Hands-On: BlackBerry Z3 | TechTree.com

Hands-On: BlackBerry Z3

First impressions of BlackBerry's first budget "phablet".

 
Hands-On: BlackBerry Z3

BlackBerry may have lost its glory, but it's still very much alive. The Canadian brand's Curve 9320 is still one of the most popular phones among the corporate crowds. Now is the time to replace that handset with something new, and BlackBerry is finally out with a promising upgrade. The Z3 offers a full-touch 5-inch screen, latest BB 10.2 OS, and 5 megapixel camera in an affordable package.


Design
In this price-range you can get multiple Android devices that pack in powerful hardware such as quad-core processors. However, hardly a one or two of them can match the construction of quality of BlackBerry's Z3. Much like the first BB10 OS phone Z10, this one sports an elegant design. The front is all glass with no hardware/capacitive buttons. The handset features straight lines on sides and sharp edges. It's something that would mix in the corporate environment very well. You can call it the ThinkPad of the mobile world.

The materials used for building this phone are top-notch. The back-panel has a texture that helps with the grip. Although the phone doesn't feature a unibody design, the back-panel doesn't open. This means the battery is non-user replaceable. The micro-SIM and microSd card slots are on the right hand side. Bang opposite is a Power button companied by a Volume Rocker and a Mute key. The latter can also trigger Voice Command feature when you press and hold it for a couple of seconds.

At 9.3 mm it's not quite slim, but a well put together handset. You have to hold the Z3 to get the idea of its ruggedness. It's quite hefty at 163 grams, but that's fine considering its sturdiness.

Display
The handset packs in 5-inch qHD (540 x 960 pixels) screen. That makes for the pixel density of around 220 ppi. Needless to say, you do get to see a lot of jagged edges. Here, anything near 300 ppi would have been sufficient. The display also lacks Gorilla Glass protection. Other aspects of the screen such as the colour reproduction and viewing angles are quite good.

Specifications
The Blackberry Z3 is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset. it comes with Adreno 305 GPU and 1.5 GB RAM. For photography, there's a 5 megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash. it's capable of recording Full HD 1080p videos. For Skype calls, you get a 1.1 front-facing snapper. Other features include 8 GB internal storage, microSD card slot, and 2500 mAh battery.

Software
Currently, almost all the biggies such as Samsung, LG, Sony, HTC, and even Nokia depend on either Google or Microsoft's mobile platform to power their smartphones. This leaves, only Apple and BlackBerry the only two brands to build phones on their own operating systems. The latest iteration of the Canadian company's platform dubbed BB 10.2 lacks conventional menu navigation keys. Instead of that, it relies heavily on swipe gestures to get things done.

You can unlock the phone with a simple swipe up form the bottom edge of the screen. When you're inside an app, the same gesture minimises the app windows and brings you to the multitasking menu. Most Android and iOS users will find it confusing at first. Use it for a couple of days though, and you'll get used to it. What we really like about BlackBerry's platform is its flow and smoothness. The transition effects look elegant. Despite powered by a modest dual-core processor, the handset doesn't lag. For more details, keep an eye out for our detailed review.


Tags : Mobile Phones, BlackBerry, BlackBerry Z3

 
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