Blackberry Z30 Phablet Announced

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Blackberry Z30 Phablet Announced

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday September 18, 2013 @01:31AM from the last-year's-latest-craze dept.

iONiUM writes "Today the new Blackberry Z30 was announced today (release coming in the next 'few weeks'). It has a 4.97" 16:9 screen running at 720x1280. The CPU also got an upgrade, at 1.7Ghz. The news claims that the battery is a 2880maH with up to 25 hours of use. I'm not really convinced this is enough of a differentiation between the Z10 to save Blackberry, and as someone who owns a Z10 and Q10 (but uses an S3 instead), I don't see how this addresses any of the real issues Blackberry is facing, the biggest being a lack of apps."

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Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-18 01:33 · Score: 3, Funny

What a wonderful device for people living in 2012. Here in 2013 it looks pretty outdated. 720p? seriously? on a 5" display? It is like they almost tried, but then decided they rather go under.
Will this one be able to do email without a blackberry phone to tether to?
1. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 01:38 · Score: 0
  
  Meh, the same people who would be buying the so-called 2013 current tablet from blackberry will still buy this device instead.
  If you are buying the blackberry, it ain't about the hardware specs (or the apps, apparently).
2. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-18 01:43 · Score: 1
  
  So then what are they buying it for?
3. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by gl4ss · 2013-09-18 01:50 · Score: 1
  
  So then what are they buying it for?
  due to corporate policy of having corporate email only on blackberries.
  oh and once upon a time for personal privacy in several eastern nazi(when it comes to domestic policies, including surveillance etc) countries but that train is long gone now.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
4. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by jason.sweet · 2013-09-18 01:52 · Score: 2
  
  Nostalgia
5. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by Russ1642 · 2013-09-18 02:09 · Score: 1
  
  Why would you want email? That's what a desktop is for.
6. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-18 02:25 · Score: 1
  
  What company still has that policy?
7. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by Kinwolf · 2013-09-18 02:27 · Score: 1
  
  Will this one be able to do email without a blackberry phone to tether to?
  You know that the Z30 IS a blackberry phone, right?
8. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by StoneyMahoney · 2013-09-18 02:27 · Score: 1
  
  Spec chasers go for whatever the latest and greatest Android/Apple device is and play playground top-trumps with that. Crackberry users just need "good enough" and have been kicking the habit in increasing numbers around the world for some time now for exactly that reason - why pay all that money for good enough when you can get kick-ass with better support prospects for the same price from someone else? From EE (UK 4G network) for same the monthly fee I can get an iPhone 5 for £10 or a Q10 for £30. They're actually trying to charge more for a worse product with the same subscription. The Blackberry only survives because of that tribal fanboi segregation bollocks so many people have fallen for, but without something to crow about, RIM won't survive purely on that for very much longer.
  To rub some salt into the wound, Nokia were selling more Lumia phones than RIM were selling phones total - if you factor in Nokia's Asha range, Nokia were bitch-slapping RIM and may actually have been onto a comeback - I wonder how that'll play out for MS? Will we see MS vs Apple vs Google in the top 3 phone charts some time soon?
  http://blog.laptopmag.com/nokia-lumia-outsell-blackberry
9. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by Russ1642 · 2013-09-18 02:29 · Score: 1
  
  So then what are they buying it for?
  That's the one that has email on your phone right? I always wanted one of those.
10. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-18 02:31 · Score: 1
  
  THAT'S THE JOKE!
  Imagine picture of that meme here.
11. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by jovius · 2013-09-18 02:32 · Score: 1
  
  If it's effective viewport is 720x1280 pixels it's pretty modern. It's more than iPad Mini at least and all of the smartphones AFAIK. Witness the horrorshow for modern web design.
12. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by beefoot · 2013-09-18 02:33 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sure you prefer to send a long message with SMS which does not guarantee the recipient will ever see. I suppose email would be irrelevant since your messages are filled with BRTF, TAFF, FDAAA, FWA, KGAS, etc that would take an old people like me ages to decode . It either takes me a long time to figure out that you're applying for the new position or I give up 0.5 seconds into reading your message.
13. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-18 02:47 · Score: 2
  
  There are many smartphones with 1920x1080 displays. LG G2, HTC one, Samsung Galaxy S4.
  The iPad mini is not exactly a top of the line device.
14. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 02:53 · Score: 1
  
  The BB10 OS which is many months old now has an increible unified inbox. For those that actually want ot get work done, it's about as good as it gets. For business, the BB10 based phones make iOS and Android look like toys. Hopefully busienss owners will realize this. That's the target audience.
15. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by Patch86 · 2013-09-18 03:35 · Score: 1
  
  Most that operate in a highly regulated industry, I suspect. Mine certainly has an "our devices or no devices" attitude, of which Blackberry is the only smartphone.
16. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by grub · 2013-09-18 03:35 · Score: 0
  
  Blackberry.
  They are making it to sell to themselves.
  
  --
  Trolling is a art,
17. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by tlhIngan · 2013-09-18 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  Spec chasers go for whatever the latest and greatest Android/Apple device is and play playground top-trumps with that. Crackberry users just need "good enough" and have been kicking the habit in increasing numbers around the world for some time now for exactly that reason - why pay all that money for good enough when you can get kick-ass with better support prospects for the same price from someone else? From EE (UK 4G network) for same the monthly fee I can get an iPhone 5 for Â£10 or a Q10 for Â£30. They're actually trying to charge more for a worse product with the same subscription. The Blackberry only survives because of that tribal fanboi segregation bollocks so many people have fallen for, but without something to crow about, RIM won't survive purely on that for very much longer.
  Actually, no.
  Spec chasers are exclusively an Android phenomenon - Android devices have ALWAYS outclassed the iPhone.
  Either in more RAM, faster processor, more cores, bigger screens, more megapixels, whatever.
  The reason is that basically once you get below the surface, all Android phones are similar and there's very little to actually differentiate them. Espeically since the look and feel of modern Android handsets are controlled by Google now, so OEMs are now limited to superficial skinning.
  So the only way OEMs can really innovate is by tossing more at it. Of course, they're running into the same limitations as everyone else - everyone gets the same processors, the same RAM, the screen screens, etc. Or you could try the Samsung way and release a thousand different phones a year, each slightly tweaked (collectively, the lesser Samsung phones greatly outsell the flagships - think back to the SGS3 - very popular (#1 seller) phone, but it still only moved 60M units which is barely 10% of Android phones sold, and Samsung has 90% of the Android market).
  Hell, most people on /. are measurebators, if you read the Android and Apple threads. (A measurebator is someone who only goes by the numbers, and nothing else. Like comparing a camera by megapixels instead of picture quality. Or consoles - PS3 is on paper faster than Xbox, but it excludes which one is more "fun" to a person, etc).
18. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by narcc · 2013-09-18 05:35 · Score: 1
  
  Efficiency, utility, the UI ... all best in class.
  The only question is "why would buy something else?"
  You could say "apps" if you want, but I suspect those users really want a gameboy instead of a phone.
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
19. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by Russ1642 · 2013-09-18 06:02 · Score: 1
  
  This is a reminder to keep your sarcasm meter maintained within proper operating parameters.
20. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-18 06:08 · Score: 1
  
  HAHAHAHAHA, no.
  So do you work for them or is this just some recreational trolling?
21. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by luis_a_espinal · 2013-09-18 06:41 · Score: 1
  
  What company still has that policy?
  I cannot imagine one such company to be honest (a relevant company that is.) Until recently I worked in the defense sector, which is very bureaucratic and regulated. And even there, Blackberry isn't even in the most remote of pictures with the future (a distant BYOD future that is), it is all iOS or Android.
22. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by MrHanky · 2013-09-18 06:48 · Score: 1
  
  Bullshit. 1) The iPhone 4 started the race for better pixel density. Screen specs were so important to Apple that they had to redefine 'Retina' twice afterwards just to be able to milk the concept for tablets and laptops. 2) Samsung's 2Q2013 smartphone market share was about 30%, with LG, Lenovo and ZTE hovering around 5%, and 'others' (mostly not Nokia) taking 40%, according to IDC (sauce). I'm no mathmagician, but that makes Samsung holding a 90% of the Android market somewhat unlikely. 3) Go to Samsung's web page for the Galaxy Note 3. What are they pushing? Specs? No, the pen and its software interface. Sony's Xperia Z1? Water resistance, then camera. In fact, specs are so alike these days that they're impossible to differentiate by.
  So you got everything wrong, except perhaps your last point, which merely lacks any credible evidence.
23. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by narcc · 2013-09-18 06:50 · Score: 1
  
  Just a very satisfied customer. iOS and Android left me wanting ... significantly.
  I suppose that your opinion wasn't formed from actual use, but from forms and blogs?
  Next time, try something out before forming "your" opinion. Spend a couple of weeks with BB10 and you'll be sold. Nothing else even comes close. Using iOS and Android after BB10 is like stepping back in time.
  Having the best browser on the market is a bonus as well. It (objectively) leaves iOS and Android (metaphorically) in the dust.
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
24. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-18 06:57 · Score: 1
  
  I have tried it. I will not spend a couple weeks with that device. It was not good. The browser was not great either. I prefer firefox on android.
  On top of which being a walled garden was a no go for me.
25. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by narcc · 2013-09-18 07:12 · Score: 1
  
  I don't believe you. The browser comment is particularly telling as FF on Android is WAY behind the browser on BB10.
  If you had actually tried it, you'd know that. Hell, if you did a tiny bit of *reading* you'd know that!
  There's just no helping some people... Enjoy living in the past with your second-rate browser, horrible developer tools, and barely functional UI.
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
26. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-18 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  Keep trolling, you are getting pretty good.
27. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by narcc · 2013-09-18 07:41 · Score: 1
  
  Did you ever stop to think that this isn't a troll?
  Have you considered that the world may not be exactly as you presuppose? (In the context of this discussion, it's dramatically different.)
  You're welcome to your opinion, uninformed or not, but don't mistake it for fact.
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
28. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-18 07:50 · Score: 1
  
  Your insistence on an inferior product being some kind of magic sure looks like trolling. You may feel free to have another opinion, but this one differs from the shared reality of pretty much everyone on earth.
29. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by narcc · 2013-09-18 08:52 · Score: 1
  
  How is it inferior? Oh, it doesn't have as many apps. Well, unless you count the tons of Android apps that it'll run (10.2 brings Android 4.2 compatibility).
  The only feature we've talked about is the browser, which is *objectively* better than the competition. I wouldn't call that inferior.
  We could talk about subjective things like the UI, but that won't get us anywhere as you're unwilling to use the OS yourself long enough to develop an informed opinion. (There are some other issues that Android users need to deal with that BB10 users do not, but you'll just rationalize those away like iOS users did over copy/paste, multitasking, etc.)
  We could go over technical details about the OS, but that obviously wouldn't work in your favor, so I doubt that interests you.
  Looks like you're just bashing someone else's preference for the hell of it, That sounds like trolling to me.
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
30. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 08:54 · Score: 0
  
  For a tech site, people sure are ignorant.
  Don't knock it if you haven't tried it. BB10 blows Android and iOS out of the water.
31. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 09:04 · Score: 0
  
  No wonder they run slower than the iPad mini.
32. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 10:35 · Score: 0
  
  Samsung is making 90% of the profits in the Android hardware market.
33. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 10:53 · Score: 0
  
  I'm pretty sure he's genuine. Peruse his post history, he's RIM's biggest fanboy and has been frenetically posting about it on slashdot for years.
  He believed with the fire of a thousand suns that the iPhone was doomed, Doomed, DOOMED, for it did not have a keyboard, and any fool could see that keyboards (as seen in the Market Leading Holy BlackBerry) were an absolute requirement for success. As Apple (and then Android) began eating RIM's marketshare, he screamed and yelled about how smartphones with usable touch UI were just a temporary fad. When Lazaridis and Ballislie (hope I spelled those names right) began to become a public embarrassment, narcc began whining about how the bad, evil press is just so mean to RIM but gives Apple a free pass. He's consistently completely delusional about BlackBerry's competitiveness in the marketplace. Has drunk all of the "superior enterprise email means everyone else is bad and RIM is good" flavor-aid. Sincerely believed that their horrible missteps with their first tablet product (e.g. not allowing it to do BB email without a companion BB phone) were in fact advantages. On and on and on.
  I suppose it's possible he's a shill, but I think it's most likely that he's a very irrational fanboy of the sort who's built up a fact-impervious belief system in which he is the enlightened one and everyone else is just an ignorant fool duped by shiny marketing. This would be consistent with the other topics he tends to post on, where he is also rigidly dogmatic and frequently uses the same tactic of arrogantly asserting that he is right and everyone arguing with him is a fool (even when they've pretty much demolished whatever argument he was making).
34. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by AC-x · 2013-09-19 00:20 · Score: 1
  
  What are you, some kind of resolution hipster (720p is sooooo last year)?
  The Nexus 4 has a 1280x768 display on a 4.7" screen and it's more than enough, the only way I can see individual pixels is holding it uncomfortably close to my face. An extra 0.2" isn't going to turn a 720p display into some kind of unusable pixelated mess, and I challenge anyone to spot the difference between a 5" 720p and 1080p display at normal usage distance
35. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by MrHanky · 2013-09-19 02:47 · Score: 1
  
  Which has nothing to do with anything of the above, and also is without evidence.
36. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-19 04:30 · Score: 1
  
  Show your source that this browser is objectively better.
  The technical details won't favor me? Are you high? QNX vs linux? Which one has millions of installs on things from routers to mainframes. Which one of these OSes can I get the source too again? Which one do I already build myself?
37. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by narcc · 2013-09-19 06:03 · Score: 1
  
  Start with html5test and work your way around.
  Routers and mainframes are nice... but which one will you find running nuclear reactors?
  I'm not here to do basic research for you. Go do some reading.
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
38. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-19 07:51 · Score: 1
  
  I don't use too many nuclear reactors. Nothing wrong with QNX, but it is not making up for the rest of RIMs failures. Nor is it amazing enough on its own.
  Tizen beats the BBOS browser, and dolphin beta is not far behind. So in this one test it is second best already.
39. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by narcc · 2013-09-19 09:17 · Score: 1
  
  Is there any reason that you haven't listed any of your alleged "failures". (I suspect it's because you don't actually have any in mind and you're just repeating a silly meme.)
  As for Tizen, we'll see if that's the case when it's actually released. :) My claim "the best browser on the market" remains true.
  Now, your claim was that the BB10 browser "was not great" and that you "prefer firefox on android".
  Do you still stand by that?
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
40. Re:Amazing, for 2012 by h4rr4r · 2013-09-20 11:54 · Score: 1
  
  yup. It might not be the most accurate but it supports the plugins I want. Just like on the desktop.
Remember when.. by the+computer+guy+nex · 2013-09-18 01:41 · Score: 2

we measured innovation by how BIG we could make computers?

I don't either. 5" is outrageous for a phone.
1. Re:Remember when.. by h4rr4r · 2013-09-18 01:45 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Not at all. The next Nexus will be smaller than the current one and have a nearly 5" display.
  Have you seen a Galaxy Note? That is a great device size for a lot of people.
  You have to remember that for a lot of people these devices are becoming their primary computing device. So a 5" device is easily pocketable and gives a lot of display to use.
2. Re:Remember when.. by the+computer+guy+nex · 2013-09-18 01:59 · Score: 0
  
  Not at all. The next Nexus will be smaller than the current one and have a nearly 5" display. Have you seen a Galaxy Note? That is a great device size for a lot of people.
  You have to remember that for a lot of people these devices are becoming their primary computing device. So a 5" device is easily pocketable and gives a lot of display to use.
  What pants are people wearing that a Galaxy Note is easily pocketable? Fat Pants? The iPhone 5 is almost getting too large to fit in reasonable pockets.
3. Re:Remember when.. by gl4ss · 2013-09-18 02:02 · Score: 1
  
  the kind of pants that if you wear them you have a purse.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
4. Re:Remember when.. by Sockatume · 2013-09-18 02:03 · Score: 1
  
  I assume that your home computer is a laptop with a 10" screen, then?
  
  --
  No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
5. Re:Remember when.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 02:14 · Score: 0
  
  What pants are people wearing that a Galaxy Note is easily pocketable? Fat Pants? The iPhone 5 is almost getting too large to fit in reasonable pockets.
  My parachute pants are finally back in fashion! Stop harshing my buzz.
6. Re:Remember when.. by P-niiice · 2013-09-18 02:19 · Score: 1
  
  I fit my nexus 7 with leather case in my fat pants thank you very much. Great for sneaking it into the restroom at work.
7. Re:Remember when.. by h4rr4r · 2013-09-18 02:19 · Score: 1
  
  Levi's 550s.
  Stop wearing your girlfriend's jeans.
8. Re:Remember when.. by NatasRevol · 2013-09-18 02:21 · Score: 1
  
  And still in zazzy black-n-red!
  
  --
  There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
9. Re:Remember when.. by rwise2112 · 2013-09-18 02:35 · Score: 1
  
  And still in zazzy black-n-red!
  Too legit to quit!
  
  --
  
  "For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert"
10. Re:Remember when.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 02:49 · Score: 0
  
  Not all of us wear skinny jeans. My galaxy note fits perfectly in my Levi standard fit size 31's front pockets.
11. Re:Remember when.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 02:51 · Score: 0
  
  Then by the 4.3" Z10.
12. Re:Remember when.. by CastrTroy · 2013-09-18 03:43 · Score: 1
  
  I think you are being funny, but I remember reading a lot of people saying the Nexus is pocketable. Personally, I find my 4 inch phone to be a little large in my pockets. Sure it fits, but it's really not comfortable. If I have any other place to carry it than my pants pocket (backpack, jacket/coat, pannier, cycling jersey) I'll put it there before in my pants pocket. I can't imagine carrying around a 5 inch (or larger) device without having some kind of backpack or bag to carry it in.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
13. Re:Remember when.. by Gibgezr · 2013-09-18 03:46 · Score: 1
  
  Um, regular dress pants and jeans, since you asked. My Note easily and comfortably fits in the front right pocket of every pair of pants I own, and I didn't buy the pants looking for extra-large pockets or anything. Men's pants pockets are normally sized to accommodate things like fat wallets or a collection of keys/change/pocket knife/whatever; women might find that their pockets are often too small to comfortably and safely accommodate a Note, but then they can use their purse I suppose.
  Try slipping a demo phone into your pocket next time you are at the phone store: you will be surprised at how easily a large phone fits.
14. Re:Remember when.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 05:57 · Score: 0
  
  The trouble is you're talking about a $300 phone. First time you drop it, the glass is broken (like my daughter's $600 iPhone). Nobody (except my daughter) has a phone that expensive who dowsn't put it in a protective cover, which adds a half inch in every direction. Most smartphones I see have them. With that cover they're way too big to fit comfortably in a pocket. Meanwhile, my $115 Edge with its 4 inch screen fits nicely in my pocket, and at that price I won't freak out too much if it breaks. At three times that? The damned phone would never leave the house!
15. Re:Remember when.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 06:13 · Score: 1
  
  Try slipping a demo phone into your pocket next time you are at the phone store
  That sounds like a good idea.
16. Re:Remember when.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 07:16 · Score: 0
  
  I wear jeans most of the time, they aren't fat pants, but regular jeans with a 34" waist. I had a cheap Galaxy Note clone (only marginally smaller, perhaps a couple of mm in the length and width), the fitted in my pockets perfectly well. It wasn't uncomfortable, it just was a bit too bulky in my pocket for my liking, but I got by with it for 9 months until the other flaws the phone had prompted me to buy a new phone, my new phone with a 4.5" screen (not any bigger than an iPhone 5 in a case) is perfectly comfortable in my pocket. I can pocket my Nexus 7 if I want to, not comfortably, but I can and it is sometimes better than carrying it in my hand.
  I want to know what pants you are wearing where a iPhone 5 is almost too large to fit in them.
17. Re:Remember when.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 07:41 · Score: 0
  
  Size 31? men's trousers are measured by leg length and waist circumference, e.g. 32x30 inches. Women's pants are in "sizes".
18. Re:Remember when.. by DuckDodgers · 2013-09-18 07:52 · Score: 1
  
  If, like me, you use your phone for telephone conversations, 5 inches for the display is outrageous.
  
  If, on the other hand, you're like most smart phone users and you probably spend more time checking email, posting to Twitter, reading Facebook posts, and shopping on your smart phone then you spend using a laptop or desktop computer, then 5 inches is good and having an iPad-size "phone" would be better.
  
  At the rate we're going, when kids today grow up they'll be known as "Generation Gollum" for all of the time they spend hunched over tiny screens. I purposely don't have anything personal on my phone except my contact list, because as a technology worker I have enough problems with back pain, neck pain, eye strain, and cramped wrists as it is.
19. Re:Remember when.. by DuckDodgers · 2013-09-18 07:55 · Score: 1
  
  In the 1970s we used to get high and talk about bellbottoms. "Man, when I get some money, I'm going to get the biggest bellbottoms in history, man! Homeless people are going to be living under my pants."
  
  /Denis Leary
20. Re:Remember when.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 10:44 · Score: 0
  
  can you sit down with the phone in your pocket?
Really.. the lack of apps? by Adult+film+producer · 2013-09-18 01:45 · Score: 2

What exactly is the author of this story missing on his blackberry phone? Besides that, most android apps run just as well on a Z10 as they do on an android phone.
1. Re:Really.. the lack of apps? by AchilleTalon · 2013-09-18 02:00 · Score: 2
  
  Right, most reviews still refrain the same old thing over and over about BB lacking apps. It's not like the Apple Store isn't full of useless lame unmaintained applications neither. The size of your appstore doesn't matter. ;-)
  
  --
  Achille Talon
  Hop!
2. Re:Really.. the lack of apps? by UnknowingFool · 2013-09-18 02:11 · Score: 2
  
  Most likely the author doesn't pretend to represent everyone's needs when it comes to apps. I personally have no need for Candy Crush Saga but for some people it's a must on their next smartphone. With a larger app count, yes, there will be more crap but also there are more useful apps as well for everyone's needs.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
3. Re:Really.. the lack of apps? by xombo · 2013-09-18 02:44 · Score: 1
  
  Who really wants to sideload an Android app, though?
  I'm a developer and have a Z10 that I also no longer use, like the OP. Not once was I able to successfully side-load an application from Android, but did successfully build an app of my own (which was actually quite easy to build because of their tools for Chrome).
  They've gone out of their way to improve the development tools. Unfortunately, there's no significant market uptake. Additionally, the tools make the barrier of entry so low that almost anyone can package something up as an app. This explains the store of nearly 50,000 "apps" from one person.
  The app store can't be a major selling point until the product has established itself and shown that they've worked all the bugs out. I'm not saying an app store isn't necessary (it is). But, in their case, it's not something to advertise.
4. Re:Really.. the lack of apps? by Adult+film+producer · 2013-09-18 02:53 · Score: 1
  
  Not once? Maybe your usb cable was severed or you just didn't know how to.. (remember to put the phone into development mode.)
5. Re:Really.. the lack of apps? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 03:24 · Score: 0
  
  Well then I suppose candy crush addicts who bought an android device just for candy crush will be crushed when the find out the Z30 runs candy crush not just via the android import, but also through the browser. Android sucks, only one way to run apps. :(
6. Re:Really.. the lack of apps? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 05:07 · Score: 0
  
  You can do it over wi-fi. I don't get how people complain about sideloading when it is a breeze compared to jailbreaking or rooting (and a far less insecure practice). Is not clicking a couple of dialog boxes, that's true, but is not difficult and spotify and netflix work like a charm (the only two apps I really miss from android).
7. Re:Really.. the lack of apps? by iONiUM · 2013-09-18 05:10 · Score: 2
  As the author of the post, I can't predict what everyone will need (as someone mentioned below). If you want specifics, I need the timeplay app (Canada cineplex), and there is no .bar file for sideloading (and I'm too lazy to re-build it myself). In addition, I need Kakaotalk to talk to some Korean friends. And while the latest version (4.0.1) seems to sort of work sideloaded, there are a *lot* of disadvantages to sideloading. Here they are:
  
  - You have to know how to sideload. As a developer, it's "easy" for me, but it's not as easy as just going to an app store.. it involves enabling development mode, hooking the device up to the computer, finding a .bar file (or compiling one using the Android SDK), and then moving it over.
  
  - No Android EMU app can run in the background like other BB apps can. So, if you close it, it's gone, and can't notify you.
  
  - Many Android apps have exceptions when run on the EMU. Try Kakaotalk 3.8.3 (the one on bb10bars). Or the youtube bar.
  
  - Often when the Android apps do work, there is touch screen or other small annoying problems.
  
  Do I really need to go on? It's pathetic to expect "regular" users to put up with all that shit just to get access to a "normal" appstore, because no matter what you say (i.e. "well the BB appstore has everything *i* need"), it's seriously lacking apps.
8. Re:Really.. the lack of apps? by davster · 2013-09-18 10:38 · Score: 1
  
  timeplay is in blackberry world, I have it on my Z10
Hardware is easy by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 01:46 · Score: 0

we have always known this.
competition by Gravis+Zero · 2013-09-18 01:48 · Score: 1, Funny

With a lame OS, a terrible selection of apps and a mediocre hardware specs, I would say Windows Phone is going to have fierce competition for who has the worse smartphone. :)

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Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
1. Re:competition by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 01:59 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Have you actually used the OS for a while, or just sounding off?
  Half the new gestures in the new and "groundbreaking" iOS redesign are ripped straight from bb10. The OS is fast, smooth and its gestures are intuitive and useful. I switched from iOS 6.1 to use it as my daily driver, and whenever I switch between iOS, Android and BB10 i find myself instinctively trying the bb10 gestures.
  I've not found any apps I need that I don't have on the platform, and if i want, i can side-load Android apps as well (I don't bother though)
  Hardly a 'lame' OS.
2. Re:competition by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 02:09 · Score: 0
  
  I think the last word of your user name is about the correct score on an test for your understanding of operating systems.
3. Re:competition by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 02:10 · Score: 1
  
  The overall user interface experience, including ambiguous overlaying gestures is what put me off.
  I'm not the only one. I've watched a number of people try to 'get' the swipes and actions after using it for days. I appreciate that some people may like the design, but if there is overall rejection to it, something is wrong. Perhaps it was an issue with the actual devices, or software not responding well too, but there were plenty of times just trying to answer a phone call was nearly impossible.
  Put a physical back button on the Q10 too, and make it programmable.
  I wanted to want a Blackberry again, but was left frustrated by most of the experience with both the Z and Q. I think it was a step in the right direction, but lacking polish, and years too late again.
  If they continue a faster iteration now on the OS and devices, and if there is a next generation of devices... maybe I'll be on board again.
4. Re:competition by peter.kingsbury · 2013-09-18 02:14 · Score: 0
  
  Pot, meet kettle.
5. Re:competition by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 03:10 · Score: 0
  
  And the "groundbreaking" gestures in bb10 were ripped straight from Meego.
6. Re:competition by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 05:11 · Score: 0
  
  While you can point to the poor selection of Apps (never mind that you can run Android Apps - http://crackberry.com/how-run-almost-any-android-233-app-blackberry-10) and mediocre hardware (never mind that it provides 25 hours) , the OS is nothing to be sneered at.
  The gesture based Blackberry OS blows everything else away that I've seen - without question.
  You should play with one before you comment.
We don't need no stinkin apps by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 01:54 · Score: 0

"the biggest being a lack of apps." What apps? No really what is the killer application that makes the S3 the best phone? I keep hearing about how 'app' make the phone; I have an android, for work, you know how many apps I had to put on it 2, Firefox and Lync (disclaimer I don't use lync I just had to put it on there.) Personal phone, iPhone, I have maybe 10 applications that I use on a regular basis. You know what I'm going to look forward in the next phone I buy, build quality and provider service. I might be in the minority at this point but, once devices become cumbersome or burdensome they'll might have the same view(this is also why people left BB to began with.)
1. Re:We don't need no stinkin apps by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 05:05 · Score: 0
  
  you mean: YOU don't need many apps so others should not need many apps? you're funny.
Size by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 02:02 · Score: 0

First off, I would like to say that bigger is mostly better.....In engine's, women's bosums, CPU clock speed, guns, my dog, tractor's, and all kinds of good stuff.
But why do I want to carry a tablet in my pocket? My favorite phone so far has been my Nexus S. It was just the right size. Why do I need a freaking 5" screen?
1. Re:Size by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 02:08 · Score: 0
  
  First off, I would like to say that bigger is mostly better.....In engine's, women's bosums, CPU clock speed, guns, my dog, tractor's, and all kinds of good stuff.
  But why do I want to carry a tablet in my pocket? My favorite phone so far has been my Nexus S. It was just the right size. Why do I need a freaking 5" screen?
  Why do you need a phone that is 4.88 inchs wide (specs per GSM arena)
2. Re:Size by P-niiice · 2013-09-18 02:20 · Score: 1
  
  It's not that big a difference homeslice. And if you had it, you would want it foreever after. The screen spoils you.
WTF by KateMcGrath · 2013-09-18 02:18 · Score: 1

I want the N!!! Why are they announcing this weird phablet, when the N10 is gonna be awesome! RIM should focus on that..
1. Re:WTF by xombo · 2013-09-18 02:45 · Score: 1
  
  I think this is the N10. They have different names for the products prior to release.
2. Re:WTF by xombo · 2013-09-18 02:46 · Score: 1
  
  Nevermind, N10 is keyboard.
Re:So you dorks lovee you some Obama huh? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 02:20 · Score: 0

You must fucking hate him now that he's doubled it, right?
LOL at math fail.
From $11T to $16T isn't doubling.
If you want doubling, go look at the last 3 republican presidents. Reagan tripled it($1T to $3T), Bush doubled it ($3T to $6T), Junior doubled it again($6T to $11T).
Usage of the word Phablet shall by dywolf · 2013-09-18 02:21 · Score: 4, Insightful

Usage of the word Phablet shall be grounds for immediate incineration.

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The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
1. Re:Usage of the word Phablet shall by bluefoxlucid · 2013-09-18 02:39 · Score: 1
  
  Phablets have bigger problems. (Obligatory XKCD)
  
  --
  Support my political activism on Patreon.
2. Re:Usage of the word Phablet shall by grumpyman · 2013-09-18 02:43 · Score: 1
  
  That's exactly the way I felt when the word "blog" started flowing around. It hurt my head. Now? Not so much.
3. Re:Usage of the word Phablet shall by Minwee · 2013-09-18 02:46 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed. The correct term is "Phondleslab".
4. Re:Usage of the word Phablet shall by dywolf · 2013-09-18 02:50 · Score: 1
  
  I hear the word phablet and I think of Robin Williams doing scenes from an updated The Birdcage.
  Or even better, Hank Azaria doing them.
  
  --
  The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
5. Re:Usage of the word Phablet shall by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 03:33 · Score: 0
  
  Now? Not so much.
  No matter how long it's been, the word 'blog' will always be what I do on the toilet a few hours after eating a bowl of quality chili.
  Phablet? I'm done. I will literally, not figuratively, punch anyone saying 'phablet' in my presence squarely in the face.
6. Re:Usage of the word Phablet shall by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 04:01 · Score: 0
  
  Never liked "Phablet". I have been calling these "Palmlets" as they are small tablets the size of you palm. Of course they are also phones (identity crisis)
7. Re:Usage of the word Phablet shall by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 04:07 · Score: 0
  
  Where is the
  
  (Obligatory XKCD)
  ???
8. Re:Usage of the word Phablet shall by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2013-09-18 06:44 · Score: 1
  
  Phablet? I'm done. I will literally, not figuratively, punch anyone saying 'phablet' in my presence squarely in the face.
  So...you wouldn't kinch them instead? Way more effective.
  
  --
  Ezekiel 23:20
Phablet? by Esion+Modnar · 2013-09-18 02:21 · Score: 2

I prefer Tablone.

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They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
1. Re:Phablet? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 05:10 · Score: 0
  
  Tablone or not tablone, that is the question.
*looks at specs* by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 02:29 · Score: 0

*and compares with Note 3 and Z Ultra*

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
Re:So you dorks lovee you some Obama huh? by StoneyMahoney · 2013-09-18 02:30 · Score: 2

Let's chalk this one up to a CRT monitor flicker induced synaptic misfire and carry on with our lives as normal.
better? by grumpyman · 2013-09-18 02:42 · Score: 1

If it's about bigger battery and faster processor, then, "good luck" (same comment to other manufacturers). Seriously, smartphone has matured.
1. Re:better? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 03:53 · Score: 0
  
  It's odd that someone with such a low UID actually thinks any technology in the hands of the consumer today has matured.
  
  Hint: The 640k meme may make you laugh because it's attributed to Gates but the real reason you should know it is because it's a cautionary tale.
Nexus 5 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 03:04 · Score: 0

Meh. I'll wait for the Nexus 5.
Apps like what? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 03:37 · Score: 0

What sort of 'useful' apps are missing, exactly? I would imagine most reviewers are referring to big name licensed apps like Netflix but those appear on BB as well. Without specification it's difficult to take seriously.
4.97". Uhhh no. by nurb432 · 2013-09-18 04:36 · Score: 1

That is not a phablet. Nice try tho. Even 5" really isn't. and you need to get past 5.5
With a sub-5" phone, they are just playing catch-up with the rest of the world. ( other than Apple..)

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---- Booth was a patriot ----
1. Re:4.97". Uhhh no. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 04:44 · Score: 0
  
  Are you retarded? The Galaxy Note 1 pretty much created the "phablet" (retarded word, btw, don't use it - it's either a phone (you can put it to your ear and make calls) or a tablet (you can't)) market by itself, and it's 5.3".
Watch out, Samsung! by sootman · 2013-09-18 06:02 · Score: 0

Amateur hour is over! Blackberry's gonna come in and show you how it's done!
* I almost kept a straight face while typing this post.

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It's a stupid name... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-18 15:47 · Score: 0

for a stupid class of devices.