Hey there, Alex here.
The BlackBerry brand will always have a special place in my heart.
Most people probably don't know this, but this interest in mobile technology that I
have, actually started when I got my first BlackBerry, the Bold 9000.
It was a phone that placed communication and efficiency above all else, and at that point
in my life, it was all I needed from a smartphone.
Even though I have not used a BlackBerry device as my main phone in a while now, with the
newly announced BlackBerry KEYone reigniting interest in the brand again, I thought it'll
be fun to do a throwback video of the BlackBerry Q10, one of my favourite BlackBerry devices.
First impression counts, and the BlackBerry Q10 definitely score points in that department.
It has a handsome utilitarian design that has stood the test of time.
The build quality of the phone is superb as well, with its metal frame, and grippy glass
weave back.
The screen is pretty tiny at 3.1 inches, but it does mean that the phone is really compact,
and really easy to use one-handed, which is another reason why I still like it so much.
The keyboard takes up one-third of the front of the phone, so if you're interested in
this phone, you are probably not going to be doing a lot of media consumption on it.
You are going to be typing.
Which is great because BlackBerry really knows how to make great physical keyboards.
While virtual keyboards has gotten really good too, they don't provide the same tactile
typing experience.
But that's not the only thing the keyboard is good for, it enables some really handy
features too.
I can set a shortcut to most of the 26 alphabets on the keyboard, to launch an app, compose
a new message, speed dial, or set up a few other shortcuts.
There are also some shortcuts within apps which makes navigating around the interface
a bit quicker, provided you can remember all of them.
Another nifty feature would be the ability to just start typing on the homescreen to
search for anything on the phone, or use it to trigger an action; like posting a tweet,
or sending a message to someone.
These might not sound like much, but it does make it a bit quicker for me to get things done.
Of course what enables some of these features is BlackBerry 10.
In its current form, 10.3.3, it still runs well even on the Q10's almost four years
old hardware.
A testament to how well-optimised it is.
The user interface is one of the unique features of the platform, using swipes to navigate around.
It has a bit of a learning curve, but it's quite intuitive once you get the hang of it.
This gesture based interface allows access to the BlackBerry Hub no matter what I'm
doing on the phone.
If you don't know what BlackBerry Hub does, it basically consolidates different communication
services and notifications into one single location, making it a convenient one-stop
shop for most of my communication needs.
So I can even send and receive whatsapp messages, SMS, emails, Twitter direct messages, all
from within BlackBerry Hub.
It used to be able to support more services, like Facebook for example.
But sadly, as app developers slowly drop their support for the platform, the Hub is no longer
as useful as it used to be.
Which brings me to the biggest problem using the platform.
Native BlackBerry 10 apps are almost non-existent.
Some of the apps in BlackBerry World doesn't even work anymore, and some have just completely disappeared.
BlackBerry 10 does support installation of Android apps, and BlackBerry has even included
the Amazon app store by default.
But not everything works since BlackBerry 10 only has a basic Android runtime.
For the more adventurous, you could sort of tinker around with adding Google Play Services
which allows more apps to work, but it does require a lot more work.
If you're interested, I'll leave the link in the description below so you can check it out.
Some apps works better than others, but I would say most of them offer subpar experiences
with frequent app crashes and slow performance.
It's tolerable if it's just a couple of apps, but I try to avoid using them as much
as possible.
Basically if you rely heavily on Google services, you're going to have a hard time.
Other than the app issue, BlackBerry 10 is actually still really nice to use.
It's missing a few of the more recent features like mobile payments, or biometric authentication,
but feature wise, it's comparable to other platforms.
In terms of the hardware on the BlackBerry Q10, it's a bit of mixed bag.
The processor may be old, but it still handles native apps and games well.
Just that opening Android apps might take a bit longer.
And talking about android apps, if you don't rely too much on them, the 2,100mAh battery
is actually still pretty decent, and it's removable too.
Camera performance wise, if you're not too picky about the image quality, the 8MP camera
is able to produce decent looking shots if the lighting condition is just right.
Just don't expect much out of it in challenging lighting conditions.
Using the BlackBerry Q10 again, really brings back memories of the good ol CrackBerry days.
The Q10 came out at a time where BlackBerry fans were still full of hope for the future
of the platform, and perhaps the phone is best remembered that way.
It was a bold endeavour from BlackBerry to carve out a unique path of their own.
Of course we all know how it turned out, but that doesn't make the BlackBerry 10 platform
any less impressive.
It has been a good run for the company, but I think it's time to stop looking back,
and start looking towards the future.
Having used the BlackBerry Priv, and seeing what the new BlackBerry KEYone could offer,
it gives me hope that perhaps the BlackBerry name will continue to stick around for a bit longer.
Thanks for watching this video, if you like it be sure to give me a thumbs up, and subscribe
to the channel.
Thanks, and see you guys on the next one.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét