Blackberry Z10

The Z10’s solid creak-free build and pleasing textured back immediately banish memories of toy-like QWERTY phones. It’s a nice weight and size too, though we can’t help feeling that those bezels could do with a trim and the big BlackBerry logo is a little in-yer-face. Apart from the odd freeze playing Angry Birds or streaming video, the 1.5 GHz dual-core engine and 2GB of RAM keep the Z10 zipping along nicely when

multi-tasking. Shame battery life isn’t so great: we got a decent 9hrs in a video run-down test, but in regular daily use with notifications switched on it ran out of juice far too quickly.


BlackBerry seems to be focusing on the basics with the Z10: the camera isn’t as feature-packed as those on most flagships and BB 10’s Maps omit public transport and satellite views. But perhaps more usefully you do get a swappable battery and microSD slot to add up to 64GB of storage.


BlackBerry 10 is the all-new OS for its latest handsets. It has elements of iOS, Android and WinPho, although its gesture-heavy navigation can be tricky to pick up at first. BB’s music and video stores aren’t fully fledged just yet but there’s enough decent albums and movies to satisfy most.


With a 4.2in 356ppi LCD display, the Z10 keeps things sharp: bags of detail, natural colours and with an easy to handle screen size, only the relatively dim display, compared to the Xperia Z and S3, lets it down.


The 8MP camera on the back of the Z10 is speedy, takes photos with impressive levels of detail and shoots largely clear and smooth 1080p video, with some softness creeping in. Time Shift is the party trick though: mix and match your mates faces to get the best group shot.

Tech Spec:

Display 4.2in, 1280 x 768 (356ppi)

OS BlackBerry 10 OS

cPU Dual-core 1.5GHz (unspecified)

Storage 16GB (+ microSD up to 64GB)

raM 2GB

camera 8MP, 1080p (rear);

2MP, 720p (front)

connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0,

microUSB, microHDMI, NFC, LTE, 3.5mm

Battery 1800mAH, 9 hours 20 mins

Blackberry Q10

BlackBerry hasn’t crafted a quadcore monster here. Sensible, as people who buy the Q10 won’t want to play games on it. But it is decently powered anyway –a dual-core 1.5GHz processor and 2GB RAM should handle the new BB10 OS like a well-oiled croupier.

You’re unlikely to watch a load of movies on the square, 3.1in display, but it’s not to be squinted at. A 720x720 res gives a pixel density of 328ppi, a shade higher than the iPhone 5. As with the last Bold it’s also a touchscreen, so you can use BB10’s gestures to swish by apps.

I’ve heard that swipeyscreen phones are all the rage these days, but if you’re a great typer then the Bold-style QWERTY keyboard will come as a relief to your cramped, touch-unfriendly fingers. It’s BlackBerry’s biggest ever keyboard, strengthened by stainless steel ‘frets’.

Tech Spec:

Display 3.1in, 720x720 Super AMOLED (328ppi)

Storage 16GB (+ up to 64GB microSD)

cPU Dual-core A9 @ 1.5GHz

camera 8MP (rear); 2MP (front)

connectivity 4G, Bluetooth 4.0,

microUSB, Wi-Fi, NFC

BlackBerry Porsche

How do you review a gizmo that you know is unaffordable for 99% of your target audience? How can you compare it to anything if there are no alternatives? How can you justify its price when you can perhaps get a Tata Nano for about the same price? That is the real dilemma we find ourselves in, but putting everything else aside let’s just look at the product itself to try and see what it really can do with a design that is created by the Porsche Design Studio.

Review
The forged stainless steel body encases a beautifully styled QWERTY keyboard, the like of which we’ve never seen on any BB device before. There is also a hand-wrapped leather back cover, which is great because you won’t feel the battery’s heat even with continuous use. The 2.8 TFT capacitive touchscreen may appear small for all modern users hooked on touchscreens, but for the elite who can really afford this — that may be just enough for conducting their business in an efficient manner. It’s a BB device after all, and it sure does support 3G. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth as well as in-built support for NFC (to our great surprise). It is enabled with all the BB 05 7 goodies you expect, including the fluid UI which is a breeze to use and get used to. BB users will feel quite at home using all the BB services like BB Mail and BBM, but new users might need some getting used to. Overall, it’s really not about the 1.2 GHz processor which does a good job overall, nor the 768MB of RAM which is good enough for all business users. The 5MP cam with LED flash is quite good (considering it’s a BB device) we might even go as far as saying its possibly the best cam on any BB device we’ve seen! But the entire purpose of this phone is the look, style and exclusivity factor. There is no doubt in our mind that the top 1% of the wealthy reading this review will surely love to own one of this devices, not just because of the exclusivity factor, but also because the BB Porsche does everything you expect it to — without making much of a fuss.

CAMERA
The 5MP snapper as we mentioned earlier is possibly the best we’ve seen on a BB device. It can also record HD videos and playback is fluid, smooth and quite a good experience.

X-FACTOR
The Porsche P9981 comes with a custom- made Wikitude World Browser with an augmented reality app experience. Also, the PIN for the Porsche phones is exclusive, making it easier to recognise the device from
it. The SNS suite is quite good and the overall browsing and messaging experience is really good.

Verdict
The yacht club have a gadget that will be its object of desire for some time to come. But, the real question is, does it really justify the exorbitant price tag of nearly 1.35 lacs? Well, yes! It’s not just the classy design that impresses, not only the ease with which you get used to the UI and features, but also the feeling when you have it. It’s that feeling which can’t really be described but has to be felt, and BB is hoping that it’s that feeling which will draw the elite to their Porsche P’9981 smartphone. Gift it your loved one if you can afford it, and watch your world change. Go on, then!

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0

Research in Motion (RIM) has launched the much awaited and anticipated PlayBook
2.0, its next generation operating system (OS) for its PlayBook tablet. We’re fairly impressed but the update is far too late and somewhat uninspiring.

The Messages app is by tar the best of the three additions and includes email and integration with social