everyday, however, so in this respect we are pretty confident that BB10 within the next year or so will have pretty much everything covered.
Gaining market traction and getting big name publishers on to your platform takes time, just look at Windows Phone, but it seems that BlackBerry is making all the right moves in this regard with its more open, developer-friendly, approach to its platform
The inclusion of a QWERTY keyboard means that the display is not going to be as big as other handsets on the market. The Q10 packs a 3.1in Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 720 x 720 and a pixel density of 328ppi. With its aspect ratio of 1:1, the Q10’s squared off display is different to 99.9 per cent of today’s top flight devices, which tend to use 16:9 setups.
Colours appear vivid and detailed for the most part, although whites as is often the case on most Super AMOLED setups are little off, appearing slightly yellow. The Q10’s display is also highly reflective and this does cause problems when using the device in bright sunlight.
Does size matter?
With the Galaxy S4, HTC One, and even the iPhone 5, you have devices designed to offer excellent video, web browsing and gaming capabilities. And that’s great, but it’s not what the Q10 is about. The Q10 is a messaging device, designed for people who need to communicate constantly on the move.
So if you’re looking for a device that’s both a solid work tool and a media player in one, then the Q10 is not for you.
Design
The Q10 is born from the same design ethos as the BlackBerry Bold 9900 with its statesman-like demeanor. In a world of large-form handsets, the Q10 harks back to a simpler age where phones were professional tools, designed with work in mind, and not just gadgets designed for games, multimedia, and social networking.
And when the average smartphone screen size is 4.5in-and-up, it’s a refreshing change, too. The Q10 measures in at 120 x 67 x 10.4mm and weighs just 139g. It does feel chunkier than its contemporaries but because of the nature of the handset, it’s styling and iconic history, you find yourself perfectly at ease with it.
Featuring a stainless steel frame and a fiberglass backpanel complete with metallic edging, the Q10’s 3.1in Super AMOLED is 30 per cent larger than the setup on the Bold 9900.
BlackBerry refers to the fiberglass-like material employed on the Q10’s backpanel as Glass Weave. The backpanel itself is soft to the touch, slides off completely to reveal the SIM tray, SD-slot and battery cell, and is slightly embossed to aid grip.
The Q10’s keyboard is broken up by several metal fretboards similar to what we saw on the Bold 9900, however, here they’re ever so slightly thicker and the keyboard itself looks as if it is fused directly with the Q10’s steel framing. The overall finish is excellent.
Towards the top on the left side you have micro USB and a micro HDMI-out port. On the opposite side, the volume rocker and voice control key. On top, sits the power/unlock key and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Hidden away on the bottom of the device is a grilled stereo speaker for audio, notifications and speaker-phone conversations.
-________________________________________________________
Hardware
The Q10 is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor alongside 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. You also get 32GB of additional space via the SD-slot (and it is possible to format it to except 64GB cards).
It also packs in the largest battery we’ve seen so far inside a BlackBerry: 2100mAh. NFC, 4G connectivity, Bluetooth 4, and dual-band Wi-Fi, as well as HDMI-out, are all included out the box, bringing BlackBerry well and truly back in line with the competition.
There are no performance issues. Flick around the interface and you’ll experience zero lag, with everything flowing smoothly. During our two weeks with the device we’ve yet to encounter a crash, freeze, or been forced to reboot the handset.
Multitasking sits at the heart of BB10 and the UI has been designed with it in mind. Based around three key gestures, navigating around BB10 is a simple and intuitive experience. You have the Hub on your left, app icons to the right, and the multitasking window in the middle.
Looking like a combination of iOS and Android, it seems like BlackBerry has taken elements from both, implemented plenty of its own ideas, and come up with something entirely different but simple enough for even a complete beginner to pick up.
There is something of a learning curve, of course, but it shouldn’t take you longer than a couple of hours to figure everything out. Read our in-depth look at BlackBerry 10 here for more information about the ins-and-outs of the operating system and the software features.
Applications
There are over 100,000 apps available inside BlackBerry World, which isn’t bad when you consider the platform is four months old. Around 20 per cent of these are said to be Android ports and performance, which in our experience, isn’t always great.
BlackBerry is still a long way behind Apple and Google in this regard, and if you’re coming over from either platform you will notice the difference. That said, apps built specially for BB10 – The Guardian, USA Today, The New York Times, Foursquare, and CrackBerry – look amazing, showing just what’s possible with BlackBerry’s new SDK when it’s in the right hands.
Most of Google’s apps, Dropbox, Chrome, Firefox, Instagram, Spotify, Pixlr, YouTube, and Tumblr are some of the key applications missing from BlackBerry World. New content – most recently Skype and WhatsApp – is landing everyday, however, so in this respect we are pretty confident that BB10 within the next year or so will have pretty much everything covered.
Gaining market traction and getting big name publishers on to your platform takes time, just look at Windows Phone, but it seems that BlackBerry is making all the right moves in this regard with its more open, developer-friendly, approach to its platform
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