Review: Blackberry Z10 (Smartphone)

Always we need context. For this we need to summarise the marketplace. At the top of the peer list is the iPhone (iOS), which is a very slick, must have addition to lifestyle that's not so hot with email. Then we have Android, which isn't so slick but usually cheaper and also about lifestyle, but not so good with email either. Now to Blackberry. They've always been strong with email but have offered up some appalling usability issues and they have never been about lifestyle. Blackberry are struggling and have put almost all their eggs into this one Z10 shaped basket. They are specifically aiming at the same smartphone markets as iOS and Android.

In a few short words they've almost pulled it off and might very well do it with some key additions to their app store. Use the Z10 for a couple of days and the iPhone feels clunky and retro. The Z10 is all about intuitive gestures and a slick interface that feels natural about ten minutes after you unpackage it. It is a better device than any Android I've used by a long margin and it is at least equal, and often better than the iPhone. In almost every area the Z10 ooozes thought and innovation. Everything you expect is there and at almost every turn you can see someone has worked out how to make it better.

What the Z10 lacks right now, is lifestyle. The Z10 browser is excellent and many apps we rely on in the day to day are available via the browser. Go to the BBC sports site on your Z10 and you will get the exact same experience as the BBC iPhone app. Two gestures on the Z10 and you have an icon to launch the BBC sports site. The same is almost universal for any web based services, National Rail for instance, works just the same as an icon on the Z10 as it does the iPhone. But the Z10 doesn't have important clients like the Kindle, or core services like the Dropbox client that will automatically upload any pictures and videos you take to your online storage (although the Z10 does have a basic Dropbox browser client). Blackberry need these apps and more like them very soon. Smartphones are now integral to our daily lifestyle. For all Blackberry's breathtaking innovation, without them the Z10 is not a viable mass-market alternative to either iOS or Android.

Blackberry devices have always been about information, reviewing it and responding to it. The exceptional strength of the Z10 is the ability to use it in one hand while on the move, carrying bags et al and be able to access everything that is important with just a few swipes of the thumb. The touch keyboard is simply the best of breed across all devices, including physical keyboards. Their implementation of predictive text is nothing short of genius and not only very effective but great fun to use. Who'd have thought that about predictive text! With Blackberry the ecosystem has always focused on email and the Z10 is a jump in evolution of this. A lot of effort has been invested and for once Blackberry have delivered a product that can be wholeheartedly embraced without reservation or tolerance of one design flaw that steadily wears over time. The Z10 is as close to perfect a smartphone experience as any information centric user could want. The stand-out apps it does have: Facebook and The Guardian, and Independent newspapers, really show what is possible with the Z10, making these services incredibly intuitive and natural to use.

The camera is high quality, the experience and usability is the simplest of any device and for the first time we get to edit the images we take. Features like personal hotspot go one step further and give you much more control over the experience, allowing you to monitor data usage and manage additional connections once you're in. Web browsing is intuitive and once more focused on the fact you are often likely to be on the move, using the device one handed and and in need of quickly accessing information.

An interesting addendum is you previously needed a BIS phone contract to use a Blackberry but you don't with the Z10, working like iOS and Android using encryption over a normal data connection. Hoorah to that. Corporates can continue to use BES if they want to. You should also note the RRP (non-contract) is about £415-450, so if anyone is charging you more then you need to weigh your need for the device over the extra you are paying.

In design the Z10 is little short of perfect. Software innovation will make it even better. We just need those lifestyle apps and Blackberry have a genuine shot at not only the best smartphone but a device that makes the competition pale in comparison.

22 July 2013 - I recently started my own business and found the iPhone clunky, especially with email as I tried to keep on top of my working day. Although I love Google Now I also struggle with the Android's menu and interface, the graphical layer companies like Samsung add-on. So I'm now using my Blackberry Z10 and use it for web data much as I might a Chromebook - as a portal. The Z10 interface and usability, especially for diary and mail cannot be beaten in my opinion. If I need the lifestyle apps I'll use my iPad.

Click here to Like this review on Amazon.