BlackBerry Z10 Review - Sober Julie Doing Life

Earlier this month BlackBerry Z10 hit the stores with a BANG! People were eager get their hands on this new technology which was being touted as the hope of this Canadian company’s future.

My introduction to the Z10 happened at the BlackBerry Z10 launch party in Toronto. While there I had the opportunity to play with the display models and learn the ins and outs from the BlackBerry reps.

As I stated in my article linked above there were some features I immediately liked.

Look and Feel

The Z10 fit nicely in my hand, had the perfect weight and I found it simple to navigate through apps using the touch screen.

After using the device for a few weeks which was sent to me by Telus, I stand by my initial opinion, the BlackBerry Z10 is the perfect size for my hand. It’s stippled soft touch gripped back surface makes it easy to handle. I have noticed that the apps can hesitate at some intervals, there doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason that I’ve found as of yet but it’s not enough of a lag to sway me from the Z10.

BlackBerry Z10 HUB

This is a great feature, it’s one spot where you can easily view all of your notifications, phone call alerts and more.

This is easily accessible by swiping across the screen to the right at any time, even if you’re already within an app.

BlackBerry Apps

As a blogger there are certain apps which I rely upon to engage on social media. I do most of my interactions remotely and the absence or difference of these on the Z10 is annoying.

Facebook on BlackBerry Z10

There is a Facebook app on the Z10 but it’s had me so annoyed I actually stopped using it. This app would be fine for the average Joe, assuming he’s not focused on keeping up with his Pages or Groups.

Personally I live in the Pages and Groups section of Facebook and have been able to keep up easily while using the Facebook apps on the Samsung Galaxy SIII, Note II and my iPhone. BlackBerry has really dropped the ball on this one in comparison.

When you go to the Facebook HUB by hitting the icon on the upper left you’ll see your Favorites, Groups, Lists and Account info. This feature comes close to competitor’s Facebook apps but misses the mark in it’s details.

Other device applications allow you to see your Pages as well, the BB Z10’s FB app does not. It also doesn’t show your groups in a compressed or sort list. For a blogger who belongs to many groups this is a cumbersome way of keeping up. Time is important, and this my friends takes far too much.

If you click on a photo within the FB app there is no way to share or save it, yet another feature I rely upon.

I’m certain that RIM will be upgrading the FB app but it’s limitative at the moment.

Instagram Missing from BlackBerry Z10

The photo sharing platform Instagram isn’t yet available for the new OS. Also missing is Twitter’s new video sharing tool, Vine. I think many bloggers will agree these apps are used widely and BlackBerry would be doing themselves a service to offer them.

Camera

BlackBerry has shown they’re quite clever with the camera features they’ve introduced with the Z10. Obviously they’ve spent time focusing upon this in order to move into a more personal user rather than the typical Business BlackBerry user of the past.

With software Face detection and time travel element they’re pulling into the ranks with Samsun and Mac. It’s very aggressive with auto exposure and white balance, losing details on textures. For my purposes the photo quality isn’t great, photos taken in low light are very dark and I’ve found my photos “pixelly” in comparison to other devices.

Battery Life

The Z10’s batter has held up well for me. It is comparative to my iPhone and Samsung Note II and far better than the Samsung Galaxy SIII which I’ve found to drain quickly.

This phone is a serious improvement for BlackBerry users, if I were using it only for personal reasons it would be a solid choice. In my world where I use social media to keep in touch and my camera on a regular basis it just falls short. Unfortunately the competitors options are more useful for me today but BlackBerry is getting closer.

This post is not sponsored nor was I compensated. I was provided with a BlackBerry Z10 for review purposes, all opinions are my own.