How would you type? How would
you dial?
But the huge wave of
touchscreen phones that started with the original iPhone proved that was what
most consumers really wanted.
BlackBerry largely missed that
trend and is only just recently catching up with its new touch-friendly mobile
operating system BlackBerry 10, which debuted last month on the BlackBerry
Z10.
But the company is still
trying to appeal to its core audience with another new phone running BlackBerry
10, the BlackBerry Q10.
And this time, you get that
iconic BlackBerry keyboard.
Let's be clear though. The Q10
isn't for the typical consumer. It's a serious device and designed as such. It
has a smaller touchscreen, which isn't the best for gaming, streaming video, or
any of that other fun stuff. It's an email, messaging, and productivity
beast.
If that's you're style, you're
going to love this phone.
Design And Hardware
The BlackBerry Q10 looks a lot
like BlackBerry's last generation of Bold smartphones, except it has a much
larger 3.1-inch screen and a wider keyboard with bigger individual
keys.
It's a delight to type on. I
haven't used a physical keyboard in ages, but the keys are designed so well that
I was flying. It's definitely a better and more accurate experience than most
touchscreen keyboards, as long as you can get past the tradeoff of a smaller
screen.
The Q10 feels great to hold
too, thanks to a special rubbery coating that helps protect it from dings and
scratches. The entire phone is just plain solid. There aren't any creaks or
squeaks like you see on many non-metal smartphones. It also has a removable
battery and SD card slot for extra memory, two other throwback features that'll
please BlackBerry lovers.t is a bit odd to switch between the touchscreen and
the keyboard so often though. Most of the BlackBerry 10 operating system is
designed for touch gestures, so there's really no need for the keyboard most of
the time. Whereas most touch-based operating systems only show you the keyboard
when you need it, the Q10's keyboard is always there. It feels like wasted space
when you're not typing.
It's a minor drawback, and one
keyboard lovers will surely have no problem overlooking.
BlackBerry 10, Improved
The Q10 will be the first
phone to ship with BlackBerry's first major update to BlackBerry 10, version
10.1. That version includes a handful of minor improvements over the last
version, including a more robust tutorial mode to help beginners learn how to
navigate the phone.
The notifications center,
called the BlackBerry Hub, has also been tweaked to help you tell the difference
between what apps are sending you updates. Now it's a lot easier to filter
notifications from Facebook, email, calendar appointments, etc. thanks to some
handy symbols that tell you where each one is coming from.
The
BlackBerry Hub.
BlackBerry 10 also takes
advantage of the Q10's always-present keyboard. From the home screen, you just
have to start typing to search your phone for anything you need: contacts,
messages, emails, apps, you name it. It's an amazing and seamless way to find
stuff on your device. You can also tweet or post to Facebook from the home
screen just by typing "tweet" or "fb" plus your message. Pretty
cool.
Overall, the BlackBerry 10
experience on the Q10 is nearly identical to what you get with the Z10. It has
an excellent multitasking system that lets you swipe up to close out an app and
view your recently used one. It's much more intuitive than multitasking on the
iPhone, Android, or Windows phone.
But as solid as BlackBerry 10
is, it still suffers from a poor app selection. You won't find many of the
top-tier apps on BlackBerry. There's
no Instagram, Spotify, Netflix, Pandora, Hulu...the list goes on and on. Most of
those big developers either refuse to develop for BlackBerry 10 or won't say if
they plan to at all. Either way, it's not a good sign for the
platform.
However, there is one big app
on the way, and I got to test a beta version on the Q10. BlackBerry has finally
confirmed Skype is coming very soon.
BlackBerry
10 has a poor selection of apps.
Should You Buy It?
There's only one question you
need to ask yourself before buying the BlackBerry Q10: Do you absolutely need a
physical keyboard? If the answer is yes, then the Q10 is the best phone you can
buy. In fact, it's pretty much you're only option unless you want to buy one of
the older, outdated BlackBerrys.
If you're still a BlackBerry
fan and don't need the keyboard, you're much better off with the
touchscreen-only BlackBerry Z10.
The Q10 won't be available in
the US until the end of May, and exact pricing and availability will vary by
carrier. BlackBerry says the phone will cost around $250.
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