BlackBerry Z10 Unveiled, Device Better Than iPhone 5?
The BlackBerry Z10 was finally unveiled by the smartphone maker formerly known as RIM today.
The company gave the public a first look at the new flagship device that runs its latest operating software, and also announced a corporate rebranding, and officially changed its name from Research in Motion to BlackBerry.
The BlackBerry Z10 will be released on all four major carriers in the U.S. including AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon.
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Specifications on the handset include a 4.2-inch 1280 x 768 display, an 8-megapixel camera, 16GB of internal memory, microSD slot, LTE connectivity, and a removable battery. The display on the device has a higher resolution than the iPhone 5.
BlackBerry also promised 70,000 apps for the new Z10 when it launches. These apps include Facebook, Twitter, Angry Birds, MLB, and more. However, other popular ones such as Pandora, Spotify and Netflix were not mentioned by the company.
The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg praised the Z10's virtual keyboard, stating that it was faster and more accurate than either of the native keyboards found on the iPhone or Android phones. Its predictive typing allows it to be much more precise, according to Mossberg.
He also said that he believes it will give newly-branded Blackberry a chance to better compete with Android and Apple and once again become a major player in the smartphone market.
The Verge also weighed in on the Z10, stating that it was made well, reasonably priced and is backed by a company with a long track record. However, the company did say that it is not a unique device and doesn't necessarily do anything better than any of its competition.
BlackBerry has a name that people recognize and rely on. That alone should give it some significance in the market.
