TECH SPOTLIGHT

BlackBerry Z10’s touch-screen navigation a ‘swipe’ out

The BlackBerry Z10 trades Blackberry’s customary physical keyboard and small screen for a sleek, touch-screen smart phone .
The BlackBerry Z10 trades Blackberry’s customary physical keyboard and small screen for a sleek, touch-screen smart phone .

BlackBerry was once the jewel of the cellular market, until a certain touch-screen phone hit the market. Since then, BlackBerry has had a few hits (the Bold 2) and misses (the Torch). After a few mostly quiet years of so-so products, BlackBerry is trying to return to the top with a bang.

BlackBerry leaves behind its physical keyboard and small screen for a full-size, touch-screen smart phone. The BlackBerry Z10 has the look and feel of many other smart phones on the market, but with some pretty distinct differences.

The Z10 goes for simplicity. It has only four buttons - power, volume up, volume down and the mute/dictation switch. The left side contains mini HDMI and USB ports, and a headphone jack is located on the top.

The phone also includes an 8-megapixel camera with some nice features, such as a 5x zoom, burst mode (which takes several shots at once) and image stabilization. The photos are really nice quality, even in low light.

The Z10 has a wide, sharp screen with good color and text that’s easy to read, even at tiny sizes (like under the screen’s icons). The silicone coating on the back of the phone provides scratch protection and great grip. Even if you manage to drop the phone, the sturdy construction protects it without needing bulky cases.

BlackBerry has its own operating system, and the Z10 comes with the latest version. The operating system allows you to navigate menus and apps with various swipes. For example, swiping up and to the left docks whatever app you’re in on a separate page. This allows you to move from one app to another without having to close them. If you did want to close an app, you just go to the dock page and hit the little “x” in the bottom right corner of the app window. Those are the good parts of the phone’s navigation abilities. We’ll get to the rest later.

The phone also includes the Hub, which you access by swiping the screen to the right. The Hub shows all the latest messages on your phone, from text message conversations to software update reminders to events on the included calendar.

The phone comes with some nice tools to get you started. It includes weather, calculator, compass and file manager apps, as well as Maps, Remember (a memo app), and BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM. The messenger app lets you text directly with other BlackBerry users without using your cellular plan’s text-messaging service. The phone also includes popular third-party apps, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Foursquare.

The BlackBerry World app leads to a store where you can download or purchase more apps. There are quite a few free apps, and some of the most popular apps for iPhone and Android are available here for BlackBerry phones. However, the number isn’t nearly as vast as those for Android and iPhone. You shouldn’t have much problem finding the most popular apps or those for common tasks. However, finding more specific apps may prove difficult.

Overall, the Z10 is a nice smart phone. My biggest issue with the Z10 isn’t really with the phone, it’s with the software. Specifically, it’s with the navigation.

I know BlackBerry is trying to be different by not having a “home” button like nearly every other phone out there. Instead, you have to swipe the screen a certain way to return to the screen full of apps. That’s cute and all, but it’s not entirely practical. First, you have to swipe the screen correctly by swiping up then curving to the right. Yes, you can do it with practice, but there were still a few times when I just couldn’t get the screen to go where I wanted it. Maybe I’m spoiled by the physical home button on other phones but… OK, I’m spoiled by the physical home button on other phones. This one needs a home button.

The screen swiping does take some practice. Even so, I still had some difficulty getting the screens to move correctly. BlackBerry apparently built in the ability to move a screen over halfway. I guess the idea is to take a peek at your notifications in the Hub. It’s fine when that’s what you want to do. When it isn’t, it’s just annoying.

The new BlackBerry Z10 is a nice phone, but the navigation in the operating system is a lot more complicated than necessary. The phone has limitations in the app department, mainly because BlackBerry still has a long way to go to rebuild itself in the mobile marketplace.

BlackBerry may not be the top of the heap today, but the Z10 has potential. Fixing the navigation will go a long way in improving its chances.

Melissa L. Jones can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].

Where it’s @

The BlackBerry Z10 is offered through AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile for $199 with a 2-year contract. The phone retails for $549. More information is available at www.blackberry.com.

Business, Pages 19 on 04/22/2013

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