The BlackBerry Z10 smartphone has only been out a couple of months, and the new BlackBerry 10 operating system has already hit the 100,000 applications mark. In comparison, there are approximately 800,000 applications for Apple devices, and roughly 700,000 for Google. When you take into account the iPhone has been around since 2007, and Google’s app store is several years old as well, that is a rather impressive achievement for a brand-new operating system.
The company formerly known as RIM believes so strongly in what they are calling “the fastest, most advanced BlackBerry smartphone yet” that they renamed their company in its honor. BlackBerry chose the name of their iconic smartphone as their company name at the same time that they changed the physical form factor of the device. Gone is the ever-present and familiar physical QWERTY keyboard, and in its stead a totally touchscreen driven design more reminiscent of the iPhone and Android phones is present.
The handset arrived in March of this year, and can be found with a $100 discount at the Amazon Wireless store. Amazon sells both the AT&T and Verizon BlackBerry Z10 smartphones starting at a price of $99 on contract. The phone is slim in profile, measuring just 0.35 inches (9.0 mm). Comparatively light at 4.85 ounces (138 g), the BlackBerry Z10 delivers NFC wireless support out-of-the-box.
The phone uses proximity and light sensors to help conserve battery power, which leads to a full 10.0 hours of talk time from a single charge. The display is by far the largest ever found on a BlackBerry phone, measuring 4.2 inches. Resolution is excellent at 768 by 1,280 pixels, delivered at a pixel density of 356 pixels per inch. Capacitive, multitouch gestures allow you to navigate the phone, and more than 16 million different colors can be found on that display.
The BlackBerry Z10 hardware package includes an Adreno 225 GPU and a dual core 1.5 GHz Krait central processor, 2.0 GB of RAM memory and 16 GB of onboard storage space. A microSD slot is also present for storage expansion, and a front facing 2.0 megapixel camera allows for video chat and video calls. An 8.0 megapixel camcorder is built into the back of the device, and comes equipped with a built-in LED flash, f/2.2 lens and digital image stabilization. That camera records video at the rate of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (1,080P HD resolution), and the BlackBerry Z10 also delivers a built-in music player.
