March 2013 has been an interesting month for me. For a one man show, I’ve been playing around with the Nokia Lumia 920, Microsoft Surface RT and now this, the recently launched Blackberry Z10.
And combined from late 2012, with the very likeable LG Nexus 4 which is very much one of the highest performing smartphones for a relatively small outlay, I came into the Z10 with intrigue, partly prompted by Stephen Fry’s excellent article in which he answers the question of which smartphone he would take with him if he only had a few seconds in a fire situation.
As usual my post is more about my perceptions having only had the device for just short of a week. I had two main objectives in mind, would I want to use one of these for the corporate day job (for which Blackberry is renowned and secondly, is this cool enough to replace other phones, such as my beloved iPhone 5, which for me is still my go-to device in the-leave-everything-and-choose-one-device situation.
Solid build
Let’s get the specs out of the way – Dual-core brains, 2GB RAM, 16Gb storage expandable to 32GB via a micro SD slot, USB 2.0 port and a HDMI out port.
The display is very very nice. 4.2” 1280 x 768 screen at 356ppi (yes, another one higher than the iPhone Retina display). The hardware spec is completed with an 8Mb front and back camera and its 4G (LTE) ready.
Two things jump out here. You can take the back off and change battery, SIM, micro SD card. I forgot how useful that is over the sealed designs set by Apple. Weighing in at 136g, the form factor combined with a lovely rubberised gripped back, the Z10 holds beautifully in hand. Probably the best native feel of a smartphone since its reinvention by Apple. I no longer reach for a case, because the smartphone feels like a bar of soap in my hands. In fact, its the first time I don;t actually need a case.
Blackberry 10 OS
The new OS is centred around the two important centrepieces – the Blackberry Hub and some key gestures. The BB Hub ties in system notifications, and a unified inbox of updates across mail and social media accounts, a sort of version of the People hub seen in Windows Phone 8 and Android OS’.
Gestures are based on 2 key actions, swiping up from bottom to close and app and reveal all other open applications (up to nine of them) in a task manager, and secondly, swiping down from the top (to reveal individual applications settings). Combined with the unlocking of the phone using the swipe up, Blackberry markets these gestures and the hub as a sort of fade in feature between your hub, notifications, open apps and then your app icon stack. It works really nice.
Given my steeped history in OS and Android, I liked it. It took a bit of getting used to, but it works well and over time it starts to feel natural, and better that iOS or Android. For a first release, it does have a few annoying quirks, but they are not off-putting enough. It’s certainly a welcome change from the go into and out of your apps world which iOS has and I supposed we’re all so used to, it begins to attract the stigma of being stale.
The keyboard, nice – laid out well. Features a number row above the qwerty keyboard so you don’t have to switch. That parts works well you can see enough on the rest of the screen. Makes a nice sound. Camera and recording (which goes up to 1080P) is broadly as good as everything else on the market.
Blackberry 10 OS? Cracking start Blackberry.
A real shortage of apps
Having said, all of that – the real problem for me with the Z10 and Blackberry OS10 is the even worse paucity for apps than there was on Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT. It reasonable for Blackberry to want to lock you into their ecosystem of apps, but the reality is to be up in the game, the big software publishers need to develop for Blackberry as a ranking 4th option after iOS, Android and WP8. Based on my use case, it’s not great, but not that bad. In everyday terms, for example:
- I can read BBC News, The Times, Independent and The Guardian and my RSS feeds (although that needs some adjustment in the summer when Google ends the Reader service)
- Follow up and update my Tweets
- Watch BBC iPlayer programmes
- Access Dropbox files and edit them with DocsToGo
- Connect to a WebEx virtual meeting
- Check what movies are on at my local picture house
- Check the weather, train and bus timetables
- Check my TripIT travel itinerary
- Order my groceries from Ocado
- Sync my iTunes library
- Of course, buy Blackberry store books, magazines, TV shows, and Movies (yeah, right)
But I can’t –
- read my Instapaper saved articles
- access my Evernote notes
- logon to my personal banking applications
- stream Spotify music
- tag Shazam or SoundCloud new music when I hear it
- control my Sonos music
- order from Amazon or
eBay - check IMDB
- access my Passwords store
- scan my network for all IPs,
In the grand scheme of things, it could actually just be a question of time for the main publishers to see Blackberry as another ecosystem to viably publish for. I hope this happens as this is a good OS from Blackberry.
The dark horse for the enterprise?
In the company I work at, our strategy like many large blue chips is heavily centred on iOS as the platform for creating and distributing line of business applications to have a real mobile alternative for getting stuff done vs. a laptop. MobileIron is the Gartner Quadrant leading MDM platform supporting both company owned and BYODs which at various releases on its roadmap support iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8 and Blackberry 10. While our standards are geared for am entire technology stack (e.g mail , device management, and the ability to provide VPN, internal Wi-Fi, and app distribution), it has not gone unnoticed that Blackberry will be pretty much as capable as iOS on the MobileIron MDM at its next release. And this is where for me, it gets interesting. If Blackberry have sufficient traction in the market, then it makes commercial sense for blue chips to listen up and evaluate Blackberry into their mobile device strategy.
Not because Blackberry is offering anything special which blows the competition away – far from it (but in a good way). But because from a value proposition in terms of cost, ease of integration, and as a favoured corporate road warrior tool, Blackberry has a chance – in fact, a possibly better chance than Android or WP8. The missing piece for Blackberry is to be able to showcase a breadth of quality of consumer apps, which would then drive interest in better business apps. It’s a big ask.
The consumers case
Blackberry started as the corporate brand. As its average selling price fell, it became attractive to the younger generation. As a device and brand which has lost its way, I’m not in a position to say how Blackberry can really get back in the game in the consumer space. The Z10 and its pricing suggest Blackberry are going back in at the premium end of the market. The product feels that way. The problem is, while the product is good to excellent in places, it does not have enough in the tank to sway new or loyal iOS and Android followers to switch sides. And that alongside the perception of the Blackberry brand, suggests a long road ahead for Blackberry. If they want the consumer to treat Blackberry OS 10 seriously, then a Playbook which marries this one and perhaps an entry point handset means the brand has a joined up plan.
Wrapping Up
When I started this piece, which I expected to be short – I wanted to know if the new Z10 would be a device I’d want to use as my corporate smartphone and if it could replace my iPhone 5 as my main go-to device. Yes to the first question, not quite on the second. But it must be said a really good effort. Like the Nokia Lumia 920 I previously reviewed, it will be hard to send this one back, given the positive experience I’ve had. This is by no means an exhaustive review, but in the techmobabble way, this is a bloody good device and OS and it deserves success and support from the market. Goodbye RIM, hello Blackberry.
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