Here’s the skype preview app on the BlackBerry Z10. It does work pretty smoothly for an Android Port, plus there is notifications in the Hub too, meaning the app doesn’t have to be running for you to receive calls.
The last time I made a Skype call was years ago. Really. So personally I have not much use for the app, but however many might find it a necessity. So it is still great to have it on the platform.
Amongst a bunch of new features in BlackBerry 10.1, I have to say my favourite has to be Instant Actions. In a nutshell, this allows for a list of built-in “Actions” within the Universal Search of BlackBerry 10.
Now, this may not seem like much, but it is a feature that dramatically improve efficiency. Plus it works without the need for an internet connection at all.
For example, in Universal Search, I can now type in “tw testing instant action”, and it will give me the option of posting a tweet, with the message “testing instant action”. Of course all your @ and # works too.
This works for posting status update to FaceBook, and Linkedin as well, by typing “fb” or “li”.
This extends to actions such as email, sms and call as well, followed by the name of the person you want to contact. Then simply tap once and it will set up the email, sms, call with the contact already in place.
Also, you can set up a quick “Note” or “Task” by typing in their respective name too, followed by the title of that Note or Task. Then simply tap once to create the note.
While this feature is already extremely useful on the Z10, it is simply the perfect match for the physical keyboard of the Q10. Which makes complete sense why they are launching the Q10 with 10.1 out of the box. The reason is simple, since universal search can be launched by just typing on the home screen, it cuts down the process of doing these tasks by yet another step. Imagine your phone in hand, and you want to send a quick tweet, for example, “the food at XXX is great!”.
1. Swipe up from bottom bezel to unlock phone
2. type in “tw the food at XXX is great!”
3. tap on the tweet button
Simple isn’t it?
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The thing that I am most excited about, is that this API will be available for developers to utilised eventually (no timeline given). This will give developer the chance to program unique actions for the users to utilise, bringing the apps’ functionality to the users, even outside of the app.
The most obvious app would of course be Instant Messaging clients such as WhatsApp, WeChat, Line, Google Talk, etc. But of course, the possibility are almost endless.
This combined with the to-be-released BlackBerry Hub API will really push the functionality of apps, beyond the app itself. WIth these APIs, there is less need to load up an entire app just to achieve a simple task. This might translate to better efficiency, higher productivity, and perhaps even better battery life.
Well, the picture speaks for itself. I am imagining a Q10 that is more Z10 than Bold 9900, meaning a more boxy look. Well, before I explain why, let me just show you the back, and first explain what I changed exactly.
If you look at the 2 image I posted, I simply changed the shape a little, a rounded rectangle much similar to the Z10’s. Move the logo to the bottom of the display so that it is in line with other BlackBerry Device utilising the new QNX kernel, namely the Z10 and the PlayBook. This move also gives the bottom bezel a bit more room so that it is easier to activate the “Home” gesture. Something which I have heard a few reviewers complain about. I kept the rest of the phone the same, including height and width, along with the materials.
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When we first caught a glimpse of the Q10 in a leaked marketing video, the Q10 was still named by many as the N-Series. Yeah, that was quite a while ago now. My first thoughts were not exactly positive. It is not that I do not like the design of the Bold 9900, I do like it a lot, and Q10 does look really fantastic. But it is just that I feel like the design should speak “BB10”, not “BBOS”. It should look more in line with the Z10’s design language rather than the Bold. BB10 signifies to me the next generation of BlackBerry devices, a new beginning if you could call it that. Thus, the design should not speak “BBOS” to me, or remind me too much of an older phone, it should tell me straight in the face that this, is the new BlackBerry.
BlackBerry chose to make it more similar to the Bold 9900. Perhaps it is to keep that iconic shape, look, and feel of traditional BlackBerry devices. Perhaps it is to make their older BBOS users feel more at home. Who knows?
Nonetheless, the Q10 is by no means an ugly looking phone. If anything, the design simply oozes luxury. The material used looks fantastic, and if reviews are to be trusted, feels fantastic too. On its own, it is simply brilliant looking. Much like the Z10 on its own. BUT, my very minor (perhaps unwarranted) gripe is just that when the 2 device are placed side by side, they hardly look like they belong with each other. Maybe they indeed do not, since they cater to different demographics. So maybe this is all just my overactive mind over-thinking. It certainly is not going to stop me wanting it, but its just a question that I wonder indeed, every time I look at my Z10, and then the Q10.
Apparently, BlackBerry has been awarded a patent filed in the December of 2011 for a portrait slider. As with most patent companies file for, this may or may not come to fruition at all.
Personally, I am not a fan of phones in a slider form factor. I had a Torch 9810 that I never did enjoy using.
Some might think of a slider as the best of both worlds. A big display, along with a physical keyboard to type on. But too be honest, on the 9810, I felt like it was a compromise of both world. It has a smaller display than the Torch 9860, and a smaller keyboard compared to the Bold 9900, both of which I had.
Now that the Q10 is coming, the BlackBerry 10 portfolio now consists of a Full Touch Screen device (Z10), and a Physical Keyboard device (Q10). Should BlackBerry make a BlackBerry 10 slider?
If you read the above paragraph, you probably know what I think. But nonetheless, I had some free time and cooked up a quick mock up of what I imagined a slider might look.
Despite what would be considered a bizarre Music Video in my opinion, Olivia Newton-John puts it perfectly here, “Let’s Get Physical”. A perfect Music Video for the upcoming launch of the BlackBerry Q10.
In a time where almost all the top selling smartphones are full touch devices, with a big displays, it might seem like an odd choice for BlackBerry to still put out a device with a physical keyboard. But is it really?
Let’s break it down a little. The Q10 has a 3.1” 1:1 display, with a resolution of 720 x 720. Which means that when you are browsing the web, there will be a lot of scrolling down. When you are watching a video, there will be squinting involved, and there will be black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. Filling the screen is not an option since most video are in a 16:9 aspect ratio these days, and almost half of the video will be cropped off. Playing Angry Birds will probably suck, along with a bunch of other games. Viewing photos will require more pinching action. You get where I am going don’t you? So why would anyone buy this phone?
Here is where the other side of the story comes in.
1. Communication
Despite virtual keyboard these days being faster at text input in most instances, there will always be a group of people that prefer the tactile feedback of a physical keyboard. However, having a physical keyboard goes beyond just text input alone.
There are also keyboard shortcuts that can make using the phone easier. Like pressing “B” to scroll to the bottom of a page, “T” to return to the top for example. Of course there are tons more.
Then there is “Type & Go”, which is a new feature is BlackBerry 10.1 that allows “Actions” in universal search. To put it simply, there are a list of commands that you can use.
Since the keyboard is always on, you can trigger universal search just by typing while in the home screen, meaning there is no need to launch universal search before you type. Even better, BlackBerry themselves have said that later this year, an API will be released to allow developer to take advantage of this, meaning apps like WhatsApp could be integrated as well.
Those who have used a traditional BlackBerry device would know that as a communication device, it is the best. I was on iOS for years before switching to a BlackBerry, and afterwards I went through a bunch of Windows Phone, and Android devices as well. Frankly, none is as brilliant as the a BlackBerry as a communication device. And to be frank, in my opinion, BlackBerry 10 has taken a small step back in terms of that in the pursuit of better multimedia capabilities. There is no better way of selecting, copying, cuting, and pasting text than using a physical keyboard along with a TrackPad. Also, since BB10 is relatively new, there are some features that are found on older BBOS 7 devices that are not in BB10 just yet.
But still with a physical keyboard, Type & Go, Peek, and BlackBerry Hub, the Q10 will still be a great communication device.
2. Size
Oh yes. That is a cardboard Q10 made to exact height and width. Since I do not have the privileges to have played with one already, or have access to a Dev Alpha C device, this is the best I could do.
The purpose was simply to test the usability of the phone. Often than not on a full touch display bigger than 4.2”, most people would have to reposition their hand in order to reach all areas of the display. I personally prefer phones that are comfortable to use with one hand, and the Q10 certainly fits the criteria. I am able to reach even the top of the phone even with one hand.
3. Battery Life
Smartphones these days aren’t exactly known for great battery life. Unless you have a RAZR maxx perhaps. But anyway, the Q10 has a 2100mAh battery which is bigger than its full touch counterpart, the Z10.
The Q10 also has a smaller OLED display which uses less power since it is smaller, and BlackBerry has also optimised BB10 use a dark theme so there is more power saving from the OLED display.
The Z10 already has a pretty decent battery life for me, so I can only imagine what those benefits will bring.
Verdict:
My only gripe is probably only its design, which I still think looks too similar to the Bold 9900. My opinion is that BB10 is a fresh start for BlackBerry, and the Q10 should have a slightly different design. Like the BlackBerry logo placement for devices running QNX is all on the bottom of the screen. PlayBook, Z10, even the leaked R10. The Q10 has the BlackBerry logo on the top of the screen, similar to older BlackBerry.
I think there is a market for phones like the Q10, hell, even I want one. I cannot wait for the launch of the Q10 in Singapore to have a chance to play with it, which shouldn’t be too far away now.
The thing that I really love on the PlayBook, is how awesome its speakers are, and how they were positioned so that when you are watching a video in landscape mode. I was kind of disappointed when they did not follow through on this design on the Z10 to be honest.
I do think that it can be done, and should be done on the next BlackBerry 10 full touch screen device (Aristo?). HTC did it on the “One” and it sounds fantastic, so clearly, it can be done.
This can be achieved (at least conceptually), by software & hardware wizardry.
Hardware: Instead of the location of the microphone on the Z10 now, move it to the bottom of the phone directly opposite of the microphone beside the power/sleep button. This way, when using video recording features, both microphone can be used to absorb a more even stereo sound. Then of course, as per the image above (as well as PlayBook), both speaker can be at the front of the device.
Software: Both the top and bottom speaker can be used for watching videos, listening to music, podcasts, video chats, speaker phone while on calls, etc. During a normal phone call with the phone to your ear, software can limit the output of the top speaker so that it is not too loud. Adjustments to that upper limit can be made to make it louder if one chooses as well. (The current top speaker on the Z10 when on call is too soft for loud environments, even at full volume) Win-win.
Hell, if BlackBerry wants to, they can even allow user to use either speaker for calls. Depending on the orientation of the phone, the OS will automatically output the volume to whichever side is at the top, and receive input from whichever side is at the bottom. Since there is a speaker and a microphone on both top and bottom. If just so happen that you pick up the device the wrong side up, you can still answer the call immediately, without needing to rotate the device first. Efficiency? or redundant perhaps? Who knows, just throwing ideas around. But one thing is for sure, I want those dual front facing speakers.
A competent browser is an important aspect of a smartphone, and BlackBerry has not been known for having a brilliant browser. If anything, BlackBerry of old, running the legacy BBOS has been known to induce a Hulk-like rage whenever users wait for pages to load. Well, this might be a tad exaggerated, but you get my point.
So with the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, has that changed? Today I will do a comparison with a Nexus 4, which has the latest Android OS in the market.
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Background:
The BlackBerry Z10 is running OS version 10.0.10.90, while the Android is running JellyBean 4.2.2. Both running on the same WiFi network, with the Z10’s cell network turned off, and the Nexus 4’s mobile data turned off (It would not exactly be a fair fight on cellular since the Nexus 4 only has HSPA+ while the Z10 has 4G).
Also, I am not going to clear cache or whatsoever, since no one will clear their cache after every browsing session. Instead, both phone have visited the sites I am testing them with. I will simply bookmark the sites i’m visiting for convenience sake as well. Both devices will be using their stock browser.
With the background info set, let us dive right in.
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Loading Web Pages:
ESPN full site - Nexus 4 wins.
Engadget Mobile site - Z10 wins.
Gizmodo full site - Z10 wins.
The Verge mobile site - Nexus 4 wins. Full site - Z10 wins. Loading embedded content (video) - Z10 wins.
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Conclusion:
As you can see in the comparison above, the Z10 performs admirably against the Nexus 4. In terms of the speed at which web pages loads up, the Z10 is definitely on par with Nexus 4, and in fact most modern browsers. Some sites loads faster on the Nexus 4, some faster on the Z10. But no matter, the differences are pretty minute.
BlackBerry finally has a browser that can be considered within the same leagues as its competitors. If the browser’s capabilities are a concern for you, you should be glad to know that the Z10 has a really decent browser.
But of course there are other things to consider as well. The Z10 has a bunch of goodies, such as “Reader Mode” to allow for easier reading of articles, “Find on Page” the ability to find keywords within a webpage, and of course support for Adobe Flash. It is a fully featured browser without a doubt. But Google Chrome for example has a sync option with desktop Chrome, which is definitely convenient.
Performance could definitely be improved as well, such as the smoothness of scrolling, zooming in and out, text rendering, etc. Often than not, on iOS, WP, and Android, the scrolling and response of the browser is superior to that of the Z10.
For a brand new OS, it is a great achievement for BlackBerry. But there are still much room for improvements. It should not be an excuse, since BB10 is competing with the other more matured platform. BlackBerry should be moving full steam ahead, building on their current momentum, and keep pushing out updates to the OS.
But for now, I think that the Chrome on the Nexus 4 still has a very slight edge over BB10’s browser.
Let’s not beat around the bush here. The screenshot on the left is my proposed idea, the one on the right is current implementation.
As you can see from the screenshot on the right, there is only the ability to house 6 items, 7 is you have BlackBerry Balance. As it stands now, you tap the icon to toggle that item on or off, then tap the word beside it if you want to access the settings pane. It does seem to be a waste of space having the text right next to the icon. Especially when the more quick settings you have, the more convenient it is for users.
From the screenshot on the left, my proposed implementation, you can fit it twice the amount of settings in the same amount of space while not sacrificing function. 12 to be exact. You simply tap once to toggle it on and off, and tap and hold will bring you to the settings pane for that item. For items like Wifi, when connected, the network name can be housed within the icon itself.
It’s a rough photoshop work, but you should get the idea. Also, I was contemplating on whether to add in a volume icon as well. Once you tap that icon, it will bring up a slider control. This was, there is no need to reach to the side of the phone to depress a physical button. Similar to how a brightness control might work. Combined with the addition of a display sleep icon in quick settings, there is almost no need to use any physical button to control the phone other than when you want to completely shut down the phone, or reboot.
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Oh, and of course, a battery percentage beside the battery icon would be nice.
