BlackBerry announces the Z10 and Q10 Smartphones

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We are live at the Toronto launch of the BlackBerry all touch Z10 device running BB10 and it looks and feels great. Here are the full specs of the Z10.

  • Processor: Dual-Core 1.5GHz
  • Display: 4.2”, 4 point multi-touch LCD display, 1280 x 768 resolution at 356 DPI, Touch On Lens
  • Camera: 8MP rear facing camera, Auto Focus, 5X digital zoom, 1080p HD video recording ?2MP front facing camera, 3X digital zoom, 720p HD video recording
  • Memory: 2GB RAM ?16GB Internal Storage ?Hot Swappable microSD Slot
  • WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n ?2.4/5GHz ?4G Mobile Hotspot
  • GPS: Assisted, Autonomous, and Simultaneous GPS
  • Battery: 1800mAh Removable ?Talk Time: up to 10 hours on 3G?Standby Time: up to 305 hours on 3G, up to 316 hours on 2G?Audio Playback: up to 60 hours?Video PlayBack: up to 11 hours
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Proximity, Gyroscope, Ambient light sensor
  • Connectivity: NFC ?microUSB ?microHDMI-Out ?Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy
  • Size (LxWxD): 130mm x 65.6mm x 9mm

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The BlackBerry Z10 comes in both white and black and looks to be a mix between the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 devices giving us the best of both worlds.

 

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The Z10 will be available Feb 5 on Telus, Rogers, Bell, Virgin, Sasktel, Koodo, and Fido networks and available for pre-order now just about everywhere with a starting price of $149.00 on a 3 year contract and a no contract price starting at $599.00.

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It appears Rogers has sweetened the deal and is ofering the device for $139.99 for a limited time only. Do we see a price war coming or there is something in that fine print that needs to be read to save the ten bucks.

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We were very pleased with the announcements Thorsten Heins made today, including a major rebranding. As of right now, RIM or Research in Motion is no longer the company name. Moving forward the company will be known only as BlackBerry as it has been very confusing over the years attending RIM or BlackBerry events. Another confusing pain point has been the robotic numbered model names of the devices, so hopefully the Z10 and Q10 are much easier on the ears.

Where BlackBerry needs to improve? Apps, Apps, and more Apps. It appears they have made a great attempt at featuring some of the top 1000 apps people use today. Some HUGE apps appear to be missing still, such as Instagram and Netflix to name a few, but on the flip side, here are some of the apps you can expect to see on day one of picking up the new device..

  • Skype
  • WhatsApp
  • Kindle
  • SAP
  • Angry Birds
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Foursquare
  • Linkedin
  • Oovoo
  • Rdio (awesome news)
  • Songza (also awesome news)
  • SoundHound
  • Webex
  • WSJ – Wall Street Journal
  • Dropbox
  • Bloomberg

and many more..for a whopping total of 70,000 apps in the also rebranded appstore, BlackBerry World.

We are hoping within the next few weeks, some more of the major players hop on board as the name of the game here is definitely apps!

And for some other big and odd news…RIM has hired a celebrity Global Creative Director…Alicia Keys.

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Alicia Keys will be working closely with app developers, content creators, retailers, carriers and the entertainment community to further shape and enhance the BlackBerry 10 platform, and inspire creative use through its remarkable capabilities and functionality.  From music to books, to film, to apps, Keys will lead the charge of enhancing entertainment consumption and distribution, through the power of BlackBerry 10.

 

“Alicia Keys has come to BlackBerry because she believes in the product and technology, and subscribes to our overriding philosophy to “Keep Moving”: to empower people through mobile computing and communications,” said BlackBerry President and CEO Thorsten Heins. “We are excited she will be bringing to us her enormous capabilities, as well as a vast network of relationships in the entertainment, social media and business communities, to help shape our brand and grow our business.”

All in all, we were impressed with the launch, rebranding, marketing strategy, and overall appearance of BB10, but will it be able to compete?

Watch for our full review of the Z10 coming soon. No mention for a release date for the Q10 qwerty keyboard device but rumor has it coming in 3 weeks time. I think BlackBerry is hoping everyone will forget about the Q10 device in the next three weeks once they get their hands on the Z10 and the virtual predictive keyboard.

Signing off from the Carlu in Toronto.

 

 

 

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