BlackBerry Z10 smartphone: specifications, description, reviews

A couple of years ago in the mobile device market, there was one noteworthy device, which immediately moved the regulars of store shelves. The gadget perfectly coped with almost all tasks assigned to it, and all management was built on gestures.

So, the subject of today's review is the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone: characteristics, description, advantages and disadvantages of the model, as well as expert opinions along with reviews of ordinary users of the gadget.

What kind of fruit?

Z10 is, in fact, the same magic pill that allowed Canadians to return to the mobile devices market with due chic and take their rightful place there. A little earlier, "BlackBerry" and its products were lost against the background of "Chinese", "Koreans" and "apple" gadgets. But after the release of the brand new BlackBerry Z10 STL100 with a unique operating system, the competition unfolded in earnest. A very interesting device interested many potential customers by deploying them to the new offspring of BlackBerry from the already pesky "Aiphons", "Android" and "Winds".

The BlackBerry Z10 smartphone is seriously different from the previous lines issued by the venerable brand. Very many admirers of quality mobile devices took a new look at the company's products. Let's try to understand more carefully, what exactly can catch the future owner of the gadget Z10 from "BlackBerry".

Design

Appearance of the new device can be called with full confidence beautiful. With its features, it slightly resembles the "iPhone" of the fifth version, but only remotely, - the familiar "Home" button you will not see here.

The gadget is made of matte and glossy plastic, and very high quality. This can be seen not only visually, but also felt by touch. Holding the Z10 in your hand, you feel that you have a monolithic device in your hands, without a shadow of marriage and shortcomings.

There are no distinctive features on the monoblock itself. The model can be called correct from the point of view of ergonomics. The device is pleasantly in the hand, and there is absolutely no discomfort while working with it. The back of the gadget has a corrugated texture, so the smartphone does not slip out of the hands. In general, all its appearance the device says that it is intended for business audience: elegant, classically beautiful and strict, without any ryushechek and other "cheerful" entourage.

Interfaces

On the right side of the BlackBerry (OS 10) is conveniently located button to start voice search and volume rocker. By the way, in numerous reviews there is no-no, and slip of indignation about not fully thought-out search. It's not even "Google Voyce" and not Siri, which grieves. The model is very picky to intonations and pronunciation in general, so the voice search clearly does not know the BlackBerry Z10. Characteristics of the rocker are very pleased: it is impossible to accidentally press anywhere in the pocket of trousers or jeans, and during work it is quite pliable.

On the left side of the device you can see two connectors - micro-HDMI (for connection to the monitor) and micro-USB (for network charging and synchronization with a personal computer). The interfaces are pretty tightly placed, so using the docking station is not very comfortable on the BlackBerry Z10. The characteristics of past models allowed to work quietly with the periphery due to special contacts on the case, and in Z10, alas, this moment is not provided.

At the top end, clearly in the center, there is a button to turn off the gadget, it displays the smartphone from sleep mode. A bit to the left is a 3.5 mm port for working with a headset and headphones.

At the rear, you can see a metal logo, and in the upper right corner is a camera at 8 megapixel and flash. About its capabilities we'll talk just below. At the bottom of the gadget, there is nothing but a small groove to remove the lid.

Also, it should be noted separately that the model has an external battery for smartphones, that is, a removable type, which means that it is easy to replace in an emergency situation with a spare one. Under the cover are slots for micro SD cards, with the possibility of "hot" replacement, as well as a place for micro-sim cards.

No special or something remarkable buttons have a gadget. Everything is about the same as with other similar devices. However, the BlackBerry Z10 has its own unique features that are not immediately visible. It's all about small magnets built into the design of a smartphone. They are responsible for switching the device into sleep mode. To make all this work properly, you need a BlackBerry Z10 branded case. The process is quite simple: you put the device in a cover - the screen goes out, pulling out - it glows affably. Owners in their reviews have repeatedly noted this original feature of high evaluation. And immediately you can notice for the fans of the "apple" products that the Smart Cover for the iPad - this is not the pioneer of this chip, because the pioneers of this principle have become the "BlackBerry".

Housing

The material of the hull and the design itself as a whole should be given due consideration - everything is done very well, and without any claims. Even despite the presence of such a moment as a mobile back cover (the ability to connect an external battery for smartphones), the gadget does not creak, does not crack and does not crunch.

The device is sold in two colors - classic black and white. If you make some effort, you can stumble on a model from a limited lot of red, but this is a big rarity. As for the cost of the BlackBerry Z10 (the price is about 14,000 rubles), the balance of price and return is, in principle, respected.

Screen

The gadget's screen is built on a TFT-matrix with a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels with a diagonal of 4.2 inches. Characteristics, of course, are simple, but the picture is bright and really high-quality. Separately, it is worth mentioning the auto-adjustment of brightness, as here it is performed very sensibly: in a poorly lit room the screen does not blind the eye, and on a sunny day all the data is clearly visible. The only drawback to which the owners complain in their reviews is that it is not disconnected auto-tuning, although it can not be called critical.

Also, the screen of the BlackBerry Z10 excelled in good viewing angles, even despite the TFT-development. There are no problems when viewed from above or from the side: the colors are not inverted, the contrast "does not dance". Of course, the display could be better, for such a strategically important and serious model as the Z10, but despite this, look through the photos or see a video in the company of one or two like-minded people can be without any problems.

Camera

The BlackBerry Z10 gadget (firmware 10.3.1.2243) is equipped with a very good camera at 8 megapixels, capable of shooting video in high-definition format Full HD. Also there is a high-quality LED flash for more correct shooting. In general, the entire set as in any other smartphone business class, like the same "iPhone" the fifth series.

There is no special button for activating the camera, so all the basic actions (shooting and focusing) occur through manipulations on the touch screen. Afflicts that the settings also do not. The company promises to finalize this point with subsequent firmware, because how to take pictures without individual adjustments is the last century, and such a photo will do just that for the "Instagram", but for now we hope and wait.

In principle, the camera in the BlackBerry Z10 LTE and not needed for this, especially in the device designed for the business segment. But in any case, you can click on the girl you like on the street without any problems, but to make a highly artistic picture, alas, will not work.

Performance

BlackBerry (OS 10) is equipped with TI OMAP 4470 processors supporting dual-core platforms at a clock speed of 1.5 GHz. On board there is also 2 GB of RAM, which should be enough for almost anything.

The gadget understands rather brightly, the processes do not freeze, do not frizz, and there were not any serious brakes, which can not but rejoice. The only benchmark that works more or less correctly with this platform is Geekbench. The result was very good - 1430 points. The indicator can be compared with the level of the same "iPhone" of the fifth series, "Samsun" "Galaxy" 3 and NTS One S.

Autonomous work

The model is equipped with a lithium-ion battery for 1800 mAh. This capacity for a powerful processor and a large screen is clearly not enough. A more or less acceptable battery option for such characteristics is 2400 or 2200 mAh. Therefore, it is not entirely clear what the engineers of the company were guided by at the time of the gadget's configuration.

But, despite such a modest capacity of the battery, on full charge, the device can work for about 1-2 days, and in active mode. The manufacturer promises to the owner about 17 days of work in the standby mode. It seems like it's not bad, but we do not use smartphones in this way. In principle, the problem of the autonomy of the device can easily be solved with the help of an external battery, which is not the case with the same NTS and "Aiphon", that's why this moment can be called critical with great stretch.

Nearest competitors Z10

Since Z10 - a full flagship of "BlackBerry", then compare the gadget will be the top devices of other venerable brands. Perhaps this comparison is devoid of a definite meaning, since the very philosophy of these devices is very different, but this in some way will help users to decide on the purchase and put some points on the "i".

IPhone 5

Here, everything rests on the popularity of the platform for developers. Of course, on "apple" resources of all kinds of applications for "iPhone" is much more, in contrast to the "BlackBerry". As for the technical component, the gadgets are on par with.

The Z10 is not at all worse than the same "iPhone": a good built-in camera, an ergonomic case, quite a pretty look, and most importantly - a smart and intuitive interface. The cost of the most modest bundle of "iPhone" the fifth series is comparable to the price of Z10, so here it is in the taste and "worship" of one particular brand.

Samsung Galaxy S IV

"Galaxy" S series is rightly considered the leader of the "Android" -bratie. According to its technical data, it easily oversteps through the fifth "iPhone" and our Z10. Nevertheless, a number of controversial issues still take place.

One of these moments is the hypertrophied screen, because of which "Galaxy" not only looks much larger than the Z10, but also suffers from an extremely unbalanced ergonomics - it is simply impossible to work with one hand. In addition, autonomous work has never been a strong point of the "Android" devices. Was not an exception and "Galaxy", literally devouring the battery in a matter of hours.

As for all kinds of software, "Android" is rapidly catching up with "Apple", as well as significantly outstripping the Z10. As for work in a multitasking environment, then "BlackBerry" with an enviable margin goes to the fore - the system works much better than "Android" and Apple combined. So, admirers of high-quality and problem-free multitasking - we ask to the counter with Z10.

Summarizing

Judging by the opinions of experts in this field, eminent "BlackBerry" was able to revive and embellish the lineup of its products with a new flagship. Yes, the gadget lost the familiar QWERTY keyboard, but it got a pretty smart and large screen, coupled with a completely new operating system. Some chips of the new OS are somewhat similar to the moves of other competing platforms, and some are radically different.

In general, working with the BlackBerry Z10 (the price is about 14,000 rubles) is a pleasure, both with the smartphone itself and with its operating system.

Perhaps, BlackBerry does not have a well developed ecosystem, like the same "Android" or iOS, and finding a habitual application is a problem. But this stagnation can be called temporary, since the OS is relatively fresh, so there is no need to wait for the general variety of software. I think that the situation will gradually improve, as was the case with the mobile "Winds".

If we talk about the quality of performance, the flagship of "BlackBerry" is not inferior even to the "iPhone". Z10 already tightens the model of other vendors, and the only thing that the process of conquering the mobile market rests with is the amount of software.