BlackBerry Z30 packed with features, needs to get pricing right - Firstpost

Underlining the importance of Asia as it continues to haemorrhage market share in the US market, BlackBerry today chose Malaysia, a market where it continues to do well, to unveil its latest flagship smartphone, the Z30. BlackBerry describes the Z30 as its 'biggest, fastest and most advanced smartphone.' The truth is that the Android horde who are hurting BlackBerry even in what were once BlackBerry's strongholds in Asia, wouldn't be threatened by Z30′s size and speed, though on the advanced front, BlackBerry 10 does offer some unique advantages and they are not inconsequential. While we have only seen demo videos of the Z30 and await a review unit closer to the India launch, we have tried out leaked versions of BlackBerry 10.2 on the Z10 and here's a quick round-up of what's new and what's unique on both the hardware and software fronts: Form Factor and Design The BlackBerry Z30 is also the first BlackBerry with stereo speakers and what BlackBerry calls Natural Sound technology. While the Z10 had a businesslike back and demeanour, the Z30 goes with the gorgeous glass weave of the Q10 on the back and is decidedly better looking. The back cover that curves towards the edges make the smartphone appear slim and very unlike the Z10. The 1280 x 720 pixel, 24-bit colour, 4.97-inch Super AMOLED screen should be gorgeous too and should display darks especially well and images are expected to be vivid. Although it is unique, if you're looking for a comparison among competition, the form factor is more Samsung Galaxy S4-like than the iPhone. The Z10 was closer to the iPhone. The thick bezel at the bottom is a bit incongruous though. The BlackBerry Z30 is also the first BlackBerry with stereo speakers and what BlackBerry calls Natural Sound technology, part of BlackBerry OS 10.2, that supposedly makes BBM Voice and BBM Video chats sound more natural and realistic. BlackBerry claims that Natural Sound lets you hear nuances and variations in tone, making conversations sound like you're in the same room. We look forward to testing this, though in our experience BBM Voice and Video met high standards for audio quality even earlier. However, when we tried the leaked version of OS 10.2 on the Z10 we didn't notice any discernible difference in audio quality, even on BBM Video calls. So perhaps Natural Sound leverages hardware specific to the Z30 and is therefore restricted to the Z30. On the other hand, leaked OSes often have some features blocked, so we'll wait for the Z30 review unit and an official release of OS 10.2 on the Z10 to make up our minds. Core Specs While the processor is a dual-core (a bump up to 1.7 GHz as compared to 1.5 GHz on the Z10) there's a quad core GPU (graphics processing unit). Games have never really lagged on the Z10 and should be awesome on the Z30 thanks to this factor. Some video demos we've seen confirm that. There's also 2 GB RAM and 16 GB application storage, that is expandable using a microSD card (should support 64 GB capacity). Overall, while this seems like the Z30 is lagging behind Android where quad-core processors are now commonplace and octa-core powered smartphones are now available, the fact remains that in a tightly integrated solution like Apple's iPhone and BlackBerry 10 smartphones where the hardware and software is made by the same manufacturer, the Z30′s User Interface should be as smooth and speedy as the competition. A quad core might appear better on a spec sheet but might not make a significant difference in usage. Improved BlackBerry 10.2 OS The new version of the BlackBerry 10 operating system brings in the BlackBerry Priority Hub, which learns what conversations and what people are important to you, thus enabling you to find messages and information quicker. You can either let Priority Hub use standard rules such as messages from folks with the same surname (family), messages sent directly to you, etc, in Priority Hub or you can set your own rules. From personal experience, while we feel the BlackBerry Hub is the best communication experience among smartphones, Priority Hub takes the experience a notch higher. On the Z10, we found that Priority Hub helped us focus on the conversations that were most important and helped improve productivity. Previews have also been improved. As opposed to earlier lock-screen previews that only provided information on the kind of message waiting for you (e.g. e-mail, text message, LinkedIn message, etc), on 10.2 clicking the icon provides a useful instant preview. Real estate on the locked screen is no longer wasted. Incoming message previews now come in at the top of whatever app of function you're in and you can either tap the preview to access the complete message or dismiss the preview. In the case of BBM, you can reply to a message without leaving the app you're using. Android runtime on 10.2 has also been bumped up to Android 4.2 as opposed to 2.3 earlier. On the Z10 running the leaked 10.2 OS, we could sideload and run a plethora of newer versions of Android apps, ranging from Instagram 4.1 to Google Maps 7. And they all worked pretty much perfectly, even though they were converted by us and not the original developer. This should also mean that many Android developers who've been holding back from porting to BlackBerry 10 to avoid the older Android 2.3 runtime could now take the porting step. If that happens as expected, it will be a huge boost to the application numbers problem that is seen as BlackBerry 10′s Achilles heel. We also look forward to the amazing BlackBerry 10 virtual keyboard on a bigger screen, which should make typing even easier than it has been. BlackBerry 10 has what is undoubtedly the best virtual keyboard on a touch screen and the Z30 should help BlackBerry retain this crown. And while the Z30 seems to support wireless charging, from what we hear this will not be available in most markets, including India. Only the US version will support wireless charging. Battery Life While the BlackBerry Z30 comes with a sizeable 2880 mAh battery, and the smartphone pioneer claims it can get a user up to 25 hours of mixed use, the one issue is that unlike traditional BlackBerry flagship smartphones, this one is a non-removable battery. While we have little doubt that despite the large Super AMOLED screen and slightly speedier core components (as compared to the Z10) the battery should easily last a power user for a day, a removable battery would have been great and something that business users on the road would have liked. Wait for the review for actual battery life information while on India's choked networks. New Antenna Technology Speaking of choked networks in India, BlackBerry is also touting a new generation antenna technology on the Z30 that they claim dynamically tunes reception to give users better connectivity in low signal areas. BlackBerry Paratek Antenna is also supposed to enable faster data transfers and fewer dropped calls in low signal areas. If this works as advertised, we would be delighted, because dropped calls and poor connectivity are the bane of mobile usage in India. Pricing & Availability Ever since the Z10, BlackBerry India has always priced its BlackBerry 10 smartphones well over what reviewers and users think is a great price. A move that hasn't exactly won BlackBerry converts in a market where it is perceived as brand on the way down. We don't have high hopes that BlackBerry India will stun the market with an amazing pricing figure and global pricing hasn't yet been announced, but going by past experience, we don't expect the Z30 under Rs 45,000. If it's under Rs 40,000, it would be a pleasant surprise. What the launch of the Z30 should do however is take the Z10 to the mid-market category and perhaps closer to the Rs 30,000-mark, where the earlier flagship would be far more affordable to many who were keen on the Z10 but completely disagreed with BlackBerry on pricing. As for availability, there's no word on that either, but we would expect it sometime in October, before the Diwali buying season. via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHjMRUikoHOh4JA75EKxo3vzYw-jA&url=http://www.firstpost.com/tech/first-impression-blackberry-z30-packed-with-features-needs-to-get-pricing-right-1118195.html

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