Blackberry’s Z10 may not stand out from the rest either in terms of looks or in terms of specifications. But with present day smartphones featuring pretty much the same hardware configurations, the real factor affecting the decision of selecting a device is the operating system. That said, the Z10 does have a dual core processor, 2GB of RAM and substantial in-built storage of 16GB. It also sports an 8-megapixel camera, but overall performance is just average. Looks-wise too, the device does not stand out and if it does, it’s because it borders on bland. Moreover, the back cover does appear cheap and flimsy.
However, the present smartphone market measures the success of a device as the success of its operating system. The Z10 is the first device to feature the Blackberry 10 operating system. One of the biggest drawbacks of the Blackberry operating system is the steep learning curve for a first time user. The gesture based navigation, though intuitive after a few days of use, is absolutely confounding for first time users. On the other hand, the OS does stand out when it comes to its messaging capabilities.
The interface integrates Blackberry Messenger along with email, text messaging as well as social networks. But there are some glaring drawbacks to the new operating system too. For instance, the platform does not support the use of more than one Twitter account and the location of menus and options are not intuitive, with apps featuring menu buttons at various sides of the display. Also, the absence of the familiar home button does not help new users get familiar with the OS easily.
The Z10 as well as Blackberry’s new edition of their operating system does not offer anything significant for users to switch to it from other platforms such as Android or iOS. The target user group seems to be customers who are already using another Blackberry device. Though the device does feature top-notch hardware which is at par with its competitors, the app base is growing weaker due to the reduced interest of developers, who see Blackberry as a declining platform. Key apps such as the Kindle Reader are still missing from the list of apps. Despite several factors weighing against it, BlackBerry has the potential to turn the Z10 into a modest success as it caters to the demand for an integrated messaging device.
