Flashback: The BlackBerry Z10 was a new start for the company that proved to be a dead end

09 February 2020
The new BlackBerry 10 OS debuted with the Z10 and Q10, but the Q10 had an old-fashioned keyboard - not like the touch-only Z10.

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  • J
  • Jose
  • XR6
  • 15 Jan 2021

I am using Z10. But when whatsapp stopped working in that , I had to buy another android phone for whatsapp only. Still my Z10 is in good condition and Iam using it for the usual phone calls. Almost 5 years old the battery needs to be replaced. The security system is strong. We don't need any other anti virus softwares. Also it never hangs.

    • b
    • bb
    • mwr
    • 03 Jan 2021

    sold mine for pennys with pain in the heart, they got it all and left us with nothing just like my ex

      • R
      • Raghu
      • Rd{
      • 10 Sep 2020

      we are still using BB Z10 and Z30. Great phone and clean OS without any crashes or hangs. looking for next upcoming BB phone from OnwardMobility.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • rKH
        • 06 Mar 2020

        blackberry was doing well just they have to do was proper app support and i still have z10 it feels awesome but have to ditch because of apps.

          • w
          • walkingthesteel
          • jS7
          • 28 Feb 2020

          BB10 is the superior OS....Made for the working class.. Now we have junk throw away phones

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • P@j
            • 19 Feb 2020

            Privavcy and no reselling of data, remember that..?

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • MJY
              • 12 Feb 2020

              RIM/BB had no idea what they were doing. The Q10 and Z10 were such fantastic phones and BB OS was amazing - quick and clean. They were on a good path, and were doing good even with the Passport, even if it was a little top heavy. They screwed up the moment they switched to Android. Most people will say the KeyOne and KeyTwo are good phones, BUT... "I prefer my android experience being full screen", or "android doesn't offer the speedy workflow on a physical QWERTY which BB OS allowed." The bottom line was they abandoned BB OS just shy of it getting a proper chance to blossom. A real damn shame as it was the only strong competitor to android and ios on the market

                • s
                • sorin
                • msn
                • 11 Feb 2020

                best phone ever...i stil have one

                  evilmessiah, 09 Feb 2020The Z10 was one of the best phones that I had used- period.... moreYou really nailed it with this. The time shift camera shot was a really cool party trick for me.
                  The email client without being an app per se on the phone was simply out of this world.
                  Hub? Compared to android now, it was absolutely a real power user feature.

                    I even have the apk of the keyboard saved to my Google drive and is usually the first app other than nova launch her that I install on any of my devices

                      Great article.

                      BB10 was a fantastic OS once you got used it. I use a KEY2 LE now (which has its own set of pros and cons) but I still miss the productivity and smoothness of BB10. One of the things that has been frustrating as a longtime BB user is they keep promising OS updates but never release them. The KEY2 series, for example, is still on Android 8. However, they have been one of the better OEMs as far as security updates.

                      I think we will see another BB phone, but it won't be for a while and it's going to be really special.

                        • S
                        • Sid
                        • q{8
                        • 10 Feb 2020

                        I used a Q10 for the longest time. BB 10 OS was one of the best productivity OS around.
                        It was so good.. big evolution from where BB OS was earlier.

                          • D
                          • Darryl
                          • Q{4
                          • 10 Feb 2020

                          My BlackBerry Z10 still works. I go back to it now and again. Still love that phone. BB10 os was and still is incredibly efficient.

                            • i
                            • igguk1
                            • M8H
                            • 10 Feb 2020

                            I had a Playbook that i was very fond of. The OS was smooth and fluid as IOS plus gestures it was really advanced for its time and a joy to use. What went wrong? Lack of apps + arrogance ( trying to charge too much for middle of the pack specs).
                            The other thing that killed them was Whatsapp and telegram to a lesser extent, once they did not have the exclusivity of chatting through your mobile phone the lost their key advantage on the mobile arena ( they had many patent lawsuits for the matter involving Whatsapp, kik, etc...).
                            Anyway it is a pity the OS went the way of the dodo. Once they quit QNX and started on Android I knew i was not going to get back any blackberry product again.

                              Blackberry will go down into the classic business case studies of the rise and sunset of a product/business.
                              In short, they were arrogant. Remember when the first iPhone was announced? Everybody laughed at it because it lacks physical keyboard, despite Steve Jobs presenting how physical keyboard is the problem for phones. Even Steve Ballmer was laughing at the iPhone for its lack of physical keyboard. Arrogance, and instead of having a clear vision of where the company is heading (Apple does), companies like blackberry only reactive to what the consumers are yelling loudly (and most of the times, consumers don't really know what they want).

                              So back then, the consumers were saying that they wanted physical keyboards. Blackberry was sticking to it while Apple knew better and marched on. Blackberry also thinks businesses will want Blackberry phones so they focus the features only for enterprises, while in reality people wants a phone that is not just a "business phone," but a phone that can do work and play as well. Then come the app store era, and it's too late for BB with Google taking over the market. Even then, imo BB actually still had a chance, but they were too arrogant, still thinking their brand was premium in value. Then came Samsung, pushing features for the premium phones, making BB phones look like cheap phones feature-wise (other than the prices). Now come the Chinese putting flagship features at bargain prices, and BB is dead.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • X}Q
                                • 10 Feb 2020

                                Z10 is still the best phone I have, compared to nowadays phone which only last for lease than 2 years top. The change of command in BB didn't continue OS development, this is why the OS is dead.

                                  Weren't they expensive? They were nice to use though, kinda like Iphones. Expensive and solid.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • AJj
                                    • 10 Feb 2020

                                    My First Second Smart Phone was Z3 . Bigger than Z10. The OS was very good and mature. The problem was people believed that Blackberry 10 has special data plan ( read costly) to run its phone like BB OS 7 was. It never able to shed off this rumour.

                                      • B
                                      • Bewildered
                                      • 39x
                                      • 10 Feb 2020

                                      geordie81, 10 Feb 2020Blackberry, like nokia before them simply refused change wh... moreBlackberry BB10 OS is very much alive and kicking, due to the super security of its OS it is as stated use in autonomous or driverless cars something Android will quite possibly never be able to

                                      Blackberry fix albeit late was to price these new phones as if they were Apple IPhones even if they spouted flagship specs, coming to the market with a dual camera phone in 2013, when even mid range phones already had fir years phones with selfie cameras was to late

                                      The USA NSA Spied on Germany a NATO ally, in response Germany bought thousands of Z30. that is how secure QNX as an OS is

                                      Overpricing even a flagship phone will fail, especially if you are operating from a place of weakness, you can secure niche market where security is paramount, but not volume sales

                                      Nokia were once the only smartphone provider however these used Symbian good for keyboard phones but as Nokia found out near impossible to write code for when applied to touchscreen (see Gsmarena re Symbian OS)

                                      Symbian had to carry out a command anywhere on the screen,

                                      Nokia chose Microsoft and Windows as even more secure than Android,
                                      All major phone makers had a Windows phone however Microsoft took forever to release any updates by which time everybody stuck with Android leaving on Nokia branded phones
                                      Microsoft then released Windows phone 10 operating system despite it crashing every Nokia model it was tested on
                                      Windows phone 10 essentially us malware it couldn't be fixed even a complete new updated failed to fix it
                                      Windows phone 10 was so bad Microsoft stop selling phones as new phones had inbuilt problems

                                      After two years Microsoft gave up and exited phones altogether

                                      I do hope that the split from TCL is an indication that BB10 phones will be sold again, after all who really wants monthly security patches

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 6wN
                                        • 10 Feb 2020

                                        BlackBerry is dead. Sad but true. Switch to android. Its not laggy and slow anymore. New versions are very smooth. Just avoid very cheap phones.

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