<div>It's difficult to see the all new Z10 separately from BlackBerry's troubles, past, present and future. Whether this smartphone from the once king of smartphones will bring the company unequivocally back into the game, no one can say for sure. <br /> </div><div>All the same, BlackBerry users have been waiting to see what the new operating system, BlackBerry 10, and refreshed hardware is like, and India happens to be one of the first few countries to receive the top-tier Z10, though it does so at a price of Rs.43,490, a sum people feel is unreasonable for a company that many feel doesn't command the same brand value it used to two years ago. <br /> </div><div>But, setting aside that backdrop, let's look at the Z10 and what it brings, specially to ex or existing Bold, Torch and Storm users. </div><div> </div><div><strong>Quite Business-like</strong></div><div>Many people's first reaction when they hold the Z10 is that it's been iPhone-ized. It is indeed close to the iPhone 5 in size at 4.2 inches. It's also got the same straight lines and is made to be held comfortably and used with one hand. It's light though heavier than the iPhone which isn't necessarily a bad thing as many people like to feel some reassuring solidity. The back of the Z10 is a soft grainy material which prevents slipperiness. The front however, is glossy. It's a professional-looking understated device with no look-at-me styling but some definite substance.<br /> <br />The buttons are all easy to find and made with some care. The power button is on top and the volume rocker, with an extra multipurpose button in the middle is on the right. There isn't a physical -or virtual- home button. This is because the interface is all-swipe. As far as hardware goes, the Z10 now catches up with the rest. </div><div> </div><div><strong>A New Experience</strong></div><div>Those who are already accustomed to touch interfaces, specially gesture-based ones like Windows 8, will not think the BlackBerry 10 OS much of a revolution. Windows 8, even on a PC, uses swipes everywhere. Android too has multiple screens that make swiping a daily affair. Also there are apps and customizations that put in menus that can be accessed with a thumb-swipe.<br /> <br />But older BB users will definitely find BB10 a whole new experience specially since whatever touch BlackBerry had all this while was poorly executed. The BB10 interface is very fluid, in contrast. It's smooth and although there's a learning curve involved, as long as you know you need to swipe around, you'll discover what you need fast enough and become used to it. There are also tutorials to get you started. <br /> </div><div>The fluidity built into the new OS is something BlackBerry has really worked on. You'll see it in small touches all over the place as you swipe to open up or move across the home screen and other parts of the phone. The feel is of everything being integrated into one whole and this is something BlackBerry refers to as Flow. Any time you're in any application, you can smoothly swipe up to use the "Peek" feature to see what sort of messages are waiting for you, either in mail or your social networks or messengers. This happens without interrupting anything you're doing, even watching video. The powerful 1.5 dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and 2GB of RAM make sure there are no lags or compromises to the flow and navigation. </div><div> </div><div><strong>It's All In The Hub</strong></div><div>BlackBerry's communication philosophy is still very much the same. With BB10, it's the heart of the whole system and centralized in the BlackBerry Hub. All your messages, whether they're text, BBM, Facebook, LinkedIn or email, appear as notifications on the main screen. Swipe on the right to see the list of channels and further to see the messages collected in the Hub. For some, all communication arriving in the same bucket can be overwhelming. For others, it's just what they want. You can touch the source you want to look at and ignore the rest, keeping it for latter. You also have other filters such as those that let you sort mail by what you've received today, for example. And then there is in fact some finer level management you can to in the Hub Management options from where you can turn off certain sources altogether. <br /> </div><div>You can always get to the Hub to see your messages, whatever else you were doing - which was probably reading your email anyway. The notification light lets you know when your attention is needed. <br /> </div><div>Communication really is the main application on this phone and it's a great option for those hyperconnected people who are focused on quick responsiveness throughout the day. <br /> </div><div>BBM is very much part of the mix and now a special data plan for it is no longer needed. You just start your BBM account and get on the messaging circuit. You can now also voice or video chat on BBM and this will work fine depending on your internet connection. You can add people to the messaging by inviting them from the menu strip. <br /> </div><div>Not being a previous BlackBerry user, I found it easy enough to start using all my mail and messages on the Z10. I particularly enjoyed the video embedded into BBM options and found it far clearer and easier than any other video chats I've done so far, including Skype and FaceTime. The sound on the Z10 is a little low, which is odd for a device focused on communication, but I found it fine when pushed up to max and faced on distortion. </div><div> </div><div><strong>Still An App Gap</strong></div><div>The BlackBerry World store isn't exactly brimming over with compelling apps you absolutely must have. BlackBerry insists that apps are flooding in from excited developers, adding to the 70,000 they already have, but the results are not exactly top-notch or even inexpensive. When it comes down to experiences with apps, it's quality that matters over quantity as both Microsoft and BlackBerry are discovering. The Android app ecosystem too is yet to catch up on quality and security not just sheer numbers. <br /> </div><div>But a counter argument is that BlackBerry users (the segment that BlackBerry likes to call "BlackBerry People") are perhaps not the sort who really want very many apps in the first place.<br /> <br />What they need is already on the device - business messaging and email. In fact, we do need to consider some of the other special features that add to the onboard productivity experience on the Z10. </div><div> </div><div><strong>Best On BlackBerry</strong></div><div>If you're focused on communication, there are many things that are still best on the BlackBerry compared with other smartphones and platforms. I already mentioned the ease of email, messaging and voice and video chat and how it's all in one place and yet always reachable. But there are other things too. You can also use a new feature, Screen Share on the Z10. This works from within video chat and let each person see the screen of the other person's Z10 (and future BB10 based phones). The existence of this feature plus the ease with which it's usable would make it quite an asset for business users.<br /> </div><div>Another new feature on BB10 is the Story Maker. It's an application that lets you create a movie in simple steps. It's specially designed for mobile so it's not complex and editing is easy and also lets you put in professional touches such as titles and credits. Sharing is equally easy. It's a nice way to create quick demos or overviews for business use.<br /> </div><div>And then there's BlackBerry Balance, which is a feature meant to separate your personal and work spaces. A swipe gets you from one to the other and you access your work content using a password and your office IT people can easily use the work space to ensure that content is secure and can even be wiped off without losing the personal stuff if needed. There's also BlackBerry Remember which integrates content with Evernote. <br /> </div><div>The virtual keyboard, another unique feature, on the Z10 has been designed for users who have been addicted to the original physical QWERTY keyboard but want to make the switch to touch. It's bold and high-contrast, so it's easy to see. But to make it quick to type on, you have a highly predictive text recognition much like the one found on Swiftkey, familiar to Android users. The keyboard learnes from your input (so watch your mistakes) and offers up a word that you swipe up to make it float to the text area. It takes a while getting used to and isn't as fast as the original and nor does it let you look away - you need to be looking at the screen. Personally, I found the switch difficult because I use Swype and Swiftkey Flow and even handwriting on Android handsets. The handset with the real keyboard, Q10, is of course, still awaited though I have handled it and seen that it is much closer to the older BlackBerrys. </div><div><strong><br /></strong></div><div><strong>One-trick Camera</strong></div><div>Cameras have become a critical part of any smartphone today. The Z10 has an average 8 megapixel shooter, able to give decent enough pictures in daylight at 3264 x 2448 pixels,.The focus method is annoying though. You tap to shoot but you drag the square to focus except that very often the photograph takes itself in the process and you end up with an unfocused shot. Apart from this quirk, there are some basic settings to play with and even a few effects. For lovers of Instagram, that's only on Android and iOS for now. <br /> </div><div>The Z10 camera has one neat trick called Time Shift up its sleeve. When taking a group shot, you have some before and after images extrapolated to select the best one. This "best shot" feature is already on many other phones, but the implementation on the Z10 is more interesting. <br /> </div><div>The secondary camera is a 720p@30fps 2 megapixel. <br /> </div><div>In sum, you don't buy this smartphone for its camera as is the case with some others, but you do get a better camera than with older BlackBerrys. </div><div> </div><div>The Z10 has an 1800 mAh battery, which may be just about enough to see you through a work day, but only just. If you're a super communicator, you'll surely need extra support such as a handy charger always or even a portable power pack. The battery is removable - with the back flap opening very easily - so you can even keep a second battery or replace it altogether after a long time of use and any signs that the battery is getting less effective. <br /> </div><div>The Z10 supports NFC and this may well become useful as the whole area of mobile payments begins to hot up as it seems to be this year. <br /> </div><div>If you're an existing user, migration to this new device may be a bit cumbersome but here I'm going by reports from others rather than my own experience since I wasn't a BB user. </div><div> </div><div>After some 18 months of working on a new operating system, suffering huge losses in market share and brand value, BlackBerry should really have come back with a portfolio of devices ready to ship instantly everywhere, specially in the US where the tone is set for perception about the company, and at different price points to capture users. Unfortunately, there's one expensive device that may see older users upgrade but will not likely draw Android and iOS users away. The Q10, keyboard based BB10 phone, is still at least a month or two away and loses BlackBerry some much needed momentum and marketing buzz. One also has no idea whether the Q10 will be priced attractively or not. At this point, it would have been better to come back with a leap forward not just with a catch-up smartphone, excellent though it is. But BlackBerry may surprise us yet. As we quiz dealers, they say the Z10 is out of stock with demand from BB fans mounts. </div><div><strong style="line-height: 1.4;"><br /></strong></div><div>mala(dot)bhargava(at)gmail(dot)com<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 25-03-2013)</span><br /> </div>
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
