BlackBerry Q10 Review

Last year, BlackBerry brought us the Z10, which didn’t over-impress us. The designers had tried to combine fun features with business design, and had taken too much from Android and iOS to make it feel like a true BlackBerry. We hoped for more from the BlackBerry Q10, with its BlackBerry design and features – and while it is more of ‘real’ BlackBerry, does it actually live up to expectations?

Small screened Q10

The display looks quite spacious, although it’s only 3.1 inches – and it is very sharp. On the back of the handset the panel is hard plastic, with a mottled effect. It looks like someone has stuck it all over with a pin. It doesn’t help the user to grip the handset, though, which is a shame. It’s one of the most slippery phones we’ve used for a while, and we can see it flying out of your hands quite easily.

Looks-wise, it’s more traditional – it is broad, short and feels sturdy – a real business-like feel. And it is not lightweight at 139g. There is a removable battery – just click off the back plate to get at it. Here is also where you’ll find the microSD and SIM cards. Click the back panel back on and it feels really secure too.

Generally, design and build is great – the speaker can be found at the base. It seems like odd positioning, and yet interestingly, it doesn’t seem to matter how you hold the device, your hand never covers that speaker. The power button can be found on the top, right in the middle.

We’ve got the power

The battery is impressive too – you get a good day in heavy use – and two whole days in moderate use. Stream video with the display switched up to full brightness and the juice runs out after seven hours. It must be that smaller display that stops the Q10 being the power-hungry beast that some smartphones are.

What is still a disappointment is the app store, with its small choice of titles. Like Windows phones, the BlackBerry devices are still falling behind iOS and Android in this department. There just isn’t the choice – and while you may occasionally be surprised by a top-notch app – anyone swapping from another smartphone is likely to be sorely disappointed. It will be a deal-breaker for many who already enjoy the choice of apps on offer from their current smartphones.

Just my type

BlackBerrys are renowned for their QWERTY keyboards – and this one lives up to the reputation. Each key boasts a curved ridge, which stops your digits slipping onto other keys. The only thing is, because there’s no trackpad or trackball or arrow keys, you need to use the touchscreen when making corrections. And unfortunately the screen is somewhat temperamental. It seems to be fine for finding your way around the phone and websites, but it doesn’t respond well to precision movements – so tapping on tiny links or attempting to highlight a part of a sentence can be frustrating. Sometimes it gave us the cold shoulder and failed to respond to our touch at all!

Smooth system with BB10

The operating system of choice is the long-awaited BB10 – which lacks a traditional homepage. What acts as the home screen is a grid of the apps you have used most recently – handy if you always use the same few, but not so good if you’re more catholic in your tastes. That is when the absence of a homepage can be an issue,

BB10 is not terribly intuitive, but runs smoothly overall – not a sign of a shudder or lag. Under the hood sit 2GB of RAM and a 1.5 GHz chip that help the phone keep up with the operating system and the latest demanding games.

When it comes to communication, the BlackBerry Hub does a grand job. A swipe to the right will reward you with all your text, email and social media updates. This makes it easy to keep up with everyone, no matter which way they communicate with you.

We were also massively impressed by the phone’s internal search. Wherever you are within BB10, start to enter a word and it will start to look for all relevant messages and apps. It’s amazingly quick and we used it an awful lot, in preference to the odd home-screen free setup.  

Our BlackBerry Q10 conclusion

Coming in at £550, the BlackBerry Q10 is really pricey if you just want to keep in touch and write on it. It has a sturdy build and battery life is impressive, but we feel that what you’re really paying for is the keyboard, and that’s just not enough to justify the costs.