It is not so easy to launch a flagship device amidst all the gloom about Blackberry’ current fortunes. But that hasn’t stopped the company from launching Z30, maybe the company’s last shot to regain its foothold in the smartphone market. Undoubtedly Z30 is the company’s biggest, boldest, most advanced gadget yet but unfortunately this fresh effort from the giant Canadian handset maker comes way too late.
The 5in Z30 is the largest BlackBerry handset yet, hindering the 4.2in Z10. The Z30 also runs version 10.2 of the BlackBerry OS and has a striking design that’s befits a high-end device. Borrowing design cues from the predecessor Z10, the Z30 boasts the same button-less chic but has a vastly improved 720p Super AMOLED screen – sharper, brighter and featuring richer colours than Z10.
Enhanced Software Features: BlackBerry Z30 runs on BB10.2 OS, a much improved version of the original BB10 that was launched in January. It has a host of useful features:
- Priority Hub
- All messages can be accessed with a single swipe. The BlackBerry “Priority Hub” curates a view of your most important messages so that you can focus on the important matters because all the attachments you’ve sent and received in one place. Also, it detects what contacts are important t, and displays messages across your email and social networking applications on priority basis.
- Pop-up Notification
- While using an app, previews of new BBM messages, emails and other notifications appear on top of the screen.
- Priority Inbox
- This feature provides a reply option in the pop-up which eliminates the need to switch between apps.
- Rich, fast browsing
- Z30 is also equipped with enriched browser on a stunning 5” screen where you can immerse yourself in various internet offerings, from videos,to images, to games, etc. Reading online is seamless and smooth, removing page clutter at the touch of button.
- Seamless Typing
- The Blackberry Z30 Keyboard provides a duck soup typing experience with personalized next-word suggestions, which you can simply flick into your messages.
- Faster Downloading Capacity
- The BlackBerry has optimized their Paratek Antenna technology, resulting strong connectivity and fast data transfers, even weak coverage area. It dynamically tunes itself to its environment, helping you stay connected in more places and thus giving a strong satisfaction in terms of data sharing.
- Improved version of MS Office
- Modifying Microsoft® Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® without compromising on the ravishing 5” display with the Documents To Go™ app. Its unscathed Technology™ keeps your formatting changes looking the way you want, no matter what device you share them with.
- Work-life balancing
- You can significantly maintain a perfect work-life balance with the new Blackberry Z30. Confused..!! I can explain you -Blackberry possess a striking “®Balance Technology” feature where you can securely keep your information in two separate profiles. Also, it possesses a seamless transition from one to the other, making your work life secure and your private life, private.
Design and Build: BlackBerry Z30 boasts a 5 inch screen, with a gorgeous 1,280×780 display and a pixel density of 295 ppi. Although the number is not so much satisfactory in comparison with other market leaders like Apple or Samsung, but users won’t be disappointed with the sharpness, clarity and colour reproduction of the Z30.
The phone’s rubberised back panel gives it a vibrant look and feel. The phone has an expandable memory card slot which gives the user more flexibility in terms of storage at a very considerable price.Volume buttons are placed on the right side and power button and headphone jack on the top which gives the phone a smarty look.Users can also unlock the screen by swiping from bottom to top.
You can turn a great presentation into a big presentation by connecting a big screen with micro HDMI cable or stream your presentation wirelessly with Mira cast, and make a greater impact.
The battery life of Z30 is not worth mentioning like Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or Note 3, but have a decent 2880 mAh Lithium ion battery which is more than a fair deal. It has MicroUSB (for charging) port located on the left edge.
The Camera doesn’t boasts a significant change from Z10 having same 1080 recording but Time Shift feature captures multiple images at once. Time Shift lets you roll back certain parts of the shot in case the snap is not accurate. The LED flash also helps in taking pictures in low light.
The Verdict: Although BlackBerry has thrived in producing a smartphone worthy of flagship status with the Z30, improving on the Z10 in almost every way and streamlining BB10 to make it more intuitive and productive to use. However, it costs almost as much as a Samsung Galaxy S4 and slightly more than an iPhone 5C. So, other than BB 10 OS , the fulcrum will bend more towards Samsung S4 in all aspects.
Specifications at a glance:
| BlackBerry Z30 | |
| Dimensions | 140.7mm x 72mm x 9.4mm (5.53 x 2.83 x 0.37 in) |
| Weight | 5.99 oz. (170 grams) |
| Screen size | 5 inches |
| Resolution | 1,280 x 720 (~295 ppi) |
| Screen type | Super AMOLED |
| Battery | 2,880mAh |
| Internal storage | 16GB |
| External storage | microSD (up to 64GB) |
| Rear camera | 8 megapixels, BSI, AF, f/2.2 |
| Forward camera | 2 megapixels |
| Video capture | 1080p (rear) 720p (forward) |
| NFC | Yes |
| Radios | Quad-band LTE 3, 7, 8, 20 (800/900/1800/2600) Quad-band HSPA/UMTS 1, 2, 5/6, 8 (800/850/900/1900/2100) Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1900) |
| Bluetooth | 4.0 |
| SoC | Snapdragon S4 Pro (MSM8960T) |
| CPU | 1.7GHz |
| RAM | 2GB |
| WiFi | Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n |
| Wireless charging | No |
| Operating system | BlackBerry 10.2 |
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