A Review of the Blackberry Q10

Following the Z10 onto the market with the new Blackberry operating system is the Q10. The Q10 features a full QWERTY keyboard and is a really premium-end phone. It retails from around £560, SIM-free, which certainly takes it up right to the top of the price spectrum. It’s right on the other end of the spectrum to the Samsung Genio Qwerty, retailing at about £70 as an entry level QWERTY keyboard phone. You can get a Q10 on a 2-year contract for free for £36 per month and it is effectively the follow-up to the Bold 9900 and the Bold 9790.

Are Touch Screen Phones The Only Way Forward?

With the emergence of this phone onto the market, we are seeing a 2D premium phone being brought to the market with a QWERTY keyboard. Many people have said that touch screens are the only way forward and the QWERTY keyboard phones are dead. Samsung has released the Samsung Genio Qwerty at the bottom end of the market and there are phones scattered around in the mid-range and the premium range too. Perhaps Blackberry is the best placed manufacturer to tackle the QWERTY keyboard niche considering their history. It is certainly a niche though, as most people nowadays are most comfortable with a touchscreen, having had several years of the technology and getting used to gestures and other non-physical key navigations.

The Positives for the Blackberry Q10

The phone has a full keyboard and is very functional. It’s possible to type messages quicker than on a touchscreen without a doubt. In addition, there is a very good connectivity capacity within the phone, meaning fast Internet speed. The BB10 operating system is very good and it is updated compared to the Z10. However, it still has some glitches and it can be an issue for those new to a Blackberry device.

In addition, the phone has very good battery life compared to many smart phones that eat up the battery within a day.

The Negatives of the Phone

The Blackberry Q10 has a strange screen size. It is somewhat elongated and just appears a bit different; not in a good way. In addition, there is a lack of apps on the Blackberry operating system and the phone is very expensive, perhaps more expensive than it should be. It’s also not a very good phone for games or movies or general entertainment, but then, that’s not really the niche it is trying to hit.

Should I Just Get a Samsung Genio Qwerty?

Most of the people that want a QWERTY keyboard are going to be spending less time on the Internet and really want it for text messaging and maybe a little bit of social media. Phones at the low-end of the market like the Samsung Genio Qwerty are perfectly capable of all of these activities. And so, it begs the question, “do you need to spend £560 on a Blackberry Q10, when you can spend £70 on a Samsung Genio Qwerty, and then go on a holiday with the remaining £500?”

There’s no straight answer to this question, because it really depends on whether you want to fork out the extra money for a premium phone. The performance of this Blackberry is certainly much better than the likes of the Samsung Genio Qwerty at the low end of the industry. But the difference is negligible when you consider the basic activities that most people do on these phones.

It is a fashion accessory, true, it looks good and it is a Blackberry. But is that enough to attract you? If you’re looking for a QWERTY-based phone, it is no doubt the leader in the market at the moment. But that doesn’t mean it’s value for money. When you compare the phone to the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4, two notable touchscreens at the top of the industry, this phone pales into insignificance in so many ways, yet it attracts a similar price tag. Perhaps the best way to go is to try one out, see whether the interface is what you’re looking for, and feel whether the premium nature is enough for you to splash the cash.

Top Tip

If you really need a QWERTY phone, then this may be for you. However, Blackberry are likely to be releasing more in the future that will certainly offer better functionality than this phone. If you’re looking for a premium-end phone, there are better touchscreen options these days, and if you’re not happy with the keyboard on them, then you can download others from Google Drive or the iPhone store etc. In addition, Windows have their own keyboards that you can download in order to improve the functionality of the device for you.

Now Is Not Necessarily the Time To Buy A Blackberry

Now isn’t necessarily the best time to buy a Blackberry, unless you are a Blackberry lover. The BB10 operating system is still under development to be honest, and the phones are fighting their way back into the market with some decent offerings but are not quite there yet.

It’s a chicken and egg scenario, because we really all do want Blackberry to survive and to produce some really good phones. But it’s difficult for pundits and analysts like me to suggest you buy a Blackberry phone right now. Certainly, if they continue developing their systems and their handsets at the level they are at the moment, they will be worth purchasing in the next 12-18 months. But getting yourself tied into a 24-month contract for a Blackberry Q10 might not be worthwhile. You may well want to go out and buy a Samsung Genio Qwerty and save up the money.

Top Mobile Phone Tip

Whether you are buying a Samsung Genio Qwerty or a Blackberry Q10, it’s important to check the coverage of your phone in the areas you want to use it. There’s no point getting stuck with a phone that has no signal in your home when you want to make calls.

With the Samsung Genio Qwerty of course you can only get 2G connections so you’re not too fussed with the Internet. But with the Blackberry Q10, you want to make sure that you can get 3G or even 4G connectivity where you reside, and perhaps when you work. There are post code checkers on operator websites to find out what level of connectivity you are likely to get, but the best way to find out is to ask friends and colleagues who are on different networks how their phones perform where you need yours to perform.

Sam Jones saw a really great deal on the Samsung Genio Qwerty phone but before he tied himself in to a contract the decided to check out the other offers. uSwitch and other price comparison site proved really helpful in getting a great deal