Gadgetory

so the same thing always happens when a new device launches the media gets review units ahead of the official launch and we get to use them while we write our review then the press embargo lifts every outlet posts their reviews and videos at the same time writers and commenters go back and forth and it's a huge frenzy of opinion and buzz for about a day and then it all goes away I'm sure there's some follow-up coverage but after that initial blast almost no one revisits the device to see how well it's aged because we're all on to the next big thing already so let's do something about it let's take another look at the new BlackBerry to see if it's ripened or soured in the four months since its release and what that means for the company behind it I'm Michael Fisher this is PocketNow this is the BlackBerry z10 and this is episode 17 of after the buzz when it broke cover in January the z10 looked nothing like the BlackBerry's that preceded it the minimal thin and keyboard less black slab was a departure from the traditional design language of the company formerly known as rim only a flashing red LED and a pair of oversized logos speaking to its rich ancestry and the disparities were even more visible on the software side with the familiar blackberry platform of old replaced by a gesture driven interface that resembled a mash-up of a few different operating systems rolled into one BlackBerry had been in need of a reinvention for years and the z10 was as big a reboot as possible how is the refresh held up well let's dive in and find out in terms of hardware the z10 continues to stand out for a mix of good and bad reasons on the downside its design was pretty generic when it launched and that perception is only going to grow as manufacturers like HTC Apple and Nokia continue to kick out well-crafted Hardware using higher-end materials but though the Z tends aesthetics aren't mind-blowing its materials are durable and reassuring in the hand the soft touch back and powder coated metal casing members work with the stainless steel frame to make the phone feel more substantial than its 136 grams would suggest and it holds up two drops and scuffs pretty well because of this you don't really mind dropping it or tossing it carelessly around something that really can't be said for Samsung's hyper or HTC and Apple's aluminum the screen still gets smudgy as anything at the slightest graze of a fingertip but then you've always got the carrying case a smart accessory we still love using to help with that the camera while good for casual shots has suffered a bit from the recent popularization of low-light photography and optical image stabilization so while it's the same camera it's perception has diminished a bit due to its no-frills approach BlackBerry's timeshift offering is still cool but it alone can't keep pace with the feature-packed competition though blackberry 10.1 does offer support for HDR so it's nice to see the company is still improving here if a camera is a big priority in your smartphone shopping though you still don't have much reason to choose blackberry over many of its competitors overall the z10 Hardware may not turn as many heads as its flashy er competitors but it still got a kind of corporate elegance that those with more subtle tastes will appreciate it's also capable of getting a little roughed up something that always earns extra points for those who can't be bothered with cases or babying the extreme simplicity that characterizes the hardware doesn't carry over to the software with all its gestures bb10 is a relatively complicated platform something that definitely takes some getting used to unfortunately though once you acclimate it's very hard to forget the muscle memory of more intuitive gestures like the up swipe just like the glory days of webOS we found ourselves swiping up on non blackberry hardware when using it the gesture is that addictive also very hard to let go of the BlackBerry hub which remains one of our favorite messaging solutions with its peak functionality and also the outstanding blackberry software keyboard but once it learns your patterns it's entirely possible to compose lengthy sentences using only up swipes it remains one of our favorite keyboards for one-handed typing it's obvious some of the beautiful astonishing tribe designed apps are gonna age very gracefully too it might sound weird to go out of our way to praise a compass or a clock but they continue to provide real if small reminders of the attention to detail that went into the software and of course we still love the Z tens buttonless screen unlock swipe a truly futuristic and Han you knew there was a but coming and you probably know what it is so let's just say it apps the BlackBerry world app and content store boasts an incredible number of titles considering its age 120,000 since launch that's a ridiculous growth rate for a new platform and it's provided plenty of headline fodder for the company to demonstrate just how quickly bb10 is growing but the problem is that a lot of those apps some sources say at least one in five our ported android titles brought in via runtime while it was a bold move for blackberry to encourage Android app porting in order to jumpstart its platform runtime is still stuck at 2.3 resulting in imperfect performance and some pretty ugly UI elements the bright side is that support for Android porting up to version 4.2 is due very soon but until the major development houses get behind blackberry and either port their titles or write new ones for bb10 the experience is still gonna lag behind competitors can you access Twitter on the z10 sure but you'll get a bare-bones no-frills experience the same thing with Facebook and Foursquare you want to Yelp sorry no want a local transit app well odds are it's not there you're gonna have to use the mobile site here are some familiar music and you want to Shazam it nope not unless you have an older blackberry want to listen to a track on Spotify or Pandora instead you can't unless you want to use a third-party client and you can forget about Netflix the company's CEO just said this week that he's never even touched a bb10 device and as this video hits the feeds there are no plans for a blackberry 10 Netflix app that might change in the future but the takeaway here is that despite its big numbers blackberry has been slow to convince big developers to get on board with the z10 that's not really surprising and it's not a reason to hit the panic button at all but it's also not a great sign on the plus side there's a fair bit of entertainment content available in blackberry world so you can stream your video from a non Netflix source and as mentioned above blackberry 10.1 brings some notable improvements to the software experience overall so at least the company isn't standing still a four months after launch the BlackBerry z10 stays true to its roots like its ancestors its first and foremost a messaging machine because of its app selection and still Aysen ecosystem you're unlikely to leave another smartphone platform for this device but if you're graduating from a dumb phone and care more about excellent messaging outstanding one-handed usability and hardware that's not afraid to take a few Falls the z10 will serve you very well hopefully someday the ecosystem supporting it will catch up folks we have so much more on the BlackBerry z10 and almost every other mobile device you can imagine at pocketnow.com and here on YouTube so subscribe nearly 300,000 subscribers can't be wrong please join them drop us a like if you enjoyed the video leave us a comment if you have some feedback follow us on our social media feeds and as always thank you so much for watching we'll see you next time make sure and follow us on our Twitter Facebook Google+ and other places where we reside on the Internet this massive series of tubes we inhabit along with everyone else sorry