iTech Post reporters Jimmie Geddes and Matthew Klickstein had an opportunity to check out the new BlackBerry Z10 at the recent DigitalFocus event presented by Pepcom in New York City on April 11.
Jimmie had some favorable things to say about the BlackBerry Z10. Matthew ... did not. Here's the conversation they held comparing and contrasting the various features, design and user interface of the BlackBerry Z10:
MATTHEW KLICKSTEIN: What did you think about the BlackBerry Z10 at DigitalFocus, Jimmie?
JIMMIE GEDDES: I was not expecting to like it, but after using it I really liked it. I felt BlackBerry 10 OS was very intuitive with its gesture-driven interface. I thought the virtual keyboard is one of, if not the best on the market. It took a little while to first get used to the words popping up, but the rep told me to just type like I normally would, and the Z10 is smart enough to make any corrections to misspelled words. "Trust the keyboard" is what I was told. Soon I was typing pretty quick and flicking words up from the keyboard as they appeared over certain keys. I thought the build quality was good, with its soft-touch back, but I thought it could be a little thinner, though. The screen looked very sharp and bright.
MK: I didn't like the keyboard. Everybody was touting it, but to me it seemed needlessly complicated and distracting, with words popping up everywhere as opposed to one straight line of choices for Autocorrect, etc.
JG: They just kept telling me "trust the keyboard," almost chanting it, and it seemed to work for me once I got the hang of it.
MK: Perhaps that was the problem: It should be more intuitive right away, rather than something you have to "trust." Funnily enough, I found that the woman showing me the Z10 was having some trouble getting it going, too. Maybe she should "trust" the power button?
JG: They reminded me of Steve Jobs when he first showed the iPhone's keyboard and was telling people to trust it. I thought the keyboard had good spacing, though, like Windows Phone keyboard does. Not cramped.
MK: It is definitely a well-designed phone. Lightweight, pretty appearance. Felt like I was holding nothing at all. Much better than the super bulky older models. My concern, though, was it was maybe TOO lightweight. Easy to drop, misplace, BREAK ...
JG: It is very light. Did you think the soft rubber back would help not dropping it? I do wish it wasn't just a boring rectangle, though. It looks like a mini version of their PlayBook tablet.
MK: The rubber back was a good idea for just that reason, and also so that it doesn't start sliding on slick glass or wood surfaces when you set it down. I don't know how much it would help for DROPPING the Z10, though, because it DOES seem remarkably (too?) lightweight. Like it'll break just being in my pocket if I bump up against a pole or something. I liked the rectangle, though. I think it gives it a nice minimalist look. Simple and refined.
JG: Yeah, definitely won't slip on surfaces. It felt good in the hand, but I agree it's very light. I really liked how you can swipe up on the screen to turn the Z10 on. I know that's more of the OS.
MK: Funny, I was just going to say how much I didn't like the interface. I'm a Lumia guy, so maybe I'm used to the tiles — sure Microsoft sucks at apps, but accessibility is key here — but I found the Z10 to be very confusing. Again, much like the keyboard. Especially with such a small screen for so much going on. Form and function didn't really go together well here. Maybe had something to do with why even the representative had trouble getting it started. What were your thoughts on fluidity and speed of operation?
JG: I was very impressed. I was a big webOS fan (before HP killed it) and think the gesture-driven interface might take a little while to get used to. I thought it was very fluid and the rep said it's due to the 2GB of RAM BlackBerry decided to use. I found it was easy to get around, once the rep explained how to use it. There is definitely a little learning curve, but I really liked the gestures to get around, especially to get to BB Hub.
MK: How do you feel BlackBerry's signature OS compares here to Android specifically? To me it seems like a bit of a rip-off even though I know BlackBerry more or less popularized the market.
JG: I felt that the interface is more polished than Android, visually. I mean they "borrowed" things from Android, like the pull-down notification tray with quick settings, but Apple did too. I liked the multitasking card view more than Android's.
MK: Another reason I go with my trusty Lumia. Like nothing else out there! I guess the real question with the Z10 is, WORTH THE PRICE?
JG: No. I think maybe at $99, or possibly lower. I said to the BlackBerry rep this should not have been the first phone to come out, it should have been the Q10, a real BlackBerry. It's just their answer to have a full-touch device.
MK: You seemed a big fan, though. Why do you think it's only worth $99? That's pretty low on the price-point scale.
JG: Because it has already dropped in certain places to $129. Amazon has it for $99. I really like it, I just think it would do better at a lower price. I think the Q10 will sell much better at the $199 price point; it's what all BlackBerry users have been waiting for. The Z10 does a great job showing off BB10 with tts 4.2-inch screen.
MK: I would be interested in playing with the BlackBerry Z10 a bit more in the future, but for now, I'm sticking with Windows.
JG: Yeah, I wouldn't drop my iPhone 5 for it, but it's tempting in the sense that I think BlackBerry has done a very good job with BB10; it surprised me. I never liked BlackBerry OS before, but I really liked the UI and gestures of the Z10. BlackBerry is once again relevant in the smartphone world thanks to BlackBerry 10.
