Let the figures speak. Looking at millions of iPhones and Androids dominating the smartphone market could there be any chance for a brand new operating system? And Windows mobile OS powering Nokia Lumia lineup has to be remembered too, of course. Well, BlackBerry seems to think there should be one. Their newest OS tagged BlackBerry 10 is the latest to join the smartphone OS arena. The first device privileged to run this brand new OS is BlackBerry Z10, the flagship product of the company. Has it enough guts to fight off well known players like Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5? Would it be able to market the brand new OS to the users? Is it simply worth buying? Read on to decide for yourself.
Hardware Specs
Blackberry Z10 packs a pretty decent specs sheet a flagship smartphone of the era is destined to claim, though it’s not the best out there. Powered by dual core processors clocking at 1.5 GHz and 2 GB of RAM, BlackBerry Z10 promises to deliver the best of the new OS in the best way possible. It boasts a display of 4.2 inches with a pixel count of 768 by 1280. 16 GB of internal storage is more than enough to play with the smartphone goodies however it also packs a memory expansion slot. Given their present market share BlackBerry engineers couldn’t afford mistakes nor take any risks. Therefore BlackBerry Z10 has been stacked with almost everything rivals offer. Z10 claims for a bunch of connectivity options too, including Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth v4.0, NFC and micro USB 2.0. Although BlackBerry’s main audience is business personnel, Z10 packs plenty for the average consumer too. The 8 mega pixel main shooter capable of recording Full HD videos at 30 fps is one such example. For video calling, Z10 also embeds a 2 mega pixel camera on the front. 1800 mAh Li-ion battery might not be the best thing in the smartphone league out there however it promises to deliver a 312h of standby time or 10h of talk time between charge cycles.
BlackBerry 10 – Brand New OS
It is the beginning of a new era to the company. Z10 is the first among many devices to enjoy the newborn baby in the mobile operating systems arena, the BlackBerry 10. In a smartphone world ruled by Android and iOS followed by Windows mobile, BlackBerry 10 sets to do the impossible. But the development team behind this have observed, understood the competition remarkably well so that they’ve been able to create a wonderful operating system that combines the best of everything. BlackBerry 10 has been designed with multitasking in mind. Swiping gestures control lots of action behind the curtains. Everything around BlackBerry 10 is new and needs to be introduced from ground up to the loyal BlackBerry customers. Though the learning curve is a little bit steeper it’s not a waste of time and effort, if you are a BlackBerry guy. Simple features have also been tweaked to improve performance. For example the keyboard accompanies a bunch of super-useful auto-complete options. The OS learns as you type; meaning that it keeps tabs on the way you type, use linguistics to predict appropriate words to you in the future.
Web Browser has received a major upgrade, and now supports HTML5. Adobe Flash support is also on board in case you need it. BlackBerry Maps is however a deal breaker and still it’s a yet another disaster just like the Apple Maps. BlackBerry hub lets you read and send emails, text messages and social media messages all in one place. You can receive all your texts, emails and social media notifications into one giant inbox or you can organize and receive them into spate inboxes. BlackBerry Balance is a feature designed specifically for the business personnel trying to keep things at home and office separate. The biggest issue with the new OS is the limited amount of apps available on the market. True that there are around 70,000 apps currently available for BB customers, yet figuratively it’s infinitesimal when Android and iOS apps are considered. However no one will ever use this much apps, not even the geekiest users of all so this amount should help you get going.
Comparison of BlackBerry 10 with iOS and Android
BlackBerry 10 is not a disappointing operating system. Save few glitches and bumps on its first release, it is the inadequacy of apps that lets this OS down. Compared to iOS and Android, the number of apps on BlackBerry World is really small. While some major apps such as Facebook, Twitter and games like Angry Birds are already available on the market place, there are some missing pieces such as Pinterest, Spotify as well. The interest shown by third party app developers is a crucial factor determining the existence of any operating system today. It is a battle Microsoft fights hard, to keep heads up in an Android and iOS dominated world. It is a battle BlackBerry has to start fighting and keep winning if they need to keep their dream alive.
Comparison of Z10 with Other Smartphones
BlackBerry Z10 is the flagship smartphone company is offering. On the flagship front the competition is far fiercer than ever, with monstrous specs sheets packed under sleek packages fighting for glory. The dual core processor clocking at 1.5 GHz and 2GB of RAM are decent enough, though whether they are enough to revive the company back to glory is still unknown. An iPhone 5 packs a 1.2 GHz dual core processor backed by 1GB of RAM while Galaxy S3 ships with a 1.4GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. Earlier this year Sony joined the elite league with their flagship product Xperia Z. HTC raised their own standards with the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 will soon join the ranks of the elite. It’s definitely not an easy task to keep up. And it’s a whole new OS against a well established iOS and many high end droids packing Android.
Conclusion
BlackBerry desperately tries to hold together a collapsing market share amidst a fierce competition dominated by iOS and Android. Windows mobile OS backed by Nokia should also be considered, of course. They’ve changed their approach and try to redefine what their company is all about with this brand new OS. BlackBerry Z10 is the first among many to enjoy this new operating system. BlackBerry faces two major challenges here. They have to convince people to try out their new OS. And they have to convince people to buy their new smartphone. Failure in either task could be disastrous. When the new OS is considered, it’s not a failure. Of course it has its own glitches, but its biggest problem is the lack of apps. If you are planning to buy the Z10, you won’t be able to enjoy every single popular app your friends using iPhones and Androids enjoy. If you could live with that, BlackBerry 10 might be good for you. Hardware wise Z10 is a winner. Of course that’s not to say it’s the best thing out there. Newly released HTC One, Sony Xperia Z in fact carry lot more potential under their hoods, however Z10 has guts to put together a decent fight. Deciding to buy a Z10 might be challenging, especially if you are not a faithful BlackBerry fan. The smartphone is good. The OS isn’t bad either. How will their combined effort pay off? Only time will tell us.
About the author: Dmitri Blackthorn is interested in new gadgets, online security tips, media software and currently does guest blogging and SEO. Click here to visit his free dvd software website IQmango.com.