January 30, 2013 is a big day for BlackBerry (formerly known as RIM or Research in Motion), this was the day the company launched their new operating system – the BlackBerry 10 and its first smartphone powered by the new OS – the BlackBerry Z10.
Tech fanatics wants to know two things – is it a good phone? and will it be BlackBerry’s saving grace?
Lets talk about the phone features first:
Size – 130mm x 65.6mm x 9mm
Display – 4.2″, four-point multitouch LCD display, 1280 x 768 resolution at 356dpi, touch on lens
Software – BlackBerry 10 OS
Memory – 2GB RAM, 16GB Flash, hot-swappable Micro SD slot (up to 32GB)
Processor – Dual core 1.5 GHz
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
Camera – 8MP rear-facing camera, autofocus, 5x digital zoom, 1080p HD video recording, 2MP front-facing camera, 3x digital zoom, 720p HD video recording
GPS – Assisted, autonomous, and simultaneous
Bluetooth – Bluetooth 4.0 low energy
WiFi – 802.11 a/b/g/n enabled, 4G mobile hotspot
Advanced sensors – Assisted, autonomous and simultaneous GPS accelerometer, magnetometer, proximity, gyroscope, ambient light sensor
As I have said, Z10 has BlackBerry’s new operating system Blackberry 10 with all new features and apps like BlackBerry Flow, BlackBerry Hub, BlackBerry Balance, BlackBerry maps, and a newly revamped BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) as it offer video calls now.
So as you can see from the hardware specifications and apps point of view, the BlackBerry Z10 is a great phone. NO, the Z10 is the best smartphone that BlackBerry has ever produced. So if its a great phone, then BlackBerry is good right? Another NO.
Having a great phone and great apps is not enough to bring BlackBerry where it was before. The Z10 came out Six (6) years after the first iPhone was released. And you know for a fact that Six years in the techworld is an eternity.
So why is it a NO? Why can’t Z10 save BlackBerry? For a couple of reasons: First, the 100,000 apps is nothing compared to the apps of iOS and Android devices. And most probably, the apps offered in BlackBerry phones are available on iOS and Android devices, but the same cannot be the said the other way around.
Second, the number of developers for iOS and Android are so huge since both OS has a good head start. The support of developers as to which platform should thhey develop their apps for is very crucial here. A great phone with no apps is like a big and beautiful house with no people living in it.
Third, and this may not sound nice to BlackBerry fans out there but iPhone and Android have become the default phone for phone lovers. I went out and did some survey of my own and this is what I got: iPhone users are waiting for the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6. Samsung mobile phone users are waiting for the Samsung Galaxy 4 and the Samsung Note 2 LTE and even the rumored Samsung Note 3.
In other words, users will not just shift to a new phone just because the company has a new name, a new OS and a new amazing phone. If you want users to abandon their current phone brand, you need to have a fantastic phone. A phone that is not offered by the leaders in the mobile market. BlackBerry also has to content with the new players in the mobile market that are actually making waves worldwide.
BlackBerry should focus on its target market – the professionals. Start slowly and be patient. Do not aim to become the market leader for now, or to even regain market share. The more important thing BlackBerry has to do now is to get back into the game. Be part of the mobile ecosystem once more.
In the techworld, if you’re on top, work hard to stay on top because if you lose it, it’s really going to be an uphill climb for any company to regain what it has lost.
(Article written by Jerry Liao)
