BlackBerry Z10 specifications, features and comparison

BlackBerry Z10 - Full Phone Specifications

Design
Size
Height 130 mm / 5.12 in
Width 65.6 mm / 2.58 in
Depth 9 mm / 0.35 in
Weight
135.4g / 4.78 oz
Navigation : All-touch screen, with intuitive gesture based navigation
Keyboard : On screen BlackBerry Keyboard (portrait/landscape), featuring contextual auto-correction, next-word prediction, and a personalized learning engine that gets to know the way you type
Dedicated keys
Volume Up/Down, Mute, Lock (for Power On/Off)

Display
Resolution : 1280 x 768 resolution, at 356 PPI. 24-bit color depth
Screen size : 4.2" diagonal, 15:9 aspect ratio

OS & desktop software
Operating system : BlackBerry 10 OS
Desktop software : BlackBerry® Link software for your computer to enable synchronization of data and media

Performance
Processor : Dual Core 1.5 GHz
Memory : 2GB RAM, 16GB Flash
Expandable memory : Removable microSD memory card – slot under battery door (Up to 32 GB)
USB Ports : USB 2.0 high speed port – allows charging and data synchronization of the device with a USB cable
HDMI Port : Micro HDMI for connection to your HDTV or projector

Power
Battery : 1800mAH removable battery
Battery Life
- Up to 10 hours talk time (3G)
- Up to 13 days standby time
*Note: Battery life claims are for Model STL100-3

Camera & video
Rear camera
8 megapixel auto-focus camera
Back Side Illumination for better low-light performance
5-element F2.2 lens
Dedicated ISP (image signal processor) with 64MB frame buffer
Flash, continuous and touch to focus, image stabilization
Enhanced Super Resolution Digital Zoom (5x)
1080p HD video recording
4 DOF (Degrees of freedom) video stabilization
Time Shift mode for pinpointing and adjusting individual elements of your picture

Front camera
2 megapixel fixed-focus camera
Image and video stabilization
3x digital zoom
720p HD video recording

Multimedia
Image formats : BMP, WBMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, SGI, TGA
Audio & video formats : 3GP, 3GP2, M4A, M4V, MOV, MP4, MKV, MPEG-4, AVI, ASF, WMV, WMA, MP3, MKA, AAC, AMR, F4V, WAV, MP2PS, MP2TS, AWB, OGG, FLAC
Audio & video encoding/decoding : H.264, MPEG-4, H.263, AAC-LC, AAC+, eAAC, MP3, PCM, Xvid, AMR-NB, WMA 9/10, WMA10 professional, WMA-LL, VC-1, VP6, SPARK, PCM, MPEG-2, MJPEG (mov), AC-3, AMR-WB, QCELP, FLAC, VORBIS

Apps
Pre-loaded apps :
BlackBerry® Hub, Contacts, BlackBerry® Browser, BlackBerry® Calendar, BBM, Text Messages, BlackBerry® World, BlackBerry® Remember, Docs To Go™, Pictures, Music, Videos, Story Maker, Facebook®1, Twitter®1, LinkedIn®1, Foursquare®, BlackBerry® Maps, Games, YouTube®, Voice Control, Weather, Clock, Calculator, Compass, File Manager, Box, BlackBerry® Connect for Dropbox, Print To Go, Smart Tags, Settings, Adobe® Reader, Phone, Camera/Video Camera/Time Shift, Setup, Help, SIM Toolkit, Search

Security
Password protection, screen lock, and sleep mode
BlackBerry® Balance™ offering dedicated profiles to keep work and personal data separate and secure

Alerts & notifications

• Tone
• Vibrate
• On-screen or LED indicator

Voice input/output

• Integrated hands-free speakerphone
• Hands-free headset capable
• Bluetooth headset capable

Network & connectivity

Network bands
Z10

• Quad band LTE 2, 5, 4, 17 (700/850/1700/1900 MHz)
• Quad band HSPA+ 1, 2, 4, 5/6, (850/1700/1900/2100 MHz)
• Quad band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
*Note: HSPA+ Band 4 (AWS) is carrier dependent

Z10 (4G - Verizon)

• LTE Band-13 (700 MHz)
• CDMA Cell-band and PCS-band (800/1900 MHz)
• WCDMA Band-1 and Band-8 (2100/900 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE Quad Bands (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

Wi-Fi® :

• 802.11 a/b/g/n
• 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz
• 4G Mobile Hotspot

Bluetooth®

• Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy (LE)

GPS :

• Assisted, Autonomous and Simultaneous GPS
• Preloaded with BlackBerry Maps application
• GLONASS Support

NFC :
BlackBerry® Tag with NFC technology enables communication between BlackBerry smartphones and other NFC-enabled devices with a tap

Sensors
Advanced Sensors

• Accelerometer
• Magnetometer
• Proximity sensor
• Gyroscope
• Ambient light sensor

MESSAGES:
SMS: Yes
MMS: Yes:
Push Mail: Yes
IM: Yes
Email; Yes

BlackBerry Z10 - Review

Is this new model better than the last?
The BlackBerry Z10 is a substantial improvement over previous BlackBerry smartphones. Packing the all-new BlackBerry 10 operating system, Z10 brings a ground-up overhaul of everything you once knew about BlackBerry. The hardware is better, the software is better, and the multi-carrier availability (once it lands in the States) will be quite nice.

What changes were made?
It's almost easier to ask "what changes weren't made?" This is a ground-up overhaul for BlackBerry, and they're hedging the entire company on the success of this new platform. Among some improvements:

• The Z10's hardware is a giant step forward. It packs a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU, 4.2-inch HD display, 2 GB of RAM, a 1,800 mAh battery, and 4G LTE connectivity (in most markets). The hardware itself is well-designed, and still retains a corporate look and feel for those legacy BlackBerry users.
• The camera is improved and offers new features like TimeShift, which allows you to take multiple pictures and choose the best face(s) - all without modifying the existing picture.
• The on-screen keyboard is a huge improvement from the Storm days, with fantastic prediction software.
• BlackBerry 10 exudes a far more modern feel, though the exact gestures will take some time to get used to. The personalization isn't quite to par with other OSes on the market, and the file system needs some work.
• It's new! For those fatigued with Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, this could be a device to turn to.

How's the hardware?
The BlackBerry Z10 is a beautifully designed piece of hardware. Featuring a 4.2-inch HD display, Z10 is packaged in a body that looks very similar to the iPhone 5. You'll find HDMI and microUSB ports on the left spine, and a volume rocker on the right spine.


How's the software experience?
BlackBerry 10 is a marked improvement over BlackBerry 7, the company's antiquated former operating system. It brings the company once known as RIM into the spotlight with new gestures, apps, and more. The BlackBerry Hub is the new place to get all of your information - BBM, email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, text messages, and more. I like the organizational flow of the OS, but find that the gestures are hard to learn and often fail. The software also has quirks. In the time I've been working with it, I've experienced more than a few random errors, force closes, and freezes.

What's great about the BlackBerry Z10?
The hardware is very solid, and revisits the age-old "can smaller smartphones exist in today's market?" question. It's easy to hold in the hand and packs some fantastic specifications, proving that huge size and incredible performance don't have to go hand-in-hand (ahem, Android).


What should be changed?
The all-gesture approach of BlackBerry 10 is solid, but the learning curve is immense, which I expect will turn off those used to Android and iOS. In addition, the young app store is better than ever before, but both it and the overall ecosystem still pale in comparison to others. Battery life is also an issue. As the former battery champ of the smartphone space, overall usage time could be much higher.


What's the real verdict?
The BlackBerry Z10 is a substantial leap forward for BlackBerry. It brings the company into the 21st century with a modern smartphone with a dual-core processor, HD display, LTE connectivity, and an improved camera. The software is much improved, and unlike the BlackBerry Storm series, it's a solid smartphone with a few really nice features. The problem? It's too little too late. There aren't enough BlackBerry 10 choices for consumers to choose from, the Z10 is launching too late in the United States, and the app selection is still behind. Given the price point, it's hard to see anyone choosing this over the Android and iOS options out there - right now.

Stay tuned for the full review, and let me know what you'd like to see covered in the comments below!