BlackBerry Z3 Review

A durable, full-featured device built for BlackBerry's biggest fans.

The BlackBerry Z3 is the latest BlackBerry 10 device and was built exclusively for Indonesia. This is the first product of the Foxconn / BlackBerry partnership worked up by John Chen. The time from inception to production on this device was just a matter of months, so it already looks like the deal is paying off.

At launch, the BlackBerry Z3 smartphone will be available in a limited edition model — the BlackBerry Z3 Jakarta Edition — featuring the inscription “Jakarta” on the back of the phone to commemorate the launch of the first BlackBerry smartphone built specifically for the Indonesian market. BlackBerry is all about the people, so the Z3 invites these users to “Be part of We.”

Indonesians are “ultra” BlackBerry users, and as such, BlackBerry is giving a bit back in the form of an exclusive device, just for them. The Z3 Jakarta Edition doesn’t have the latest or greatest specs, but it holds down what BlackBerry users do most — communicate. The Z3 makes the latest hardware accessible to the masses of people that just want to stay connected. It won’t turn out to be a mainstream device by any means, but it will provide those in Indonesia and similar regions the ability to have an awesome BlackBerry 10 phone at a great price with no big compromises.

BlackBerry Z3 video walk-through

BlackBerry Z3 Specs and features

Low end, but not low performance

The BlackBerry Z3 doesn’t have the newest hardware inside, but it has what it needs to keep the BlackBerry 10 OS running smoothly. Behind the 5” glass LCD screen lies a 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor, 8GB of flash memory and 1.5GB of RAM. A big 2500mAh battery powers it all — and it does so in grand fashion. I was able to stretch over a full day on the Z3, though I wish I had more time to test it out for the long haul. Also good to note is that there is no LTE in this model. The Z3 is being targeted toward Indonesia and other parts of Asia (hence the Jakarta name) and LTE isn’t available in most areas where this particular variation of the device is to be sold.

All the standard fare is here — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and even Miracast support. The back camera is a mediocre 5MP, while the front-facing lens is just 1.1MP. It's not the worst camera we’ve seen in a BlackBerry (yes, Bold 9900, that’s you) but it still not great. It did however take some decent shots providing the lighting was good.

To me it feels like the Z3 is a good amount lighter than the BlackBerry Z30 (to which we’ll be making plenty of comparisons), though that’s not the case. At 164g, the Z3 comes in at just a touch lighter than the Z30’s 170g. It’s smooth all around and actually feels really good in the hand. It’s not slippery at all thanks to the textured back, and it’s not too slim to lose hold of. In fact, it may even prove a bit too wide for those with smaller hands. The Z3 slides right in and out of my pockets, but it does have a bad habit of showing off screen smudges in all their glory.

The Z3 also has BlackBerry Natural Sound, just like we saw (or heard) on the Z30 to give a much more realistic listening experience in things like BBM Voice. A built-in FM radio tuner also allows for radio without having to use a network connection.

I also had a bit of trouble at times using the swipe gestures from the top and bottom bezels. It wasn’t often, but when it happened it was certainly frustrating. Lots of swiping with no reaction. I assume it’s just due to the way the display is designed and all flow together, but I’ll see how much it happens and/or annoys me going forward.

Overall the Z3 feels extremely solid. It’s essentially one big piece from head to toe, and it doesn’t feel at all “cheap” or that it won’t last. It’s made with durable materials and it in for the long-haul.

BlackBerry Z3 hardware

Sleek, durable and definitely BlackBerry

The Z3 fits right in line with other BlackBerry 10 devices. The big 5” glass screen looks great on the front, and the flying B logo sits in the middle of the textured back. There’s no removable battery door on the Z3, so that gives it smoother lines and just feels like it flows better all around. The hardware looks basic (which it is) but it still looks good. It’s not too flashy, but it’s got a great look to it at the same time — though it’s not meant to be a high-end device with a high-end look.

Without a removable back, that leaves the SIM and SD card slots on the right side of the device, under a flimsy little door. I’m not a fan of these type of flaps, but there isn’t really much choice on this one. On the left are the power and volume buttons. I’m not a big fan of the power button placement and would have rather it been on the right side or top of the device, but it’s just something to get used to.

On the top is the lone 3.5mm headphone jack, on the bottom the microUSB port. I like this placement because it means that we could see a dock of some sort for the Z3, though it’s unlikely and we'll probably just be stuck with standard chargers for a while. Also note that there’s not microHDMI port as on some other BB10 devices — but again, not a deal breake

The BlackBerry Z3 is of a “what you see is what you get” design.

The Z3 really does feature a plain and simple design. The Z30, Z10 and Q10 all have various design elements to make them more appealing, but much like the Q5, the Z3 is more of a “what you see is what you get” design — but one that I happen to like. It’s also very durable and will stand up to constant use. It’s not “plastic” or cheaply made — it’s a solid device that will last for years to come.

Display

Overall the Z3 has a nice display. the LCD screen lights up bright on all 5” and I don’t really have any complaints. The only issue I ran into was using the device in direct sunlight, but that’s something you’ll run into on a lot of devices. Colors are sharp, whites are bright and everything looks good. The pixel based resolution of the Z3 is 540×960 but through the magic of upscaling, the scaled resolution is the exact same of that of the BlackBerry Z30 which is 720×1280. The glass also stretches from edge to edge thanks to the design of the Z3, giving you more screen and less bezel.

Battery Life

I wish I would have had more time to run the Z3 through a good battery test (I only had about 4 days) but overall the 2500mAh battery did a great job. I was able to get through a day with no hiccups, and I’m sure I could stretch to near two should the need arise. The battery is more than enough to keep things going on the Z3, so I don’t foresee any issues on that front. Of course, part of that comes from the fact there’s no LTE on this model, though a version with LTE is planned for future release.

Camera

One place where the Z3 falls short is the camera. It’s obviously not built as a photo-taking machine, but it still could stand to be a bit better. The 5MP rear camera does an okay job of getting decent images providing the settings are right, but the 1.1MP front camera really isn’t good for too much — especially taking good photos. Both will serve their purpose of snapping quick images or using video chat however, but sadly you won’t be getting any masterpieces from the Z3 camera. The camera does have Time Shift mode and some great filters though, so that definitely adds some points — and hey, at least it’s got auto-focus.

A quick shot from the Z3 and Z30 for comparison 

Blackberry Z3

 Blackberry Z30

BlackBerry Z3 software

The same BlackBerry 10 you know and love

The Z3 is running OS 10.2.1 out of the box, so that means it’s on par with the current BB10 devices. All the latest updates are there — BBM stickers, quick settings, Priority Hub and the ability to install Android apps OTA (over the air). The BlackBerry OS 10.3 update will be along soon, which will also bring even more new features to the Z3 as well as other BlackBerry 10 devices.

We won’t dive too much into the OS itself, but you can check out every bit and piece of OS 10.2.1 in our recent BlackBerry 10 review - 2014 edition..

BlackBerry Hub & Sharing

BlackBerry 10 Hub on the BlackBerry Z3

The BlackBerry Hub is the centralized location for all of your notifications on the Z3, and it’s accessible anywhere, anytime. A simple swipe to the right from the homescreen and you’ll see the Hub where you can view your email, text messages, phone calls, social notifications, BBM chats and more. New features like BlackBerry Priority Hub and pinch gestures allow for even deeper use of the Hub as well. The Hub is really one of the big selling points of BlackBerry 10 and proves to be extremely useful and powerful for multitasking.

Sharp Sharing makes it faster and easier for you to share nearly anything on your device. When choosing to share an item, BB10 will offer suggestions on who and how to share pictures, files, links, and documents based on your past activity. It adapts automatically to learn where and what you share most, so as you share more and more, the options you want are right there when you open the share menu.

Typing

Being a device for Indonesia, Bahasa Indonesia is ready to roll on the Z3 keyboard. Thankfully the BB10 keyboard is awesome so you can easily add in English (or any other language) and seamlessly switch between them while typing. The Z3 is also equipped with local dialects as part of the language, i.e. Basa Jawa and Basa Sunda, which enable the keyboard to understand the words in those two local dialects. As a result, you will be able to type in multiple languages such as English, Bahasa Indonesia and Basa Jawa or Basa Sunda simultaneously.

The BlackBerry 10 virtual keyboard on the BlackBerry Z3

The virtual keyboard on BlackBerry 10 is still one of the best on mobile. Here you’ll find plenty of options for auto-correct and word prediction, and you can take full advantage of the swipe features that we’ve loved since we first saw them.

Apps

The good thing about the Z3 is that there are already loads of apps available. Any app with a Z30 variant will be fitted to the Z3 and ready to roll. So that means thousands of apps can be used right off the bat. BlackBerry World has all of the latest apps that Z3 users will be looking for. Apps for travel, lifestyle, music, video, games and news are all there.

Thanks to BlackBerry OS 10.2.1 there is now an even greater set of apps available for the Z3. Android apps can be installed OTA (over the air) directly to the device, eliminating the need to hook up to a PC to sideload. That means popular apps like Instagram, Path or other that aren’t available in BlackBerry World can be used on the BlackBerry Z3 with no noticeable differences. You’ll still have to seek out the APK files for these apps, but there are some great resources available as well as third-party apps stores like Snap that help out in that area.

BBM

The Z3 is rocking the latest version of BBM, so that means BBM Channels & stickers are ready to go. Indonesian users love stickers, so having them ready to roll out of the box will be a huge benefit. The users that will be buying the Z3 are doing so for the communication factor (more so than gaming, apps, photos etc) and having so many communication features within BBM will be a huge bonus. Out of the box the Z3 has BBM chat, voice, video with screen sharing, groups, BBM Channels and stickers. An exclusive Indonesia sticker pack will also be available at launch for a limited time from local artist Susiyo Saptoadi representing Punakawan Characters.

Browser

The BlackBerry 10 browser is still one of the best there is, and browsing on the Z3 is awesome. The big 5” screen leaves plenty of room to check out your favorite pages. Browsing is fast and smooth and extremely intuitive. Share features are always just a few taps away, and of course you can access the Hub from within the browser for quick reference. The BB10 browser still features Adobe Flash as well.

Instant Previews

Instant Previews are new to OS 10.2 and really add a lot to the notification experience. Rather than just having an audible alert and LED, Instant Previews allow for some notifications to show a short dropdown banner across the OS, letting you know just what message has come in. These previews work for email, Twitter, SMS, Facebook and BBM. Messages like even allow for quick replies right from the notification, without having to leave whatever app you’re currently using.

BlackBerry Z3: The Bottom Line

A low-end device that wins high praises

Overall I really do like the BlackBerry Z3. It’s not sporting the highest specs, but it doesn’t have to be. For the markets in which it will be available, the Z3 will be a great upgrade for many users. OS 10.2.1 runs great with no slowness or lag, and the battery life is more than enough to stay powered through even the longest of days. The biggest drawbacks I found are the low-resolution cameras (both front and back). Some may not like the plain design of the Z3, but the fact that it’s so durable and not “cheap” (which could be said about the Q5) should outweigh the design choices.

Z10 users should welcome the upgrade, but I can’t say that those using a Z30 will want to change things up to a Z3. The Z3 doesn’t have the internal specs of the Z30, but it’s still got a great look and feel. You’d be trading off a bit of speed (though not really noticeable) and camera quality. Long story short, it’s a great upgrade from BBOS and maybe the Z10, but if you’re already using a Z30, the Z3 probably won’t phase you at all.

I think the Z3 will be a big seller in Indonesia. Those users are big communicators and pride themselves on having the latest tech, and the Z3 will cover those bases well. We’re still not sure if we’ll see an LTE version land in North America or other areas, but for now I don’t think it matters much with other devices already on the roadmap. Many people won’t see the Z3 as a good upgrade or even a good move for BlackBerry having those lower specs, but considering the market and the quickness from inception to finished product, the Z3 is a very well-rounded device overall. The Z3 is available starting this week in Indonesia, and should be arriving in other regions of Asia soon as well.

Conclusion

When it comes down to it, the BlackBerry Z3 is a good — not great — device. The specs are on the lower end, but it still performs extremely well. It's not a powerhouse like the BlackBerry Z30, but it's geared toward those that are looking for pure communication, which is what BlackBerry is all about. It's durable, has amazing battery life, and will certainly find a place amongst BlackBerry fans.

Source:crackberry

BlackBerry 10 OS review

The word BlackBerry has always been synonymous with emails but somewhere along the line (read with the introduction of the iPhone), the company lost its way and found itself sidelined in the smartphone race, currently being fought by iOS and Android.

BlackBerry 10 is likely the company's final throw of the dice to regain relevance and offer a viable alternative to iOS and Android. The OS has been designed afresh from the ground-up and is built on the QNX platform that Blackberry acquired. The UI has been refreshed as well, and the stock apps like BBM now come with additional features. But does all this translate into a great smartphone experience? Let's find out.

Setup

We received our BlackBerry Z10 unit in powered off state and we have to say we didn't really start off on the best of terms. The unit took over 2 minutes to show us the welcome screen - insert BlackBerry boot times jokes here. Subsequent restarts were only slightly better.

The OS goes through a series of welcome screens to setup the phone. Language, Wi-Fi, Agreement, followed by the option to sign-in to your BlackBerry ID, or sign-up if you don't have one. Next up is the screen to enable Diagnostics/ Location data followed by Software Updates option. Finally, you see a tutorial that guides you through the main gestures that you'll need to navigate your way through the OS. You can swipe up to go back to the task switcher/ home screen from anywhere, or swipe to the left to reveal the BlackBerry Hub.

We then went on to setup BBM and add Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Exchange, Outlook.com and Gmail accounts. The whole process from first boot to this point took us around 25 minutes.

Every time you launch an app, the focus first switches to the task switcher and then the app is launched. This gets annoying very quickly. The task switcher is a giant grid of recently used apps, that can also be used to kill apps manually. It is limited to 8 most-recently used apps.

Hub and Peek

Hub is the centrepiece of the BlackBerry 10 experience, the place where all your notifications sit. It also serves as your communication centre, so this is where your email and BBM go. Think of it as a giant unified inbox.

Twitter and Facebook notifications show up in the Hub as well, and clicking on these, strangely, doesn't open the respective applications, but opens a Twitter/ Facebook mobile interface that lets you choose an appropriate response to the alert. Perhaps the idea is to let you do stuff without ever leaving the Hub, but we really wish clicking on notifications took us to the apps, like other platforms do (not that the apps themselves are anything to write home about - see below).

There's no standalone email client since, you guessed it, the Hub is there for all your email needs. We configured an Exchange account, a Microsoft Outlook.com account and a Gmail account, and the setup was pretty straightforward with options to sync Calendar and Contacts in addition to email.

The email experience was pretty good, and you don't expect anything else from a BlackBerry. However, a few things, like selecting multiple messages for example, take one click too many. There seemed to be no way to do a select all messages either. We hope to see this evolve as we go along.

Push email over IMAP accounts does not seem to be supported either, not even for servers with IDLE support. These accounts default to checking email every 15 minutes. We did like the individual control over different email account settings, including the ability to set a different signature for each account, especially handy if you mix work and personal accounts (who doesn't). Are you watching Apple?

The Hub also includes BBM which now includes the useful video chat option (only over Wi-Fi), as well as screen sharing support. A separate BBM icon is included on the home screen as well. There's good news for users as they no longer require a special BlackBerry plan to use BBM - it works fine over normal 2G or 3G data and even Wi-Fi.

Peek is BlackBerry's answer to the Notification Centre that feels nice in the beginning, but ultimately leaves you wanting more. Swipe slightly above from virtually anywhere to take a sneak peek at a bunch of icons with numbers besides them, indicating the unread count. Icons with a red star next to them indicate new content since you last took a peek.

This feels handy at first but ultimately, without a preview of the email we just got, or an indication of who just sent us the DM (or if we were mentioned by someone), the novelty wears out pretty quick. Sure, Hub is just a swipe away, but with all the accounts in there it can get a bit overwhelming, and there's no way to quickly figure out the email that just came in.

Overall, Peek, and especially Hub, are nicely done and easy to get to, but we wish there was a Notification Centre we could fall back upon if needed.

Keyboard

For a company that built its reputation around its QWERTY devices, BlackBerry has been talking up the BlackBerry 10 soft keyboard up quite a bit. Once you start using the device, you realise why.

The BlackBerry 10 keyboard is a joy to use thanks to the autocomplete options that pop up over the keyboard as you type. Simply flick over the desired word gently and the OS types it out for you followed by a space. The best part is that the OS learns your typing habits as it goes along, so even words not native to your language will show up eventually - 'Hinglish' users would really appreciate this feature.

However, a slightly annoying problem is that the autocomplete words appear all over the place and not at one particular spot on the screen. This can take a bit of getting used to. However, that's nit-picking over what is definitely the best stock keyboard across all platforms. We expect to see a lot of people with smiles on their faces as they gently 'flick away' on their BlackBerry 10 keyboards.

Text selection is another thing we couldn't get used to. No matter how hard we tried, we just couldn't accurately position the cursor in order to copy paste text. Based on the feedback we've received, we were not the only ones.

Contacts

BlackBerry 10 pulled in our contacts from Outlook.com and Gmail accounts (we didn't have any on Exchange), as well as displayed our Facebook friends and the people we follow on Twitter. The OS was smart enough to figure out when the same person was listed on multiple networks and 'linked' (merged) the cards. The option to manually link cards in case the OS wasn't able to establish the connection is especially handy, and another feature iOS could learn from BlackBerry 10.

Installed apps

BlackBerry 10 comes with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Dropbox and Box.net pre-installed. Most clients are pretty barebones, and look like wrappers to a mobile interface rather than full-fledged apps. Most users will be satisfied with the experience, but if you're used to feature rich clients on other platforms, you'll be in for a disappointment.

The Clock app is nice, with a really intuitive way to set the alarm, and we loved the Weather app as well. The Calendar app seems solid, similar to stock apps on other platforms. DocsToGo offers basic Word, Excel, PowerPoint viewing and editing.

BlackBerry World

BlackBerry claimed over 70,000 BlackBerry 10 apps on launch day, and once you login to the BlackBerry World (no longer called BlackBerry App World), you do see a wide variety of apps listed. While most apps seem to be just making up the numbers, you do find apps that work pretty well.

Gaming, a category you don't usually associate with BlackBerry, is pretty well represented, thanks mainly to the effort BlackBerry put in getting third-party developers on-board. You'll find a lot of popular gaming titles in BlackBerry World, including the latest edition of everyone's favourite game, Angry Birds Star Wars.

App discovery is a problem, especially with lot of apps just making up the numbers as mentioned earlier, but we expect that to get slightly easier as more users from more markets start using BlackBerry World, and the best apps start rising to the top.

Some of the notable third-party apps missing as of date include Skype, Google Maps, Gmail (if you prefer a dedicated app), SkyDrive, Instagram and Flickr. We also faced the problem of corrupt downloads a couple of times, but re-downloading the apps fixed the problem.

By the time you read this, BlackBerry World in India would have added Music, Movies and TV Shows, but these weren't live in time for this review. We'll update this story with our thoughts in due course.

Maps

Unfortunately the Maps app is nothing to write home about, especially in India. If you've come to rely upon your smartphone for finding your way around, BlackBerry 10 isn't ready for you yet. We hope this gets fixed at the earliest, since Maps are a critical part of the picture, as Apple found out first hand not so long ago. However, BlackBerry claims that the latest version of MapMyIndia maps for BlackBerry will be available free of cost to all customers. This should come as a big relief.

Browser

The BlackBerry 10 browser is updated with a WebKit-based engine and HTML5 support. It does a decent job rendering websites and, on the BlackBerry Z10, felt pretty snappy. The browser comes with Flash disabled, with a prompt to turn it on when you visit a website with Flash elements for the first time.

Miscellaneous

Most apps feature a Share hub, that provides a standard sharing framework to most common sources like Twitter, Email etc. even to third-party apps.

BlackBerry has also improved the desktop software quite a bit, especially on the Mac. You have the option to sync content with your iTunes/ iPhoto libraries. The device simply mounts as a storage device you can access in Finder/ Explorer, even over Wi-Fi.

The Settings app is pretty much you would expect. We especially liked the reveal password option under email settings.

BlackBerry Protect is now built-in to the OS and lets you locate and remotely wipe your device in case it gets lost.

For the Camera app review, check out our BlackBerry Z10 review.

Verdict

BlackBerry 10 OS is clearly a 1.0 release. There are plenty of rough edges, and the app ecosystem isn't mature, with quite a few notable third-party absentees. However, beyond all this we can see a platform that has tried to provide a different user experience, and has, by and large, delivered. While there are a few things one can't overlook - like Maps - we think BlackBerry has done enough things right to provide a viable 3rd alternative. In that respect, BlackBerry 10 competes with Windows Phone 8, and in our opinion, the OS already looks a more promising option that its more established rival.

Source:http:gadgets.ndtv.com

BlackBerry PlayBook

Editor's Update Feb. 21, 2012: RIM finally released OS 2.0 for PlayBook. It adds native PIM apps, email and the ability to run Android apps (that are provided in BlackBerry App World).

The BlackBerry PlayBook 7" tablet is here, and a spate of pre-release reviews were less than stellar. RIM may be late to the game, but they've got a fresh new OS powered by QNX and a divine user interface that we'd applaud even more vocally were it not such a blatant rip off of Palm/HP webOS. The PlayBook is available in WiFi-only models (3G/4G versions are coming in May or June, with Sprint being first), and the 16 gig WiFi version we have for review sells for $499. A 32 gig model will set you back $599 and a 64 gig model is $699, similar to iPad 2 pricing.

The tablet has a quality feel to it with a soft touch finish and understated design that reminds us of the Motorola Xoom (that's not a bad thing). It doesn't have the plastic look and feel of the 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab, and at 14.9 ounces it has some heft. The PlayBook runs on a 1GHz dual core CPU that's quickly become the standard for tablets in various operating systems, and it has a healthy gig of RAM. It has a rear 5 megapixel camera and a 3 megapixel front camera, though there's not much you can do with the front camera beyond taking photos of yourself. Both cameras can shoot sharp and colorful 1080p video at 30fps and they're the best we've seen on tablets.

The PlayBook makes a very good first impression. The hardware has that quality look, and the 1024 x 600 capacitive display is very bright, sharp and colorful. It's large enough to read a web page without much zooming, yet small enough to fit in a large jacket pocket or purse. The home screen and user interface are easy to understand and delightful to use. It plays video like a champ, even 1080p.

 The BlackBerry Playbook and 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The tablet has a soft touch finish that feels good in hand and squared off sides that ensure a positive grip. At 0.4" it's thin enough to be fashionable, and it's solidly built. Much ado has been made about the power button because pre-release review units had a very inset power button that was difficult to press. RIM said shipping units would have a slightly different design and indeed, our unit's power button is tiny but not sunk so deep that you can't press it with the flesh of a finger. Note that you can wake up the PlayBook at any time by swiping bottom to top across the display. Be sure to start from the black bezel because the bezel is touch sensitive as well and reacts to gestures.

The power button and volume controls are up top. I found that I accidentally activated the screen shot function (press volume up and down simultaneously) when picking up the tablet sometimes. The micro USB port for charging and syncing, micro HDMI port and dock contacts are on the bottom edge. The 3.5mm stereo headphone jack is up top as are the mics, and stereo speakers of surprisingly good quality and volume flank the display. It's ironic that Apple's iPad and iPhone products still lack stereo speakers despite their iTunes heritage. Score one for RIM.

Early reviews of the pre-release product noted copious bugs and the absence of BlackBerry Bridge that allows the PlayBook to grab PIM data and email from a BlackBerry smartphone. Happily, the release version we have (after downloading a 287 meg update out of the box, then a second large update a few days later) has been fairly stable with no out of memory errors even when running several programs simultaneously. Adobe Flash 10.1 playback is very impressive and we didn't feel like we were suffering through yet another lame mobile implementation of full Flash. The webkit web browser does have a tendency to occasionally silently crash and disappear taking all its tabs with it however.

BlackBerry Bridge is available for Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon OS 5 and 6 BlackBerry smartphones, but not AT&T. AT&T is still testing the app, according to their PR team... that sounds a little fishy, AT&T. Without Bridge you won't have contacts, calendar or email unless you can access them via the web browser. With Bridge you can use your BlackBerry phone as a wireless modem for the tablet, though your carrier may require that you pay for a tethering plan to do so.

The webkit web browser is perhaps the best we've seen on a mobile OS device. Though Android and the latest iOS browser on the iPad 2 are a tad quicker on Javascript rendering, the PlayBook not only supports Flash but it renders with the best fidelity. Complex web pages, blog back ends and other challenges were no problem for the PlayBook. Pinch zooming is smooth and responsive and the accelerometer responds with decent speed for page orientation changes. The browser can even handle playing Amazon video on demand and Hulu (with a little work-around since Hulu blocks all mobile devices).

Video Review

Here's our 18 minute BlackBerry PlayBook video review where we demo the OS, multi-tasking, apps, Flash 10.1 and compare it to other tablets.

BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 OS Video Review

Here's what's new in the 2.0 OS released for free download on February 21, 2012. Native PIM apps, the Docs to Go office suite and more:

How is the PlayBook? It's fast, polished, easy to understand and use, and it excels at multimedia. The stereo speakers sound great, HDMI out via the micro HDMI port works well for movie playback and this thing eats Adobe Flash for breakfast. 3D gaming is smooth too, though there aren't many titles out yet. And that gets to the catch: there just aren't many apps for the PlayBook yet. Granted, the platform isn't even a month old, and we're sure titles will follow (RIM says 3,000 apps will be available). At some point, they also say the PlayBook will be able to run Android apps, which would really open things up. But for now, if you don't have a BlackBerry smartphone, you're looking at a fast and portable tablet that's wonderful for web browsing and video playback, but not a heck of a lot more. In the coming months, RIM says they'll release PIM apps and an email client for the PlayBook... we thought the Xoom was released a bit too soon, but it at least had the full suite of core apps available at launch. RIM has pushed the PlayBook release up a bit too soon, and that's the main thing hurting an otherwise promising tablet.

The same could've been said for early Android Honeycomb tablets, but they had an advantage thanks to several hundred thousand existing 2.x apps. Granted many of those ran in a tiny window on the big screen, but some of the most popular apps were resolution-aware and ran full screen just fine. From news readers like Pulse to file managers like Astro and AndroXplorer, to ebook apps like Nook and Kindle, there were plenty of staples to keep one productive and entertained within a week of the Xoom's launch. The PlayBook's apps so far (available in AppWorld on the device) seem very homebrew with few of the big cross-platform titles we've come to expect. Currently there's no Pulse, Flixster Movies, Netflix, Weather.com/Weatherbug, CNN or Google Maps. Are they coming? We feel certain they are because RIM and the BlackBerry ecosystem represent a significant chunk of the mobile market. Right now, development is done in Adobe Air, HTML5 and Java. Perhaps when a native SDK is available, more tier 1 apps will come.

Happily, a decent list of useful core apps are pre-installed, and these include Accuweather, Bing Maps, Voice Notes, Kobo Books (less popular than Nook and Kindle but a decent ePub reading platform with storefront that's associated with Borders Books), a clock, a podcast client, a really cool calculator with embedded virtual tear-off tape and scientific calc functions plus a unit converter, Tetris, Need for Speed Undercover and a very capable version of Documents to Go that handles MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint read/create/edit.

We hesitate to compare the PlayBook to the iPad 2 not just because iOS is so mature, but also because those who want a 7" tablet for portability may not want a big 9.7" beast and the focus of the products is quite different. The iPad 2 is all about gaming and multimedia courtesy of iTunes content. The PlayBook does video and music but it's also about MS Office docs, presentations, Bridging to BlackBerry smartphones and the usual RIM serious security. It multitasks like a champ and puts iOS to shame (but not Honeycomb). Clearly, the iPad can do more than just fun, and has the advantage with built-in PIM and email apps and a huge library of iPad apps to choose from on iTunes. With RIM's solution, it's buy now and wait for the apps to come.

 The BlackBerry PlayBook next to the much larger iPad 2.

The PlayBook has excellent standby battery life and solid runtimes with WiFi on and brightness set to a more than adequate 65%. We averaged 7.5 hours on a charge of active use playing video loops and in normal use, we charged every third or fourth day. Our version of normal use included playing movie trailers and shorts via HDMI to our HD TV, plenty of web browsing, searching for new restaurants in Bing and downloading apps from AppWorld.

While AppWorld is your way to get new apps onto the PlayBook, USB and WiFi are your friends for loading documents and media. To transfer over USB, you'll install the BlackBerry Desktop Manager (installers for Mac and Windows are on a partition that mounts when you connect via USB). You can also transfer files via WiFi, no software installation required. The PlayBook appears as a network drive--sweet.

Conclusion

Consumer electronics devices rarely leave me feeling this conflicted. I love the PlayBook experience with its fast and mature user interface that's more polished than Android (and I'm an Android user) and far stronger at multitasking than iOS. The hardware is gorgeous and the 7" tablet is portable enough that I do take it with me, unlike the Motorola Xoom and iPad 2. The web browsing experience is second to none and Flash 10.1 playback is impressive. I don't miss 3G/4G cellular data-- these days so many smartphones have WiFi tethering and I prefer that over adding more data plans and contracts for each device I carry. But the app story is sadly lacking at launch, and without BlackBerry Bridge there's no contacts, calendar or email client. That makes the PlayBook, an otherwise fairly solid first gen offering, seem very rushed. It doesn't help that AT&T is blocking BlackBerry Bridge at launch either. We hope to see PIM apps and an email client in May when the Sprint version is due to launch, and after that, it's a waiting game for third party apps in AppWorld to fill in the rest of the blanks.

Pro: Superb hardware, top notch display, delightful user interface, solid multitasking, good battery life, full 1080p HDMI out.

Con: Missing basic PIM apps and email client at launch. BlackBerry Bridge not available for AT&T BlackBerry smartphones (AT&T's fault), quality apps in AppWorld MIA at launch.

BlackBerry Z30

Is the BlackBerry Z30 a big BlackBerry Z10? Yes and no. The 5 inch Z30 has a larger display, sure. It was the first device to ship with BlackBerry OS 10.2, but that playing field is now even and my Z10 runs that OS as well. The phones obviously run the same software, share gesture-based user interfaces, and have LTE 4G and robust security. So what's different about the BlackBerry Z30?

BlackBerry, formerly known as RIM, has made their best smartphone to date (unless you prefer hardware keyboards). While the Z10 was nice looking but a little plasticky and boring, the BlackBerry Z30 is cool looking and chic in a manly sort of way. The edge-to-edge glass with rounded corners, grippy but very attractive boy racer carbon fiber back and metal sides equal a great looking piece of hardware. It's not light at 6 ounces, but that helps it not feel cheap. Port selection and location is similar to the Z10, with the volume rocker and voice command button on the right and the micro USB and micro HDMI ports on the left side (not the bottom as on most smartphones). This is one of the few phones that still have a dedicated HDMI port rather than a combo USB/MHL port. The Z30 also supports Miracast wireless display.

This is also BlackBerry's fastest phone ever, but Android users won't be impressed since Android is a land of feeds and speeds where megahertz wins hearts quicker than honey attracts flies. The BlackBerry Z30 runs on a 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro dual core CPU with quad core Adreno graphics. It has 2 gigs of RAM and 16 gigs of internal storage (there's a microSD card slot to augment storage). Since the same manufacturer tunes the OS and hardware, we don't need massive computing power to have a quick experience, and the Z30 does feel faster than the Z10. Though there's no quad core killer CPU here, the S4 Pro makes for a pleasant and quick experience on the Z30.

The BlackBerry Z30 has 4G LTE, dual band WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, a GPS, front 2 megapixel camera and a rear 8 megapixel camera with LED flash. The phone has stereo speakers that fire from the bottom edge (along the curve, so they're not muffled by a desk). The speakers are fairly loud and clear, but they're not as full and rich as HTC's BoomSound stereo speakers on the HTC One.

The BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Z30.

The software and BlackBerry OS 10, are largely unchanged from the Z10 (BlackBerry's first device to run that new OS). There are additions and improvements, notably in the Message Hub, which is our favorite among smartphones: it unifies text messages, notifications and emails in a very manageable way. It's a real time saver and intuitive. Other parts of the OS are highly reminiscent of webOS, complete with multi-tasking represented as a card metaphor and heavy use of gestures (some of which you won't remember even after a week of use). Overall, we really enjoy the operating system, but while some things are extremely intuitive, others will have you banging your head.

BlackBerry Z30 Video Review

ovely Display, Even if it's Not Full HD

Supremely high resolution displays with high pixel density are the rage for high end smartphones, but BlackBerry sticks with a 720p display that has 1280 x 720 resolution. That means you don't get any more pixels than the 4.2" BlackBerry Z10, but it's nonetheless a sharp looking Super AMOLED display with colors that pop, rich blacks and high contrast. At 295 PPI pixel density, the Z30 might sound less than sharp compared to the iPhone 5s (326 PPI) and Samsung Galaxy S4 (441 PPI), but in person you likely won't find it lacking. HD streaming video looks great (sorry, there's still no official BB10 Netflix app as of this writing) and photos appear vibrant. I can see a bit more fine detail in full HD panels like the Galaxy S4 and Nokia Lumia 1520 when viewing full HD content, so the Z30's display isn't top dog.

Voice and Data

Oddly, I've seen reviews and comments from others stating that the BlackBerry Z30 has great voice quality or poor call quality. It's odd when reviews are so at odds, and it makes me wonder if this has to do with manufacturing lots or the phone working better on certain networks. Signal quality shouldn't be much of an issue thanks to BlackBerry's new Paratek antenna that tunes the frequency to maintain a good signal in poor environments. Our Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Z30 has mediocre voice that's not as clear as the better voice phones on the market. Voice also tends to sound digitized on both ends, even when calling from a quiet environment where the DSP shouldn't mangle voice to reject ambient noise. Calls are intelligible, but our call recipients and we had to work a bit more than average to catch each word.

Data speeds on Verizon's LTE 4G network are excellent, and the phone achieves download speeds that are comparable to the carrier's other phones in our area (Dallas). The phone has the usual mobile hotspot feature so you can use it as a high-speed wireless modem for your laptop or tablet.

Camera

On paper, the BlackBerry Z30 looks decent. It's an 8 megapixel camera with BSI, HDR, a fast f/2.2 lens and an LED flash. In good lighting, it takes lovely shots with pleasing colors and good contrast. In low light things fall apart and images look a bit murky. HDR should help with this, but the camera isn't the fastest, and we only made effective use of HDR with static subjects. Video capture likewise is quite good outdoors and indoors with abundant lighting, but low light means muddy video.

The front 2MP camera made for sharp video chats, with relatively low noise and good color saturation. The built-in mic worked fine as well, so we didn't have to resort to a headset for video chat and speakerphone conversations.

Battery Life

The Z30 is a big phone with room for a big 2880 mAh battery. Even better, the 720p display and dual core CPU don't impose big demands, so we had absolutely no trouble making it through a full day on a charge (8am to 10pm). BlackBerry Z10 owners will definitely notice the Z30's longer battery life.

Conclusion: A Nice Phone with Scanty Apps and Disappearing Marketshare

This all sounds like great stuff, right? So what's the problem? The phone is gorgeous and OS is pleasing, after all. BlackBerry World is still a lonely place compared to the Google Play Store and iTunes app stores. BlackBerry's future is in serious flux: Thorsten Heins, the CEO, has been ousted (a good thing, but also an earmark of instability), the company was looking for a buyer and since that hasn't panned out, they're floating bonds and pulling in investments. Lastly, their market share is dropping quickly and BlackBerry in some countries has even less marketshare than Windows Phone. If you're a diehard BlackBerry user, none of this matters and you'll go to your grave with a 'Berry in your hands. But for restless iPhone and Android folks, this may not be the right time to jump on the BlackBerry bandwagon.

BlackBerry Q10

Take heart BlackBerry diehards, your day is finally here. The BlackBerry Z10 was just a warm up and a promise to the QWERTY faithful that their device would come. The BlackBerry Q10 runs the all new BlackBerry OS 10.1, based on bulletproof QNX, and it's wildly modern compared to the OS on the BlackBerry Curve and Bold. And yes, it has a hardware QWERTY keyboard that won't let you down. Throw in a 3.1" AMOLED touch screen and you've got the Q10. The internals are identical to the touch screen slate BlackBerry Z10, and though the hardware can't compete with the most powerful Android phones, it doesn't need to because the OS is optimized for the hardware inside (much like Windows Phone and the iPhone are highly optimized for specific hardware). The phone has a 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, 2 gigs of RAM and 16 gigs of internal storage. The BlackBerry Q10 will be available on all major US carriers and on many carriers overseas. Here in the US at launch, it's $199 with contract ($99 down plus $20 monthly payments on the newly contract-less T-Mobile).

The OS and basic navigation work just the same as on the BlackBerry Z10, so we won't go into great detail in this review. The OS supports multi-tasking via active panes (small windows that tile across the multi-tasking screen), and it has several screens for the app launcher (app icons). BlackBerry Hub is your unified inbox for all notifications from emails to texts, to missed calls and alarms. It's easy and intuitive and you needn't leave the Hub when replying to emails, social networking messages and texts. In fact, there are neither icons nor a separate app for your various email accounts, though there is an SMS/MMS icon. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Foursquare are preloaded. Box and Dropbox are pre-loaded as is BlackBerry Maps (not the strongest mapping and navigation solution we've seen), a shortcut to the YouTube mobile site and Documents to Go for mobile MS Office compatible work. The OS comes with a file manager, PIM apps that can sync with MS Exchange and other services like Google, POP3/IMAP/Exchange, weather, a clock, calculator, Adobe Reader, a games portal and a compass.

The BlackBerry Q10 has dual band WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and a GPS with digital compass. It has a rear 8MP camera with an LED flash (the same as the Z10) and HDR mode that comes courtesy of OS 10.1. BlackBerry World is your one stop shop for apps, music and video. As we noted with the BlackBerry Z10, the app selection doesn't yet come close to competing with iTunes, Google Play for Android and even the Windows Phone app store. The OS and ecosystem are very young, and we hope to see more apps as time progresses, though this in part depends on how many folks buy OS 10 devices (developers need a reason to make apps, after all). Still, some popular apps are here like Skype, MLB at Bat, Angry Birds, Google Talk (a RIM app), TuneIn Radio and Wisepilot (navigation).

BlackBerry Q10 Video Review

Design and Ergonomics

The Q10 looks like a modern interpretation of older QWERTY smartphones. I wouldn't call it a stunning phone (it may be nearly impossible to make a phone with a hardware keyboard look uber-sexy), but the black model's carbon fiber back appeals to the car geek in me and it's strong too. The phone's face has a clean and modern look with attractive metal strips between the key rows that make it easier to find your place on the keyboard in the dark. The phone isn't very thin, but the hardware keyboard and removable battery don't allow for impossible thinness. The back cover slides off to reveal the removable 2100 mAh battery, micro SIM card slot and micro SDXC card slot.

The metal volume rocker with center action button is the same as the Z10's, and it's easy to locate by touch but stiff enough that we didn't activate it by accident. The power/sleep button is up top as is the 3.5mm combo audio jack. Both the micro USB and micro HDMI ports are on the left side. The 2MP front camera and notification LED that blinks urgent red when messages and alerts are waiting sit above the display and the speaker is on the bottom edge. Our black model's back is grippy but not sticky and feels good in hand. The phone is relatively small compared to today's gargantuan smartphones and the Q10 is a bit shorter than the Z10. The Q10 feels sturdy and the sides are reinforced with metal underneath the plastic.

Calling and Data

BlackBerry phones are typically excellent voice phones, and the Q10 on AT&T didn't disappoint. Our call recipients thought we were calling from a landline phone and likewise incoming voice was clear with average volume by cell phone standards. This is an excellent phone for calls. Data speeds according to speedtest.net were in line with today's LTE 4G phones and our BlackBerry Q10 averaged 25Mbps down and 16Mbps up on AT&T's LTE network in the Dallas metroplex. The phone played nicely with our Jawbone and Motorola Bluetooth headsets and our BMW's built-in Bluetooth for calls.

Keyboard

Gone are the trackballs and optical nav pads found on older BlackBerry smartphones. The touch screen replaces them, though purists will likely lament the further travel to the screen vs. the nav pad. I have no qualms with the thoroughly modern touch screen and I suspect the days of auxiliary navigation elements have passed. The keyboard is pure joy for hardware keyboard lovers and it maintains the sculpted waterfall keys we loved years ago on the BlackBerry Bold 9900. The tactile keys make it easy to tell when you're on target and it's clear if you've wandered from your desired key. The usual BlackBerry keyboard shortcuts live on: double press the space bar for a period, for example. BlackBerry OS 10.1 brings a host of hardware keyboard tricks including typing "tweet" followed by a message to send a new tweet, and "BBM Joe Blow" to start a BBM to Joe. The keys are tactile and clicky, and for those who love their hardware keyboards (some 70 million strong use BlackBerry phones worldwide), it won't disappoint.

Display

At 328 PPI, the Q10's display has sufficiently high pixel density that text and graphics always look very sharp, even though the 720 x 720 resolution won't win any competitions with current smartphones. The challenge is the 3.1" size: OS icons and text are reasonably easy to see but text in web pages and documents is tiny. That's the price you pay for the hardware keyboard that consumes much of the front face real estate. Even with mobile sites, I often had to pinch zoom to make text easy to read and desktop sites have absolutely tiny text. As with BlackBerry smartphones of old, be prepared to zoom when viewing web pages. Email and text messages are easy to read since the OS handles font scaling, though you'll have to scroll often to read through a medium length email. The Super AMOLED display has very good color saturation and contrast and it's viewable outdoors.

                                             Above: the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10.

Horsepower and Performance

In an Android phone review, this is where we include many different benchmarks and analyze speed in detail. As with Windows Phone, that's not necessary here, not just because myriad benchmark programs don't yet exist for BlackBerry OS 10, but also because the phone's software is completely optimized to perform well on the hardware. This is a quick and responsive phone and the UI maintains speed after several days of uptime. The active panes are here, just as with the BlackBerry Z10 running OS 10, and these are miniaturized windows where your running apps sit when minimized. Tap one and it runs full screen with no significant delay, just where you left off. The OS handles memory, so some apps may not update when running minimized as active panes, but if you have 9 or fewer running, they generally do update. The thoroughly modern webkit web browser with Adobe Flash is very fast and is competitive with other platforms in terms of speed and website compatibility.

Battery Life

Unlike the BlackBerry Z10 that launched with just OK runtimes that improved with OS updates, BlackBerry clearly focused on battery life with the Q10 knowing it had to compete with the OS 7 BlackBerry phones it supplants. Thanks to the small display, relatively undemanding CPU and a large 2100 mAh battery, the phone delivers impressive runtimes. We routinely managed two days on a charge with moderate use that included Facebook, Twitter and 3 email accounts updates, 45 minutes of voice calls, 30 minutes of streaming HTML5 video via YouTube and an hour of web browsing each day.

Camera

Like the BlackBerry Z10, the Q10 has a 2MP camera on the front and an 8MP camera with LED flash, backside illuminated sensor and a fast f/2.2, five element lens on the rear. Though BlackBerry OS 10.1 introduces HDR shooting for better high contrast exposure, the camera is hobbled by a simplistic UI with few controls. Yes, the iPhone has few camera settings and controls, but Apple has a way of making users forgive them because photos and videos come out looking great without having to fiddle endlessly with settings. With the BlackBerry Q10 camera, I often feel that its good hardware fails to meet the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3 and Nokia Lumia 920 challenge because the software isn't as good as it could be and I'm not allowed to tweak settings to help it.

With good, even lighting, photos are sharp and colorful. With stark outdoor sunlight or poor indoor lighting, HDR really helps bring out detail in dark areas. Video stabilization is decent but not nearly as good the optical image stabilization on the Nokia Lumia 920. That said, with proper lighting, the BlackBerry Q10 captures sharp and colorful shots and fairly smooth 1080p video. And it's certainly leaps and bounds ahead of Curve and Bold cameras. If you're upgrading from an older BlackBerry model, you'll be in heaven.

Conclusion

The BlackBerry Q10 brings the traditional BlackBerry smartphone into the modern age. I suspect it's enough to make BlackBerry loyalists happy, though I doubt iPhone and Android users will flock to it (that was the BlackBerry Z10's job). It's fast, stable, and secure and it maintains enough of the UI conventions of older BlackBerry smartphones to make existing BlackBerry owners feel a bit less lost. It's an enjoyable hardware QWERTY smartphone in a world where that form factor has all but died. Will it start a BlackBerry revolution? I don't think so, but it may just be what the doctor ordered to stem the exodus to other platforms. Is it a fantastic smartphone given today's excellent competition? Not such much unless you're a QWERTY lover or a BlackBerry fan. The tiny display and lack of apps hold it back from broad appeal.