First look: BlackBerry Q10

BlackBerry Q10, the first QWERTY keypad based smartphone with BlackBerry OS 10, was launched in India today. The shiny new BlackBerry Q10 comes at a premium price of Rs 44,990.
At its launch ceremony in Delhi, we had a chance to look at the BlackBerry Q10 and here is what we thought.


The Q10 employs a new design strategy with newer materials that give the device a much needed premium feel. The BlackBerry Q10 has a glass weave like construction at the back panel, which is stronger than the average plastic used in older BlackBerry phones, and at the same time makes it flexible enough to be immune to damage. The device employs a machined metal chassis that has been carved out of a single piece of metal for added durability, while the use of stainless steel makes it lightweight as well. But this premium look and feel comes at a price as the BlackBerry Q10 is not the slimmest, with a thickness of 10.4 mm.



On the BlackBerry Q10 there is a pair of stainless steel buttons for volume control on the right hand side of the device and the power/sleep button is located comfortably on the top. The loudspeaker has been placed right at the bottom of the device while the 3.5 mm audio connector has been placed on the top of the device for easier access.


The keyboard, which is the highlight of the BlackBerry Q10, has been improved to provide an excellent tactile feel, and the keys have been made bigger than the ones in the previous models. The key rows are straight with a silver strip above each row to give the phone a good and classy look.


The BlackBerry Q10 comes with a 3.1 inch Super AMOLED Display with a 720 x 720 pixel resolution offering 328 pixels per inch pixel density. The display is good for most tasks including HD videos. The touchscreen is quite responsive and actions are translated on the device without any effort or lag.


Under the classy chassis the BlackBerry Q10 has a dual core 1.4 GHz processor from Texas Instruments and 2 GB RAM. The hardware configuration does full justice to the device and its new age operating system that offers fluid operations and reduced application load times.


BlackBerry has used an 8 Megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash at the back. The camera is quite responsive and is the same unit as the one used on the BlackBerry Z10. There is a front facing camera for video chat and video calls via BBM but the camera interface does not allow users to capture self portraits.


The BlackBerry Q10 comes with 16 GB on-board storage and also an external card slot that supports up to a 64 GB micro SD card. The Q10 also features HDMI input for connecting the device directly to a large HDTV. The relatively new BlackBerry 10.1 OS makes the BlackBerry Q10 perform smoothly.


In the BlackBerry Q10, the company has added a new Type and Go function that makes typing easier. For instance, if users want to send an email to someone in the phonebook they just need to type ‘Email’ followed by the contact’s name and the device gives the option instantly. The BlackBerry Q10 is what BlackBerry fans were longing for but the price might turn off some people as Rs 44,990 is a big price to pay. But the device has a premium appeal to it and offers NFC, HDMI and all the bells and whistles along with core functionalities. For a detailed review of the Blackberry Q10 stay tuned.