So I got challenged to test out the BlackBerry Z30 and try and use it as my daily main device (galaxy S4).
Being the open minded guy that I am, (I tried the iPhone lately, and it wasn't for me, it felt claustrophobic, I tried doing a review for that also and got chewed pretty bad by iPhone "enthusiasts ").
Nevertheless, first of, the phone looks ok, actually if you glance real quick it could pass as a galaxy unit (3 or 4). Also my views of this phone is based purely on a basic view as in what the average Joe would use it for, so no side loading and other crap.
The screen is ok, not bad although the colors could use some tweaking, it's fast the typing is real good, actually I think it might be better than my S4.
Apps was supposed to be a problem, but the Z30 is running 10.2 software so it can run most android apps, however I didn't want to go through all the side loading crap, turns out you can run a bunch of app stores on the device and get all you need (at least for me) ,i have set up Apk Train, aptoid, BlackBerry World, and amazon, so it wasn't that much of a challenge.
Most apps ran Smooth with almost native feel ,however a few did feel a bit clunky, but doable.
The maps was ok, I mean it's no Google maps, but it does the job, I would have loved Google maps, but I didn't feel I wanted to go through all the hassle, and the BlackBerry maps worked ok, not fancy ok, just ok.
The battery life on this thing is insane though ,they advertise 25 hour life, I didn't get that, but I could sail through the day easy with heavy use.
Another thing I really liked actually loved was the OS itself, and I don't think they give them enough credit in that department, sure it felt a bit weird at first, but once I got the hang of it it was quite a joy apps open and close quickly, there's a quick in quick out feeling that's difficult to explain and should be experienced personally to get a feel for it, but pretty slick I must admit.
The camera though....uggg sorry there isn't much to say here other than there is a camera, BlackBerry needs to do much better here, compared to the S4 it's way way...and I mean way way behind, it does have cool features like time shift and a bunch of filters and editing options but honestly it's just not good, no not good as in compared to S4, no just not good compared to anything.
The hub which I have to admit is cool, really slick and all your notifications are there in one place easily accessible from anywhere in the phone (doesn't matter where he are) ,that is a pretty cool feature .
All in all I thought it is a cool phone, looks good (I love the rear carbon fiber), and I think I will hang on to this as my daily a little bit longer, supposedly there is another update coming that should be packed with more features, but we'll see.
I'm not a big pictures guy, so my selling point here for me was the basic OS, hub and battery life, I will keep my S4 in the background just in case though.
Side note I've always wanted to try out a HTC unit which do you guys think should be comparable to the S4/Z30 for me to test next?
Posted via Android Central App
Being the open minded guy that I am, (I tried the iPhone lately, and it wasn't for me, it felt claustrophobic, I tried doing a review for that also and got chewed pretty bad by iPhone "enthusiasts ").
Nevertheless, first of, the phone looks ok, actually if you glance real quick it could pass as a galaxy unit (3 or 4). Also my views of this phone is based purely on a basic view as in what the average Joe would use it for, so no side loading and other crap.
The screen is ok, not bad although the colors could use some tweaking, it's fast the typing is real good, actually I think it might be better than my S4.
Apps was supposed to be a problem, but the Z30 is running 10.2 software so it can run most android apps, however I didn't want to go through all the side loading crap, turns out you can run a bunch of app stores on the device and get all you need (at least for me) ,i have set up Apk Train, aptoid, BlackBerry World, and amazon, so it wasn't that much of a challenge.
Most apps ran Smooth with almost native feel ,however a few did feel a bit clunky, but doable.
The maps was ok, I mean it's no Google maps, but it does the job, I would have loved Google maps, but I didn't feel I wanted to go through all the hassle, and the BlackBerry maps worked ok, not fancy ok, just ok.
The battery life on this thing is insane though ,they advertise 25 hour life, I didn't get that, but I could sail through the day easy with heavy use.
Another thing I really liked actually loved was the OS itself, and I don't think they give them enough credit in that department, sure it felt a bit weird at first, but once I got the hang of it it was quite a joy apps open and close quickly, there's a quick in quick out feeling that's difficult to explain and should be experienced personally to get a feel for it, but pretty slick I must admit.
The camera though....uggg sorry there isn't much to say here other than there is a camera, BlackBerry needs to do much better here, compared to the S4 it's way way...and I mean way way behind, it does have cool features like time shift and a bunch of filters and editing options but honestly it's just not good, no not good as in compared to S4, no just not good compared to anything.
The hub which I have to admit is cool, really slick and all your notifications are there in one place easily accessible from anywhere in the phone (doesn't matter where he are) ,that is a pretty cool feature .
All in all I thought it is a cool phone, looks good (I love the rear carbon fiber), and I think I will hang on to this as my daily a little bit longer, supposedly there is another update coming that should be packed with more features, but we'll see.
I'm not a big pictures guy, so my selling point here for me was the basic OS, hub and battery life, I will keep my S4 in the background just in case though.
Side note I've always wanted to try out a HTC unit which do you guys think should be comparable to the S4/Z30 for me to test next?
Posted via Android Central App
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