Blackberry Q10 Smartphone Review

Conclusion and Verdict

As a smartphone that offers a full built-in QWERTY keyboard, the Blackberry Q10 is prefect. The keys are large and responsive … you know when you’ve actually pressed the key. As a touchscreen smartphone the Q10 does everything a Z10 does, expect it doesn’t have a touch keyboard obviously … but the screen size is a lot smaller at only 3.1-inch. Still, it’s more than enough to do everything you need. The touch screen is pretty responsive and the UI (user interface) was simple use and easy to navigate. No problems here.

However, there are no navigation buttons, so users of the original Bold series will have to take some time getting used to using the Q10. I find it odd that Blackberry has completely removed the navigation panel. The call button, the Blackberry button, the trackball/pad, return key and end call button … are all gone. What they’ve done, is integrated these functions into the new OS10, and making you USE the touchscreen for navigation.

It’s not very practical to be honest … it confuses the user as to whether it’s a touchscreen smartphone or a just smartphone with a keyboard.

The design, looks and feel of Blackberry Q10 is quite nice. I like the back of the phone with its carbon styling. Overall, the Q10 is slightly heavier and larger than its predecessor the Bold 9900, which some users may not like. I think it’s OK … but I prefer touchscreen only smartphones.

As I’ve said before, the Blackberry OS10 is still pretty young and needs some bugs ironed out. Give it a few more months for it to mature and things should settle down. Another concern is their apps store, which is a little sparse to say the least and not very appealing to be honest … they seriously need to pump some R&D dollars into this department.

Pricewise, the Blackberry Q10 varies from provider to provider. Expect to pay around $200 with contract or $600 contract-free.  The Q10 is available in black or white. The white version does look better in my opinion. No SD memory card included, so you’ll need to buy your own. We recommend a minimum of 16GB.

Pros:

• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Large physical keys for typing
• Great for emails and texting
• Ideal for business users
• Simple setup
• Dual-core CPU
• SD Card slot / HDMI slot

Cons:

• Lack of decent apps
• Some OS10 bugs
• No navigation panel

Final Words

The Blackberry Q10 is decent smartphone that’s built around the same platform and functionality of their Z10. One of the main selling point of the Q10 is the built-in QWERTY keyboard, which offers easy typing during emails and texting. Fans of the original Bleckberry Bold series will undoubtedly love this phone. I personally perfer the Z10 more. 

SCORE

7.5/10