HoFo Blog

It’s been a tough 2 years for Blackberry users. Around 3 years ago, Android and iOS were really starting to eat into Blackberry’s market share. 2 years ago, Blackberry (then known as RIM) promised to deliver their next generation OS. Since then, the shipping date was postponed multiple times while Blackberry's market share plummeted.

Heck, things got so bad that there was a point when I figured we’d never see the new version of Blackberry. Either RIM would get carved up and sold, or they’d go out of business, or maybe they’d even adapt another operating system.

So, I’m really pleased to present to you my Blackberry Z10 review. The first phone running the new Blackberry 10 operating system. ...

Now that the Blackberry Z10 is available in Canada have you given it a try yet? Post your thoughts, questions and impressions of the Z10 here!

Personally, I've been using one for a few days now for most part, Blackberry has done what they needed to do to make a compelling device. It's not perfect but they've differentiated it enough that it's an intriguing alternative to it's competitors.

They've also done a decent job with their app ecosystem. Yes, it's still starting out but it's not totally dead like the Playbook's was when it first launched.

Hardware wise, the Z10 doesn't disappoint but at the same time, it's not absolutely cutting edge either. They've done enough, in the hardware department that most people aren't going to complain about it unless they spend all their time looking at spec sheets and reading reviews rather than using it.

Menu keys anchor of the experience of Android and iOS, so the lack of menu soft keys (and on-screen softkeys) can be a bit confusing at first.

I really like how they've taken Blackberry's signature (the messaging) and made it one of the cornerstones of the experience without making it feel like they're forcing it down your throat. Actually, the messaging (email, text, Facebook (including groupchat), Twitter, LinkedIn, BBM) is bundled in with your calendar, and phonebook into a feature called 'Hub'. To access the Hub you swipe up and then without letting go, swipe to the right. It's an interesting idea that's intuitive to use.

Even better is that the hub has hooks for programmers. I was looking around the App store and noticed that there's a GTalk app from Blackberry which presumably hooks up with hub.

The other Blackberry signature is the keyboard. These days, everyone has a good keyboard. If I was to rate them, I'd say Android 4.2's is the worst (say it's 8/10), Windows Phone is a 8.5 while the iPhone gets a 8.6. With that in mind, the Blackberry's is 9+ easy.

Whether you use the 'brute force' method like me where you type as fast as you can and let the auto-correct sort it out or if you type slowly the Blackberry keyboard works really well.

I've always found that Blackberry's came with inferior cameras. The camera isn't class leading but it's not terrible either.

One feature I like is the Z10's share feature. Yes, the same one you find on Android. Blackberry even took the share icon! Anyways, it allows you share files and media with other devices - even via NFC!

Battery life is phenomenal Part of the reason why is because Blackberry doesn't allow the screen to get insanely bright (like on the iPhone 5), the other is because the screen has auto-brightness which you can't turn off. Even some heavy users will be able to use it an entire day.

Another feature I like is the file share feature. It's not the same as the share feature I mentioned earlier. This one lets you access your Z10 via SAMBA (Windows file sharing). You can copy files to the Z10 wirelessly.

I copied some 720p mkv and 480p DIVX avi's to the Z10 and noticed that it has decent codec support! No need to use handbrake first like on Windows Phone or iOS! There is (what I assume is) a bug where the video player's maximum volume is very low. Hopefully they'll fix that soon.

Due to health reasons I've been bed-ridden the entire time I had the Z10 so I wasn't able to use it outdoors and test RF. Sound quality is average, maximum earpiece volume and speaker phone volume are both good - similar to the iPhone 5.

I'll have a full review in a few days. It's hard to review a phone from bed.

Any questions? What did you think about the Z10? Honestly, Blackberry has done all they could do - it's better than I was expecting.

-Howard ...

Works great !
3 Mirror link for Howard Forums :

evasi0n-linux-1.0-3c53ba10e2448d311b0f4157f2d7eb568f106c4f-release.tar.lzma
Link: http://www59.zippyshare.com/v/52156675/file.html

evasi0n-mac-1.0-3c53ba10e2448d311b0f4157f2d7eb568f106c4f-release.dmg
Link: http://www59.zippyshare.com/v/37260684/file.html

evasi0n-win-1.0-3c53ba10e2448d311b0f4157f2d7eb568f106c4f-release.zip
Link: http://www59.zippyshare.com/v/45025314/file.html ...

Just heard that Canadian stores are getting their Blackberry Z10 stock now ahead of the Feb 5th launch.

I've talked to a few stores and it sounds like while they're getting a lot of stock - 7 times as many Z10's as they got iPhone 5's - It sounds like most of the units are earmarked for pre-orders. So there's a chance that the Z10 may be scarce come launch day.

Anyone got a Z10 pre-order in or thinking of picking one up launch day? ...

Just wanted you all to know that we'll be at the BB10 launch today. We'll be covering it live here:

http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...7#post15046877 ...

I was thinking about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 when I decided to throw together a 2013 Hardware guide. While some of 2013’s Android flagships have already been announced I thought it would be fun to discuss upcoming features plus make a wish list for them. Anyone have any features they'd like to see on the upcoming offerings from Samsung, LG, Motorola?

Like all phones, they all have to play the hardware game, so spec-wise, they’re all going to be similar.

So far phones like the Huawei D2, Sony Xperia Z, etc have:

• 5" 1920x1080
• water resistance
• quad-core processors
• 2GB RAM
• 2500-3000mAh batteries
• 13MP camera

To me, the most important new features will be the bigger batteries and water resistance. The Note II has a 3000mAh+ battery which makes it one of the only 'full day' phones I've tried.

As for water resistance you no longer to worry about using your phone in the rain. You can send Tweets from the shower (Taking a shower! #clean #dropped the soap), post Facebook status updates (Howard is cleaning his junk), take pictures underwater when you're on vacation. Need I say more? ...

It looks like starting today it's going to be illegal to unlock your phone in the US. Apparently, the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) prevents American from doing this.

Now you need to ask your carrier first before you can unlock.

Unlocking a phone has been part of the phone industry for years. I remember unlocking my Nokia 5190 around 10 years ago. So, it's a bit of a joke that it's now illegal.

Mind you, in the US there isn't a great deal of mobility between carriers because each carrier uses either a slightly different technology and or frequency. Still, it prevents you from moving to a carrier's MVNO.

So, if you unlock your phone now will some Jack Bauer type kick down your door?

If you think this is wrong/ridiculous/stupid/outrageous/etc make sure you sign the petition here.

May God help us all. Thoughts?

Thanks berry_lthird!
...

Just got word that RIM's BB10 device will be launching on Feb 5th. It will be $650 no contract and will be available in black or white.

Dealers should be getting stock Jan 30th.

Who's excited? I'm pretty pumped for the launch next week. Anyone going to get one? Is your iPhone/Galaxy for sale right now? ...

A few years ago, RIM was the top dog in the Smartphone arena. Since then, competitors like Android and iOS have emerged and surpassed Blackberry.

Smartphones haven’t been a niche market for some time now, so the cost to enter the market is very high now. In fact, Android and iOS have become so entrenched through their platforms and ecosystems that it’s hard to imagine anyone muscling in on their racket.

So, with the imminent release of Blackberry 10 next week I can’t help but wonder whether this will be the last big Smartphone OS launch. Going forward, Android and iOS will probably only get stronger. After BB10, the only new entrants we’re going to see are niche players like Tizen, Ubuntu, Firefox OS or possibly something really cheap; not really aimed at the North American market. Though Android already has cheap covered. Actually, in the future we probably won’t have any new OS' but rather we’ll see companies fork Android and do their own thing with it like Amazon.

But enough of Android, back onto RIM and BlackBerry 10. ...