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The BlackBerry 10 event held in New York City on Jan. 30 went off as expected. The mobile company unveiled new handsets—the Z10 and Q10—and announced that it’ll no longer be known as Research In Motion.
Instead, CEO Thorsten Heins announced that the company formerly known as RIM would now be called BlackBerry. It’s a move that might not surprise many industry followers, but makes a lot of sense for the company.
Making sense was arguably the theme of the BlackBerry 10 event. Finally, BlackBerry has embraced the future and realized that to be successful, it would need to deliver software and hardware that could compete with the top products available today. It was the logical next step in BlackBerry’s decisions, and it’s something that could very well save the company.
For BlackBerry to survive and perhaps prosper, the company will need to rapidly ramp up sales of its new BlackBerry devices. The Z10 is an up-to-date touch-screen-based device, featuring a 4.2-inch screen and a dual-core processor.
The Q10 comes with the same electronics and operating system, but offers the familiar BlackBerry physical keyboard and small display. Heins believes both devices will be successful.
But that might not be the case. The Q10, while nice for old-school BlackBerry buyers, is not the device to buy. The Z10 is the future. And it won’t take long for both consumers and enterprise users to realize that.
Read on to find out why customers should buy the Z10 over the Q10:
1. What’s with the physical keyboard?
The physical keyboard in the Q10 might be enough for many BlackBerry customers to opt for the Z10. Although BlackBerry has some faithful users that want a physical keyboard, the number of those folks who favor that option is on the decline. Plus, the company is touting the quality of its touch-screen and virtual keyboard. Given all that, who would really want the Q10?
2. The small screen is old-school
Another issue with the Q10’s physical keyboard is that it reduces the amount of screen real estate available to the user. Whereas the Z10 comes with a 4.2-inch screen, the Q10 can only muster 3.1 inches. That’s unfortunate, and these days it’s a turnoff for many buyers.
3. There’s no software advantage
One would think that since the Q10 comes in the older BlackBerry style that it would deliver some additional benefits to enterprise users who are most likely to invest in a product with a physical keyboard. But that’s simply not the case. The same version of BlackBerry 10 is running on both devices. And since the Q10 has a smaller screen, handling tasks in the limited space won’t be so easy. Keep that in mind.
4. The Z10’s Retina-display-beating screen matters
Staying with the Z10’s display, it’s important to point out that the device’s screen has 355 pixels per inch, giving it a slightly higher resolution than that of the iPhone 5’s Retina display. If that matters to customers—and it should—there’s no reason to opt for the Q10, which won’t deliver the same picture quality as its touch-screen-based alternative.
BlackBerry Z10 Is a Better Buy Than the Q10: 10 Reasons Why
5. It’s what customers expect nowadays
The average customer today will find much of what they’d expect in the Z10. The device has a dual-core processor, ample storage, a solid display and a respectable camera. And at $199.99 with a two-year contract, the device delivers a strong value for the price. Toss in its near-field-communication and 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) support, and the Z10 seems like an obvious smartphone choice for buyers, especially in enterprises, that are looking for iPhone alternatives.
6. The Q10 has no advantage in hardware features.
Perhaps the Q10 would be a more-desirable purchase if it came with some internal components that would top the Z10’s. The trouble is, the device doesn’t. In fact, both handsets have the same exact components, including a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. In other words, the Q10 is essentially a Z10 with a smaller screen, less pixel density and the inability to make use of some features of the BlackBerry 10 operating system. It’s a no-go.
7. App issues
Although RIM has done a good job of attracting developers to BlackBerry 10, the Q10’s smaller screen size means many of the apps that fit the Z10’s display so nicely won’t accommodate its tiny display. RIM has of course scoffed the notion that there might be some application limits between the two devices, but it won’t be long before users start wishing they opted for the bigger screen over one that crunches and scrunches their apps.
8. Future development
Of course it’s important to think about the future. BlackBerry 10 is, at best, the third-most-important mobile operating system to developers. With two different screen sizes, they’ll be forced to make modifications to their apps to accommodate the Q10. If the Q10 fails to sell as well as the Z10, as most analysts expect, those developers might simply focus their efforts on the bigger device. By doing so, Q10 users will be left out in the cold, further depressing it’s market appeal.
9. Virtual keyboards get better every year
Those who will buy the Q10 will argue that virtual keyboards are downright awful and physical keys ensure more productivity. However, those folks fail to realize that with each update, BlackBerry 10 is sure to gain improvements in virtual keyboard function. In fact, BlackBerry has already said that its software for typing in messages is top-notch. The last thing customers should do is become shortsighted and believe that virtual keyboards will never be able to match physical keys. As the last several years have shown, virtual keyboards are coming along very quickly.
10. It’s better-looking
If Apple did anything to the mobile marketplace, it proved that aesthetics matter. When comparing the Z10 with the Q10, it’s hard to pick the latter for its beauty. BlackBerry’s Z10 is thin, elegantly designed and can match the style in devices like Apple’s iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S III. The same can’t be said for the BlackBerry Q10. That’s sure to matter to many customers.
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