BlackBerry Z10: 5 things I like and 5 things I don't

The new smartphone BlackBerry Z10 is re-launching BlackBerry as a serious contender in the extremely competitive Touch Style Smartphone market. In this hub I wanted to share 5 things I really like about the BlackBerry z10 Smartphone and 5 that I don't.

When you compare the BlackBerry Z10 vs iPhone 5 you would be impressed with just how beautiful a smart phone RIM has built, but because the company has put in some real effort to demonstrate why the public should still care about BlackBerry. With a black berry mobile as lovely as this, it may still have a chance at coming back with a vengeance and giving the other big boys on the market a run for their bucks.

• Dual core TI OMAP 4470 1.5GHz Processor.

• 4.2-inch touchscreen with a 1280 x 768 pixels resolution.

• 2GB of RAM.

• 16GB of storage.

• 8-megapixel back camera.

• 2-megapixel front camera.

• 1080p video recording.

• MicroSD slot.

• NFC (Near field communication) capabilities — for things like electronic wallet applications.

1 - BlackBerry Keyboard: All Smartphones have pretty good keyboards and lately I have been using Swype. However, on BlackBerry z10 it is unique and efficient and I think I may have just found my new favourite new smart phone keyboard.

2 - BlackBerry and Evernote: I like using Evernote and have been using it on my iPhone. Evernote is supported in the OS and in the BB Remember application. However, I still want a full Evernote client to be made available for users like me very soon.

3 – BlackBerry Documents To Go integration: I find the Documents To Go product to offer more functionality with a better user interface than other contenders. DataViz was purchased by BlackBerry last year and it is nice to see the full version of Documents To Go, with Box and Dropbox storage access.

4 – z10 High resolution display: I love the high resolution displays and the 4.2 inch 1280x768 pixels resolution display with 356 ppi looks and delivers fantastic viewing. The screen is just large enough for this type of smart phone, yet you can put it in your pocket and go.

5 – BlackBerry HDMI, microSD and removable battery: No need to worry about limited storage, or battery with the z10 you’re not hardware limited, on the Z10 you get to control how much memory your device has and easily top it up if you need to, and whether or not you wish to carry extra batteries to go without connecting to power for recharging while on the go.

You’re on your own with the z10. Unlike every other major OS right now, using BlackBerry does not feel fully integrated in the way that others do with Apps, desktops d external devices. Microsoft, Google, and Apple all have deep desktop integration, be it with Office and Google Docs, or Apple’s X Notes. You can sync your other devices with Safari, IE, and Chrome to the desktop counterparts’ bookmarks and tabs. None of this stuff is as baked-in and evident on the z10.

1 - Camera software and quality: The camera software is pretty basic and so far photos look OK, but not great. After using smartphones like the iPhone and Nokia N8 the z10 camera quality and usability just did not seem right.

2 - BlackBerry Hub: BlackBerry devices always were focused on communications and z10 provides communications experience through the BlackBerry Hub. I’m not a fan of this feature, don’t know exactly why but I don’t see the value add in using this.

3 - Lack apps on the z10: Don’t get me wrong there are apps but not to the extent that you can get apps for iPhone, Android or the other smartphone types. At this time there are not that many popular applications to choose from and even fewer free apps than other makes and I hope BlackBerry delivers some good apps soon.

4 - The speed for Gestures: The gestures aren’t intuitive enough, and that is going to be a problem for a lot of users. However; once you figure out exactly where everything is, how it works, and how to get there, you can zip around from app to app, task to task, for most people that can be an annoyance.

5 – z10 Battery life: Wasn’t great, compared to my previous mobile Nokia N8 I couldn’t go a whole day without needing to charge it. That is an issue for a lot of phones right now, actually, iPhone included, but it felt especially pronounced using the blackberry z10.

For some people a Blackberry is the best smartphone there is especially for the cooperate users, in which case you probably already know you should go out and buy one. BlackBerry z10 still excels at everything that BB has excelled at for many years. I still remember my first BlackBerry Pearl. The z10’s utility for planning, coordinating and taking in and processing a massive amount of information is unchanged. But for most people pondering about going back to BlackBerry? The experiences and services that z10 serves up are comparable, but not in any way that would make some say, hey, I’m going to give up my Apple iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy s3 for this blackberry smartphone.