BlackBerry Z10 - Pros and Cons

There are lots and lots of reviews on the new BlackBerry Z10, some are doing it justice while others, just dragging it through mud and grime. I always believe the best reviews are from the BlackBerry (BB) cult followers themselves. When I say cult, I mean people who are literally glued to their BBs and nothing of a gothic sort. Anyhow, I am one of those people who is literally glued to my existing BB and had the privilege to test out the new Z10 for half-a-day. The review below is a preliminary one but nevertheless, my thoughts are very accurate in terms of how I felt using this phone at a first glance.

I have been using BlackBerry devices for almost 15 years now and still counting. I was eagerly anticipating the launch of the new Z10 but unfortunately, all that excitement for me had boiled to a fizzle, after its official launch.

In the aesthetic point of view, the phone looks good, feels great and sits perfectly onto my hand. Not overly GIGANTIC like the Samsung Note 2 and not as puny as the iPhone 4. A perfect build and size if you will, removable battery and SD-Card slot. The most wonderful thing about the Z10 is how you can wake the phone-up by just swiping onto the touchscreen - now that, is truly having the "awe" factor (awesome-winning-entry). No clumsy or irritating buttons to press.

However, unfortunately, all that luster about the new Z10 stops here. Or rather, in the above paragraph alone. Here are the things that I do not like what BlackBerry has done or is doing -

Icons & Graphics
The icons and graphics on the Z10 look too dated, almost reminiscent to the BlackBerry OS5 era. The picture on the bottom LEFT is of the new OS10 and on the RIGHT of OS5. Now, do you see the square-flat-boxiness, icon effect between the two? Let alone 3D, I can't even see 2D effect on those icons. It is just laden with fuglyness and BlackBerry has no excuse to fail on such a basic aspect of its new OS. I hate to drop the big concrete ball on BlackBerry, but business people too, want to carry a nice looking phone with killer graphics and icons that can put Android and Apple iOS to shame. It's just your illusion to think work=dull and that the customers will accept it.

Active Frames



Active Frames idea, is a novel one by BlackBerry. It is something similar to "Widgets" for Android and "Live Tiles" for a Windows device.

Essentially, Active Frames (picture on the left) are minimized versions of applications that are running in the background which can provide useful live information for the user. At any one time, a total of 8 Active Frames can be opened and are placed in the Central Home Panel in a minimized, grid fashion.

A major flaw I see is that you can only have 8 active frames opened at any one time. As you attempt to open more applications the most bottom frame will start to close on its own. So, if you had an important application running it will shut down once it has reached its max number of frames - 8.



The real problem arises when applications that are suppose to be running in the background 24/7 are opened into Active Frames. These applications shut-down on their own once the  max number of frame reaches. So currently, there is no possible way to run a background application indefinitely without, it being shut closed by the very functionality of "Active Frames".  BlackBerry should give its users more freedom and options to either, LOCK / PIN / TAG an Active Frame and to re-arrange them in any way or order they like instead, of making it all so rigid. Also, background applications should be able to work as background applications as intended, and not be made or linked into any way with the "Active Frame" ecosystem.

Background Applications for OS10 Platform
I personally miss background applications that are able to integrate within the native settings of the Operating System and these are some of my personal favorites -

- AppLock
- BeBuzz
- Advance OS and LED

BlackBerry, there is an urgent need to release more APIs for developers to be able to do their magic - please.

BlackBerry AppWorld
BlackBerry AppWorld the store that offers free and paid applications as well as music and movies is behaving erratically, more so after the recent Z10 launch. Am sure there is a very simple explanation and a quick fix for the website but it doesn't bode well for an established enterprise to keep having WEBSITE problems.

Another issue I have found to be particularly irritating is that AppWorld doesn't have a filter for FREE content.  Just look at Google Place and Apple AppStore for instance. These companies have made their online stores user-friendly. I for one did not have a pleasant experience with BlackBerry AppWorld. It is also sad that despite conveying our suggestions to BlackBerry for the filter on numerous occasions, it never did once reply back to us. Go figure. (NOTE: The filter has been implemented - kudos BlackBerry)

My belief is that an online application store should have a good selection of workable content. What I see now on AppWorld for example, is 20 individual applications in a row that are all written by the same author and labeled "Poetry Volume 1 of 20". Are you serious? Popular apps like Instagram, Skype, Google Maps and whole lot of Banking apps are missing! Last thing BlackBerry wants to do is bump-up its application count with silly, unnecessary and unworkable junk apps. This is just an example, but there are many of these so-called "volume" developers who are crunching out apps for recipes, poetry and God knows what else at the expense of BlackBerry. BlackBerry needs to do some heavy duty house-cleaning and lay down some house rules for those willy-dilly developers to submit good and rich content. To be honest, my BlackBerry Bold 9700 has a better selection of applications installed on it compared to the new Z10. BlackBerry should have somehow thought of a way to migrate those applications into the new OS10 ecosystem first, before even trying to endeavor into Android. Anyhow, it is never too late.

"Sideloading" Android applications onto the BlackBerry is not the answer either. Seems like a very exciting proposal, but trust me it is not. Two of my close compatriots whom have done that on their Z10 have faced on numerous occasions a :

- device freeze

- auto reboots,

- even faster depletion of battery

- laggy and slow performance of applications

- or applications not working at all, period

Majority of the "sideloaded" applications tested resulted in the above problems but however, there were a few that seemed to work fine. The device apparently went back to its normal self after doing a clean wipe. So if you are sort who loves hours-on-end, tweaking and fiddling with your device and then wiping it clean altogether just so that you can repeat the whole tedious cycle again then this is the "adventurous" device for you otherwise, stay clear until it is deemed stable and or the applications that you want are available on BlackBerry AppWorld.

Lastly, what is the application count now - anybody? It is good to have an application counter to indicate the total number of applications available on the store itself. Keep your customers informed on a day-to-day basis and you will go a long way. Hide it and you will only show your weakness  - now that is JUST a suggestion.

Virtual Keyboard
One thing that I was really looking forward to was getting my hands on the virtual keyboard of the Z10. There were so many positive reviews over this keyboard that I was instantly, converted into a believer without, even trying one out for myself! Unfortunately, as soon as I got my hands on the actual thing my thoughts took a dive for the worst. The Z10 keyboard was not as what I had expected. It just wasn't as a pleasant of a feeling as you would get on the other models mentioned below - which by the way, I also had the opportunity to test on the spot -

1.LG Optimus G
2.Sony Xperia Z
3.Samsung Galaxy Note 2
4.Samsung Galaxy S3
5.HTC Butterfly
6.Nokia Lumia 920
7.iPhone 5

The Z10 keyboard is known for its adaptability to the user's typing style but at times, it felt rather unresponsive and I was mistyping many characters. The only conclusion that I could come to for its erratic behavior was that perhaps, the Z10 had already mastered the typing style of  someone else prior to my use, as after all, I was using a demo unit. That or the keys were way too small for my fingers to register. But then strangely enough, I did not encounter such a problem with the above list of 7 different demo models.



Touchscreen
The touchscreen is definitely not as responsive and smooth as the other touchscreen phones in the market for example the iPhone and Samsung range of models. It was a hit-or-miss kind of scenario with the Z10 when I was attempting to unlock the screen or do a peek into the "hub" for that matter. BlackBerry still needs to perfect the art of its touchscreen - it is good but not perfect, like the others.

Technology Front
Another aspect I want to touch on is technology. BlackBerry, should not scrooge on technology. The World is moving past from quad-core(4) to octa-core(8) processors and BlackBerry is just touching base on dual-core(2). Even the Chinese phones have quad-core these days. BlackBerry should go all out with Corning Gorilla Glass, Carl Zeisis lens, metal/aluminium body, 64GB internal/external memory support, wireless charging, higher capacity battery, heck, throw in a FM transmitter something that other LTE smartphones don’t have and in other words, AHEAD of the game and not two steps BACKWARD every time.

The BlackBerry Aristo is not the answer either. Aristo is rumored to be the next new phone lined-up on the BlackBerry's so-called, phone arsenal. However, I believe it will be light-years behind the competition as usual, due to the hardware specifications and the estimated launch date of - September 2013 or January 2014. Aristo would had been a good device for year 2012 and perhaps, early 2013.

BlackBerry needs to give its fan-base and future customers something to truly desire or salivate about. Release more APIs for developers so that they can create more magical applications. Remember, success for Android was in its open source platform. Also, in my opinion, price really doesn't matter what does is a solid piece of machine and a good ecosystem. If the phone is good, people will eventually buy it and carriers will definitely entice with promotions. Create a beast of a phone and hit the ball out of the park - for once!

People behind BlackBerry

You need to hire better engineers and creative directors if you want to stay ahead of the giants. Please do not portray a shallow drama of sort, in which, you are not out to get or challenge the top rivals and are well and happy with the #4 spot - that is utter nonsense.  Hire people who can truly bring BlackBerry to the next era and recover the #1 smartphone title that it once held. Hiring big stars with fake designations for publicity will not have much value-add for the company, if you ask me. You need to invest your dollar on people who truly understand phone technology and not on those who simply endorse the product blindly whenever there is some money to be made. Seriously, if it was up to me I'd poached creative and engineering talent from Google, Samsung, Apple, HTC, Sony etc. If you want to survive, then welcome to the doggy dog World otherwise, be prepared to loose more loyalist and start packing.

Support

BlackBerry needs to truly listen to its customers and take time to respond to all suggestions and support queries for the benefit of everyone. In my experience, BlackBerry has the tendency of replying late, giving sloppy answers or worst, not replying at all at times. Even the telcos/carriers are sometimes oblivious to question pertaining to a BlackBerry device. All I can say is SIT-UP, LISTEN and start TRAINING.

Updates

I noticed many Z10 users all around the World are literally pleading, with BlackBerry for their software enhancement updates. Right now, these updates are being pushed by respective telcos/carriers and not by BlackBerry themselves. So for example people in the East may get it sooner then the people in the West. In my view, product enhancement updates should be pushed directly, by the device manufacturer themselves and not by the respective telcos/carriers. Apple, is one good example of a company that does a direct push of the updates. As for Google Android, you have the option to download the the latest updates from the phone manufacturer themselves, 3rd party websites or even use a modified ROM for that matter. Not asking BlackBerry to break all boundaries but at least, handle the updates themselves, personally.

Conclusion

I am from the era when Nokia used to be the #1 leader in mobile phone technology and iPhone was unheard off back then. I only switched to BlackBerry because of my work commitment quite reluctantly, 15 years back.  But in time to come I became an addict of sort to the BlackBerry and ever since, I have never looked back or owned anything but a BlackBerry.

BlackBerry will prevail and bounce back in time to come if it starts to truly listen. When exactly, now that is anyone's guess. Z10 is a step in the right direction but it has certainly, not reached its destination yet. BlackBerry has lots to learn. It needs to truly innovate a radical change if it wants to survive. Out with the monochrome design and image and in with the vibrant colors. The  business people want a nice looking phone too, as mentioned earlier in the post. Awe inspiring UI, icons, design, material, technology and of course, in total functional order.

BlackBerry should NOT be shy/snobbish to take cues from the competition such as Apple, Samsung, HTC, Sony, LG etc. Look at Samsung for example, it took iPhone head on and has today become a real threat for Apple.

Personally, my mobile contract is coming to an end with my carrier soon. My current phone the Bold 9700 is also coming to an end, literally. I was really looking forward to the Z10 but unfortunately, those hopes have been dashed due to the many teething problems that the new OS10 has present on the Z10 alongside, with its lack of ingenuity on the technology and hardware front.

I hope in 2 years time BlackBerry will have ironed out all/majority of the bugs on the OS10 and would have built a stellar ecosystem as well as hardware, for its future range of devices. Until that happens, I have decided to renew my 2-year contract with either the purchase of the HTC One (cos it looks so like the Z10, but better built - see picture below) or the Samsung S4. Anyway, it is not the end-of-the-world. After 1 or 2-years, I can always return back to BlackBerry if it has made good progress, but not just yet.

Though, I will still miss BlackBerry and its quirkiness but the last thing I want to do now is to get the Z10 and waste months on wondering why this does not happen and why that does not work. As for those whom garnered the courage and bought themselves the Z10 will always be remembered as the true heroes in the "BlackBerry World". For they will either make BlackBerry to be a better company or will break their BlackBerries, literally. Frankly, I do not have that kind patience left in me anymore especially, after giving BlackBerry so long to recover.  I certainly have no intention of using or buying a Z10 now unless, it comes along my way for FREE. Besides, I have tried and tested Android Jelly Bean OS and surprisingly, it is quite impressive, responsive and technologically advanced compared to its Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich version of the OS. Not to mention, Google Market/Place is oozing with tons of good working applications.

What I am now is a partial BlackBerry loyalist, who feels the company is in a dire need of a disciplinary spanking for its own good. Hopefully, after 2 years I will own a BlackBerry again, but till then, please do not disappoint.

I hope, Thorsten is reading this. ;-)


P.S. - Here is an example of how BlackBerry responds on its official blog to queries and user problems. You will notice, many unsatisfactory answers of which some are simply pushed to the carrier to resolve while others, are not attended to at all :

Official BlackBerry Blog

(Remember to sort the blog entries by "Select by newest first" from the drop-down box)

--

If you have any feedback and or comments then do feel free to share it with us. We will do our best to respond to both your praise and criticism alike. Thank-you.

ooglereview