We all figured what they were trying to do with the BlackBerry Q10. It’s basically appealing to BlackBerry loyalists who enjoy that body type and the QWERTY keyboard. The question is, does that keyboard hold up to what’s going on in 2013, where most phones have landscape keyboards or no keyboard at all.
Similar to the BlackBerry Z10, the Blackberry Q10 has a lot of the popular social media apps, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Foursquare as well working directly with the BB 10.1 operating system.
BlackBerry Q10 – It’s Mostly About the Physical
Now let’s get to the physical of this bad boy! So when you see the BlackBerry Q10, it looks very very familiar to the old BlackBerry Bold.
The screen size is 3.1 inches, Super AMOLED display. That display gives you a 720 x 720 resolution. That’s a high resolution for such a small screen size.


Inside the BlackBerry Q10
BB 10.1 OS Software on the BB Q10
Experience – Using the BlackBerry Q10
Surprisingly enough the BlackBerry Q10 flowed between apps smoothly. It might be the 10.1 OS update or maybe some inside hardware optimizations. I do prefer a touch screen keyboard as I have been using them for about two years now, but the QWERTY keyboard on the blackberry Q10 was familiar enough where if you really needed a QWERTY keyboard I would definitely recommend this phone. When using the keyboard you will fall right into place and slants on the keys help navigate very well.
It’s sad to say that the blinking BlackBerry LED like still has me powerless. Every time I saw it, I’d have to check the phone.
Keyboard Changes and Typing on the BB Q10
While the BlackBerry Q10 is strikingly similar to the bold 9900 there are many keyboard changes.
The most obvious change is the top row that is missing. The top row has the control buttons. The five buttons were: the call button, the BlackBerry logo menu button, the trackpad button, the back or undo button, and then hang up button. Also the keyboard was kind of curvy on the old BlackBerry bold but on the new BlackBerry Q10 the keys go straight across.
While the typing experience is different on the Bold 9900, typing on the Q10 is still a good experience. The keys have little slants that make it very easy for you to type without making errors. I barely made errors and I’m not used to a keyboard.
I thought I would be typing a lot faster given that there was a physical QWERTY keyboard. But I think I type faster on a touchscreen keyboard. The way it click-clacks is a lot better though. It’s not as noisy and annoying as the old BlackBerry Bold and old BlackBerry Curve. However it has enough click noise to give you assurance of typing, which I believe it’s what most people like full QWERTY keyboards for; the assurance of the button being pressed.
Is the BlackBerry Q10 does not have that row of command keys going home and going back, things like that are more gesture-based maneuvers. That is kind of hard and difficult to do with the 3.1 inch screen. The gestures start at the bottom of the screen, which is right above the top row of the keyboard. You have to “swipe up” for example to go home. That can be a little hard to do with that little space to start your swiping up gesture. It’s not really a big deal for me, but some may find it annoying. It’s definitely a learning process. Given that the BlackBerry Q10 has the QWERTY keyboard you would think they would at least put the home key to give the familiarity, but I guess they’re trying to merge the best of both the touchscreen and physical keyboard worlds.
Overall using the BlackBerry Q10 was more of a “to-do work related tasks” experience I did not feel compelled to watch videos, or download a lot of apps. I’m an app addict. I mostly used the main apps which were Twitter and Foursquare is a pretty much have a very fitting user interface with the BlackBerry 10.1 OS.
Using the phone in the summer wasn’t bad. I could see the screen decently on very bright summer days. Using the phone regularly wasn’t a hassle either due to the sturdy build and the material of the back cover.
Camera on the BlackBerry Q10
Verizon Wireless Service on the BB Q10
Battery Life on the BlackBerry Q10
Cue the BlackBerry Q10?
I feel that once you just see the Q10 you will decide whether you want it or not. If you must have a keyboard ( I know some who’ve yet to convert to full touch screen) the BB Q10 is definitely the way to go. You have a responsive smartphone with a sturdy build. The QWERTY keyboard will make you feel right at home. While there’s a bit of a learning curve with the gestures, it’s definitely worth the effort if you’re upgrading from an old BlackBerry. These little changes are good BB users, embrace them. If the QWERTY keyboard isn’t your thing, the Z10 makes a better choice as you have more screen room for gestures and it should have the BlackBerry 10.1 OS update available.
Have you tried the BlackBerry Q10? Are you afraid to move on from the classic BlackBerry Bold?