Friday, 8 November 2013

BlackBerry Z30 review: will BB survive?



BlackBerry Z30 review

 

What's new:
The Z30 is powered by an upgraded Qualcomm chipset with a more recent GPU and has better battery backup than the preceding Z10. The latest version, 10.2, of the BB OS brings lock screen notifications, a new instant preview and reply feature, new Priority Hub, updated system apps, USB host and more. The ability to run Android apps on OS 10.2 version is finally beginning to make a difference. There's Jelly Bean compatibility now. BlackBerry has finally unleashed the BBM messenger on other platforms too and it's enjoying a good response. Overall, the BlackBerry 10 OS looks fresh and innovative with  attractive design. This phone is very good try by BLACKBERRY to save themselves.  


 

Key features:

  • 5.0" 16M-color 720p Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen
  • Dual-core 1.7 GHz Krait, 2GB RAM, Adreno 320
  • 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with face detection and Time Shift; LED flash, 2MP front facing camera
  • Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps; 720p recording with front-facing camera
  • 16GB storage, microSD card slot; built-in Drop box and Box integration
  • Ability to side-load and run Jelly-Bean-compatible apps
  • Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot; Wi-Fi sync
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • NFC
  • Standard microUSB port, USB host, microHDMI
  • 3.5mm audio jack
  • GPS receiver with A-GPS
  • BlackBerry 10.2 OS
  • Office document editor
  • BlackBerry Hub with extensive social networking connectivity
  • BBM with video chat and screen sharing

DESIGN:

The dimension of  BlackBerry Z30 is  140 x 72 x 9.4 mm and equipped with  Super AMOLED screen. Phone looks good but not feel that good in hand and weight more than its competitors like IPHONE and HTC one.
Above the screen, we find the earpiece and LED and the front facing 2MP  camera which can record video of 720p, and other  sensors. The Power key at the top AND To turn the screen on. A swipe up from the bottom of the screen will unlock the phone. The right side of the BlackBerry Z30 has the volume keys, separated by the voice command button. The microUSB and microHDMI connectivity ports are on the left. The top side of the Blackberry Z30 features the 3.5mm audio jack and the Power key. The bottom of the BlackBerry Z30 has no controls, you'll only spot a slit to open  the battery cover . at the back of the device, you'll spot the 8MP camera lens and single LED flash in the top left corner. The pair of stereo speakers, are placed at the top and bottom of the Z30's rear. The back  cover of the Z30 is removable, but unfortunately the battery is not user accessible. You can find the microSD and microSIM slots on the right and the memory card is hot-swappable.
SOFTWARE:
Starting with new OS, the BlackBerry Z30 brings the latest BlackBerry OS 10.2, which The 10.2 version brings along various new features, such as - lock screen notification previews, a new Priority Hub and Attachment view. It also got toast notifications that allow quick view and reply which is too good, this new feature will surely increase the productivity of the device because you don't have to leave your current work(like BBM and WHATSAPP, or even during watching videos) or screen to reply, you will get a pop up and you can reply simply from that screen and the most important you will not get this feature anywhere whether it is IOS, WINDOWS or ANDROID.
Secondly  the unlock screen, you can use the Power/Lock button to unlock the Z30 as well as a swipe up from the bottom of the screen (swipes should start off the screen). Interestingly, a single swipe will unlock the phone even if the screen is off. It's a unique feature ,so no need to wake up the device first. It's up to you u want to wake up the screen or you only want to check the notifications.
 The built-in search feature is also good and will look through your apps, messages, contacts, music, pictures and even offer Extended search, which can search the search through selected app like Google Maps, Bing and many more.
HARDWARE:
The BlackBerry Z30 comes with Qualcomm MSM8960T Snapdragon S4 chipset with a 1.7GHz dual-core processor and 2GB of RAM. With  this hardware  everything is fast and fluid in this new blackberry device.
Now coming to the camera, BB Z30 comes with an 8MP primary camera with an LED flash and a secondary 2MP camera. Both cameras can shoot HD video, 1080p for the main camera and 720p for the front camera. You can use three modes to shoot in  Z30: Stills, Video and Time shift.
BB Z30 comes with 5 inch super AMOLED screen but surprisingly its not full HD and only 720p which is little bit disappointing. Overall you will not find any issue with screen it good and colour looks very sharp.


VERDICT:

FOR:

  •  Great overall package
  •   Beautiful vibrant display with good viewing angles, and outdoor visibility
  •  BB 10 OS is very good and feels new
  •   Useful messages hub feature
  •   Quick on-screen reply feature
  •  Good on-screen keyboard
  •   Very good at multitasking
  •   Good battery life

AGAINST:


  •   Voice control is not as 'smart' as other platforms
  •   Thick and heavy as compared to other smartphone, looks good but feel is not that premium 
  •   BlackBerry Maps needs improvement
  •   Camera is good but don't offer much

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