Getting Physical

Despite what would be considered a bizarre Music Video in my opinion, Olivia Newton-John puts it perfectly here, “Let’s Get Physical”. A perfect Music Video for the upcoming launch of the BlackBerry Q10.

In a time where almost all the top selling smartphones are full touch devices, with a big displays, it might seem like an odd choice for BlackBerry to still put out a device with a physical keyboard. But is it really?

Let’s break it down a little. The Q10 has a 3.1” 1:1 display, with a resolution of 720 x 720. Which means that when you are browsing the web, there will be a lot of scrolling down. When you are watching a video, there will be squinting involved, and there will be black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. Filling the screen is not an option since most video are in a 16:9 aspect ratio these days, and almost half of the video will be cropped off. Playing Angry Birds will probably suck, along with a bunch of other games. Viewing photos will require more pinching action. You get where I am going don’t you? So why would anyone buy this phone?

Here is where the other side of the story comes in.

1. Communication 

Despite virtual keyboard these days being faster at text input in most instances, there will always be a group of people that prefer the tactile feedback of a physical keyboard. However, having a physical keyboard goes beyond just text input alone.

There are also keyboard shortcuts that can make using the phone easier. Like pressing “B” to scroll to the bottom of a page, “T” to return to the top for example. Of course there are tons more.

Then there is “Type & Go”, which is a new feature is BlackBerry 10.1 that allows “Actions” in universal search. To put it simply, there are a list of commands that you can use.

Since the keyboard is always on, you can trigger universal search just by typing while in the home screen, meaning there is no need to launch universal search before you type. Even better, BlackBerry themselves have said that later this year, an API will be released to allow developer to take advantage of this, meaning apps like WhatsApp could be integrated as well.

Those who have used a traditional BlackBerry device would know that as a communication device, it is the best. I was on iOS for years before switching to a BlackBerry, and afterwards I went through a bunch of Windows Phone, and Android devices as well. Frankly, none is as brilliant as the a BlackBerry as a communication device. And to be frank, in my opinion, BlackBerry 10 has taken a small step back in terms of that in the pursuit of better multimedia capabilities. There is no better way of selecting, copying, cuting, and pasting text than using a physical keyboard along with a TrackPad. Also, since BB10 is relatively new, there are some features that are found on older BBOS 7 devices that are not in BB10 just yet.

But still with a physical keyboard, Type & Go, Peek, and BlackBerry Hub, the Q10 will still be a great communication device.

2. Size

Oh yes. That is a cardboard Q10 made to exact height and width. Since I do not have the privileges to have played with one already, or have access to a Dev Alpha C device, this is the best I could do.

The purpose was simply to test the usability of the phone. Often than not on a full touch display bigger than 4.2”, most people would have to reposition their hand in order to reach all areas of the display. I personally prefer phones that are comfortable to use with one hand, and the Q10 certainly fits the criteria. I am able to reach even the top of the phone even with one hand.

3. Battery Life

Smartphones these days aren’t exactly known for great battery life. Unless you have a RAZR maxx perhaps. But anyway, the Q10 has a 2100mAh battery which is bigger than its full touch counterpart, the Z10.

The Q10 also has a smaller OLED display which uses less power since it is smaller, and BlackBerry has also optimised BB10 use a dark theme so there is more power saving from the OLED display.

The Z10 already has a pretty decent battery life for me, so I can only imagine what those benefits will bring.

Verdict:

My only gripe is probably only its design, which I still think looks too similar to the Bold 9900. My opinion is that BB10 is a fresh start for BlackBerry, and the Q10 should have a slightly different design. Like the BlackBerry logo placement for devices running QNX is all on the bottom of the screen. PlayBook, Z10, even the leaked R10. The Q10 has the BlackBerry logo on the top of the screen, similar to older BlackBerry.

I think there is a market for phones like the Q10, hell, even I want one. I cannot wait for the launch of the Q10 in Singapore to have a chance to play with it, which shouldn’t be too far away now.