The Blackberry 10: A Review

Written by Wilma Nimer

The arrival of the new BlackBerry Z10 phone earlier this year has caused a big splash in the smartphone market, as the world weighs the latest BlackBerry effort against the current competition from Apple and Android. Let’s take a look at the Z10 and the new BlackBerry10 OS in particular to see what the latest upgrade has to offer:

BlackBerry 10 OS: Better Than Ever

The BlackBerry Z10 runs on the new BlackBerry 10 OS, which represents a major departure from its predecessor. For one thing, the new OS runs completely on gestures, meaning there’s no “Home” button. Instead, the new OS features something called “Active Frames,” which allows users to have up to eight applications running at one time. A simple swipe of the finger takes users from one application to another. You can also “Peek” behind the running application before you switch frames. It may take users a little effort to get accustomed to the new technology, but once they do, they’ll likely find that it increases efficiency and productivity.

The new BlackBerry 10 OS also features a redesigned BlackBerry Hub. This is where you’ll receive all of your notifications—whether they come via SMS, email, or one of your social media accounts. If that seems overwhelming, you have the option of filtering notifications so that you’re not receiving social media updates during work and vice versa. The Hub is a great tool for keeping track of all your notifications, and it’s only available on the new BB10 OS.

The new OS incorporates the latest BBM update, which comes with voice chat, video chat, and screen sharing. These features push BBM to the forefront of messenger services, especially since BlackBerry is promising an app for Android and iOS users this year that will allow users across all platforms to finally connect with one another.

Z10-Specific Features

It’s worth noting the BB10’s flagship phone, the Z10, in this article, as some of the operating system’s newest features can only be found on this device. The Z10 is BlackBerry’s first phone to operate on touchscreen technology. While some BlackBerry fans may lament the loss of the physical keyboard, the predictive text on the Z10 is actually rather fast and accurate, as noted by a review posted on CNET. If you absolutely cannot live without the physical keyboard, opt for the Q10 or Q5 instead.

How It Stacks Up To the Competition

A review posted on The Verge notes that the BlackBerry Z10—and in turn the new OS—does everything that a “modern phone should do,” but we think it does even more. Flow technology makes it easy to navigate between applications, and BlackBerry Balance helps users to effectively separate work from play. Whether you’re using your new Z10 for a last-minute video conference or for some gaming on your lunch break, the new BB10 OS won’t disappoint.