Why should you be reading this post? After all the BlackBerry Z30 was released about a year ago. I’ll tell you why. I stopped getting invites to BlackBerry events because I personally haven’t enjoyed using BlackBerry phones and I make it clear on my BlackBerry phone reviews while showcasing the strength of the smartphones they make. Fair enough? But, I got my hands on the BlackBerry Z30 one year after it was released and I was won over–the BlackBerry 10 has grown, just like Windows Phone 8 has. What won me over? Read on.
The BlackBerry Z30 runs on BlackBerry 10 (10.2.1 which is the latest on the Z30, except for the Passport and Classic that came preloaded with the 10.3 version) operating system. If you don’t like using BlackBerrys before, you should want to take a second look at BlackBerry since the release of BlackBerry 10.2.1.
I slept on this phone and never got my hands on one until now. This is due to the fact that I really haven’t really enjoyed my experience on BlackBerry phones. Some of the apps I use aren’t available and I also find it very difficult to adapt to the keyboard autocorrect and word prediction–I found it to be intrusive.
What Changed?
I was left with no other phone other than the Z30 and I was locked with the phone for two full weeks. I started to see the jewel that the phone is. Despite the fact that I am an iPhone user at heart, I was able to spot the strengths of the Z30. I will share these strength with you. At N59,000, at the time of writing this post, it is a very good buy. Read on to find out why.
While this is a review of the BlackBerry Z30 one year on, I’ll be making reference to BlackBerry 10 operating system a lot as it is the software on the Z30 (but also same software on the BlackBerry Z10, Q10, Q5, Classic and Passport).
Email Management
If like me you receive and send a lot of emails on the go using your mobile phone, with many email that you have to search through at times to fish out something, your best choice will be the BlackBerry running BlackBerry 10 software. Why?
Emails arrive on time. Sending emails are a breeze too. Then when you have to search through archives and multiple emails, you can simply type the keyword and you’ll be presented with emails that has the keywords you typed in your search. Try carrying out this same task on an Android, Windows Phone, or an iPhone and you might be forced to open your laptop and search for the email. This can be frustrating.
In flight mode or when you are not connected to the internet, you can still make use of the search function, searching way back. The BlackBerry 10 stores a lot of emails locally on the phone, this is why it is easy to search through them and bring out the email you have requested for. Don’t say I did not tell you. Most busy executives and folks that sleep in their inbox still carry a BlackBerry even with their fancy Android or iPhone devices.
Many users of the new BlackBerry 10 complained a lot when the first versions were released. it was first released on BlackBerry Z10 and later on the BlackBerry Q10. Then, the operating system was still fresh and has not matured. If you get a BlackBerry Z10 or Q10 right now and update to the version 10.2.1, you’re going to have a stellar experience. You won’t have to reboot your phone like you once did on legacy (the operating system on BlackBerry Curves and Bold) BlackBerry phones or experience several app crashes.
The Z30 and the Q10 come with a plus; their battery last pretty long on a single charge.
Battery Life
Excellent battery life and BlackBerry are two words that do not show up in a single sentence. As one is constantly connected to the internet these days, power drains faster on smartphones, including BlackBerry phones. Z10 owners complain that the power on their device drains too fast thereby needing constant charging.
With the 2880mAh battery the Z30, on a single charge, after taking the phone off charging at 6 a.m., I still had 64% left at 12 noon. I am not your average user–I am a power user. I stay in traffic for about two hours each morning when commuting to work due to the traffic in the area of Lagos I live. By the time I am getting to the office at 8:30 a.m., I would have drained the battery of the Z10 (to 0%). But not so with the Z30.
I have even seen someone charging his other phone with the BlackBerry Z30.
Design
At first sight, you will want to hold and fall in love with he Z30. Even before holding it. Once you hold it you won’t want to let go–at least that was how I felt when I first held it. Coming from the previous BlackBerry Z10 and Q10, the Z30 is a bit of fresh air.
The Z30 is 5 inches in size with a screen resolution of 720 by 1280 pixels at 294 ppi pixel density–much brighter than its predecessor the Z10. Easy to read on the screen in broad daylight even with the high intensity of the sun. It has 2 GB of RAM with 16 GB storage that is powered by a 1.7 Ghz dual core processor.
I see the Z30 to be a little heavy, feels like I am holding a brick most times, especially when I compare it to how light its predecessor is. But it is very easy to forgive the weight once you begin to experience the superb battery life and other awesome features. Another awesome feature is its smart keyboard.
Keyboard
The onscreen keyboard of the Z30 is different from any you’ll find on a touchscreen smartphone. The autocorrect gets smarter as you use it and tell it words you like to type by adding word to your dictionary.
At the beginning, I found it hard to use. Especially the feature that allows you to slide words from the keyboard to the text/compose box. This feature is one of my most used on the Z30.
Presence of Android Jelly Bean Runtime
You love Instagram but you do not want to run iGran, an unofficial Instagram BlackBerry 10 app, then the Android Jelly Bean Runtime will allow you to install Android apps that are free to the BlackBerry Z30. You do not need to be a nerd to figure out how to do this. All you have to do is install 1Mobile Market (from their Website), search for Instagram, grant your phone the permission to install the app and you are good to go. You can install many other Android apps this way too. While these apps may not function as effectively as they function on Android phones (Fitbit did not work), many work so well.
Conclusion
The strength of the BlackBerry Z30 definitely makes it stand out of the pack. If you want efficiently managed emails, battery and work productivity, you need to carry the BlackBerry Z30 without breaking the bank. The plus that you can conveniently run some Android apps on it using the process I have outlined above should encourage you to pick one. But, if you don’t want to spend that much to convince yourself that the BlackBerry 10 OS has indeed matured, you can pick a cheaper BlackBerry Q5. The only place where the Z30 is far better than the Z30 is the efficiency of the battery.
Don’t forget, the 8 MP rear view camera is impressive as well. Might not be very reliable in low light conditions, but will do a very good job in outdoor photography and in a properly light environment. You can use it as your camera to use during this holiday.
I’ll score the BlackBerry Z30 a 7/10 even one year on.
Good value for your money.
