[finbaar]

Truly underwhelming. The hardware seemed very down market in the EE shop when I had a little play. The OS was okay but didn't seem anything special at all. The poor little thing seemed so dowdy next to the i5, S3 GNote2 and Lumia 920. It looked like the sort of thing that companies would give to people who needed a phone on a building site.

[denyo1977]

Only saw a dummy phone in Phones 4U. In general it looks like quite an improvement for BlackBerry. But compared to other phones it's doesn't provide anything new. Think it might have been too little too late.
Saying that, my other half already had that glow in their eyes again. And that after having the Torch disaster in the past.

[chenks]

it seems the general consensus at the moment is.... decent hardware, but poor OS.

[prking]

I had a look at one yesterday, the phone looks 'wrong' somehow - as though it ought to cost a lot less. Spec wise it seems ok but not flagship specs. As for the OS, well I don't know. Either it's going to be a bit of a learning curve and will turn out to be genius or its just illogical and different for different sake. Time will tell.

My summary - overpriced and untested OS.

[niceguy1966]

It looks a very plastic and poorly made case. The screen seems good and the os might be good once you get used to it.

Honestly, I think it is too little too late. Kids will like bbm in a nicer package. Corps will get no relief from employees wanting Android and Apple devices.

[pengam]

I purchased the Z10 on 1 Feb and find in the first instance difficult to operate but with a little care and tolerance it sorts itself out and when you know how it is very slick to operate. I say this coming from the traditional Blackberrys and I believe that it will be a winner but will take time to catch on.

[slick1two]

Originally Posted by pengam

I purchased the Z10 on 1 Feb and find in the first instance difficult to operate but with a little care and tolerance it sorts itself out and when you know how it is very slick to operate. I say this coming from the traditional Blackberrys and I believe that it will be a winner but will take time to catch on.

This won't be the top end BB 10 experience, they are still tweaking the software and customer feedback will be crucial in shaping the updates that will follow. I think they needed to first nail the concept down and get it functional. It's a new OS, it's not an update of the previous BB operating systems. This OS has new code, so it's going to take time, as Android and IOS did.

We'll see how it develops in the coming years, and what the hardware is like both in the design sense and spec wise. But for a first effort I think it's pretty decent. The key is to be able to flow, which is what BB keep emphasizing. To be able to get in and out of apps really fast and they have managed to do that. That is something to build on. Next would be tweaking the look and adding some bells and whistles as the OS matures it should get better with time.

Either way you spin it, it's a bit step up for BB users who haven't owned an Iphone or an Android device. Also read many comments all around the web, of people wanting to chuck their iphones for the Z10.

is this a changing of the guard? Well perhaps not, but I think BB will tap in their existing BB user base and get some new subscribers on board. That will keep them going, if they are able to use the revenue gained to go back in to polishing BB10 and improve upon it.

Initials reports are that the Z10 is selling well in the UK, and in Canada, Pre orders have pretty much sold out. The UAE are apparently pretty big on BB and are other parts of the world. The US of course has been a tougher nut to crack but we will see when the Z10 goes on sale there.

[chenks]

the problem is that Blackberry, or RIM, or whatever they decide to call themselves next week don't have the luxury of time to nail the OS.

[slick1two]

Originally Posted by chenks

the problem is that Blackberry, or RIM, or whatever they decide to call themselves next week don't have the luxury of time to nail the OS.

But if they shift a good number of handsets in the next few months, i'd say they will be hanging around a bit longer.

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderd...cts-z10-sales/

And then a short while ago, Misek published a second note writing that initial sales data from the U.K., where the Z10 went on sale yesterday, are encouraging:

Our initial checks indicate that sales in the UK are off to a strong start. Some stores had lineups out front with widespread sell outs of the White Z10 and limited stock of the Black Z10 […] We believe Carphone Warehouse is seeing widespread sell-outs while O2, Vodafone, Orange and EE are seeing robust demand. We estimate sell-in to be at least several hundred thousand units. To put that in perspective, the iPhone had first weekend sales of 5M+ in the U.S. The U.S. is five times larger so continued strong sales could bode very well for Blackberry […] Also, our checks indicate that pre-orders in the UAE and Canada have had a solid start. While this is not the crux of our call, these initial data points could provide some relief as many thought that the Z10 was DOA.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1150..._rt_mc_focus_1

First, you need to examine Ebay in the US. Phones are selling for $1700. I haven't seen this kind of off-market pricing since iPhone 1.

I took a walk down High Street Kensington in London today and walked into three stores:

Phones 4u:

The store has had numerous inquiries so far and are very surprised. One gentleman walked in with 12 BB 10 phones in a bag and looking to buy more (Black marketer.) Seriously, a black market for Blackberries? Give me a break.

EE:

(Everything Everywhere (TMobile and Orange UK))

This morning alone the store sold seven contracts and said this was a lot for them. There is a lot of walk-in interest too.

CarphoneWharehouse

This was the only vendor to sell the phone sim free, off plan. It is sold out of phones (most London CPWs are sold out, you can check inventory online). More interestingly, as of this morning, CarphoneWharehouse have stopped selling them sim free, off contract. Now this about-face, which is not even visible online as of 3 PM London time today (It still reads 'sim free available') should tell you that the largest phone retailer in the UK has been caught flat footed by the demand. (My experience is they accept the order and then email you back two hours later 'Sorry'. Try it

[chenks]

lets see how it looks one the hype has passed.

saying a shop has sold out of anything doesn't really tell much of a story unless they qualify it with the amount of stock they actually had. if they only had 2 then it's not impressive. if they had a few hundred then it is impressive.

the anecdotal story about one person buying 12 to sell on would suggest that maybe sales figures are getting distorted by these black marketers?

[psionic]

I personally like the look of it. But my gut feeling is that it will need to drop in price to achieve more sales.

[swordman]

BB I imagine has quite a strong core market with some very keen users but they will need to extend beyond that to remain competitive.

Those early figures don't mean much to be honest and you would expect it to sell well in UK where BBM is very popular.

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by prking

I had a look at one yesterday, the phone looks 'wrong' somehow - as though it ought to cost a lot less. Spec wise it seems ok but not flagship specs. As for the OS, well I don't know. Either it's going to be a bit of a learning curve and will turn out to be genius or its just illogical and different for different sake. Time will tell.

My summary - overpriced and untested OS.

Agree with overpriced, but untested is just plain wrong.

The OS is very definitely well tested; QNX has been in the Playbook for years, its been used by Nasa and the lions share of car systems is based on it. So if a wide range of applications for the OS is untested, then fine ...

I don't get the reviews that claim is to be let down by the OS, as not one of them has actually given an explanation. My only issue with it is that the swipe style interface was done better by Nokia on the N9. I do hope that BB10 takes off as it'll show Nokia where they went wrong - should have stuck with the N9 (especially as BB10 supports and uses QT).

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by niceguy1966

Corps will get no relief from employees wanting Android and Apple devices.

Its interesting you say that, as having moved from BB to an iPhone for work (we had a choice of BB, Android or iOS) is that both iOS and Android truly do suck as a corporate communication tool.

Sure, both iPhones and SGS3s make nice toys, but they are very definitely not as good as a BB on the core - making calls, sending messages.

[s7uar7]

I used to use a Blackberry on a BIS plan with Vodafone but gave it up in favour of an Nexus 4 for two reasons:

1) I was fed up with paying the £5/month Blackberry tax for a service that I didn't need.
2) The exchange rate used in the BB app store was £1 = $1. Although we're not talking a huge amount of money on a $1 app it just came across that RIM were taking the mick.

I understand that 1 has been changed with BB10 and there's now no need for a seperate BIS plan, but I'm interested to hear whether they've fixed the exchange rates in the app store.

[Stiggles]

Originally Posted by clonmult

Agree with overpriced, but untested is just plain wrong.

No its not. the QNX core itself is well tested yes, the rest isnt.

Originally Posted by clonmult

Its interesting you say that, as having moved from BB to an iPhone for work (we had a choice of BB, Android or iOS) is that both iOS and Android truly do suck as a corporate communication tool.

Sure, both iPhones and SGS3s make nice toys, but they are very definitely not as good as a BB on the core - making calls, sending messages.

What a load of absolute rubbish. Every Android phone i have had has been superb at making calls and sending messages. In fact, the most troublesome phone i ever had was my old BB...

You need to stop spouting your opinion as fact.

[slick1two]

Originally Posted by s7uar7

I used to use a Blackberry on a BIS plan with Vodafone but gave it up in favour of an Nexus 4 for two reasons:

1) I was fed up with paying the £5/month Blackberry tax for a service that I didn't need.
2) The exchange rate used in the BB app store was £1 = $1. Although we're not talking a huge amount of money on a $1 app it just came across that RIM were taking the mick.

I understand that 1 has been changed with BB10 and there's now no need for a seperate BIS plan, but I'm interested to hear whether they've fixed the exchange rates in the app store.

They have fixed the exchange rate now.

http://www.berryreview.com/2011/12/0...version-chart/

So basically anything that was $1 will be £0.75. Been seeing the 75p apps on my playbook the past week or so.

[s7uar7]

I remember seeing the link that you posted a while ago (it's from 2011) and I'm amazed that they've only just made the change in the last couple of weeks. £4.99 for Angry Birds on the Playbook felt like such a rip-off.

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by Stiggles

What a load of absolute rubbish. Every Android phone i have had has been superb at making calls and sending messages. In fact, the most troublesome phone i ever had was my old BB...

You need to stop spouting your opinion as fact.

No, I am not spouting opinion as fact. What I'm stating is based on real world usage, albeit in a corporate environment - not consumer, so I'm talking about people who are more likely to hammer the mail on their phone. And also feedback from close friends/colleagues who support the service - giving staff a choice of iPhone or Android has been a massive pain for them due to reliability.

Signal strength isn't as good on the SGS3/iPhone 4S that we're using at work as it is on the various BB devices in use. All on the same network.

E-mail works okay on the 4S and SGS3, but the BB just did it better (ie. the BB solution never brought down exchange due to unintentional DoS like attacks).

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by s7uar7

I remember seeing the link that you posted a while ago (it's from 2011) and I'm amazed that they've only just made the change in the last couple of weeks. £4.99 for Angry Birds on the Playbook felt like such a rip-off.

Aye, some of the "premium" games really are massively overpriced.

[finbaar]

Originally Posted by clonmult

No, I am not spouting opinion as fact. What I'm stating is based on real world usage, albeit in a corporate environment - not consumer, so I'm talking about people who are more likely to hammer the mail on their phone. And also feedback from close friends/colleagues who support the service - giving staff a choice of iPhone or Android has been a massive pain for them due to reliability.

Signal strength isn't as good on the SGS3/iPhone 4S that we're using at work as it is on the various BB devices in use. All on the same network.

E-mail works okay on the 4S and SGS3, but the BB just did it better (ie. the BB solution never brought down exchange due to unintentional DoS like attacks).

Sir, you are untitled to your opinion, even if it dates back to 2004. But I use a BB at work and it isn't good at anything. That's why we will be ditching BB later this year.

[Laurageebaby]

Originally Posted by chenks

the problem is that Blackberry, or RIM, or whatever they decide to call themselves next week don't have the luxury of time to nail the OS.

they changed their name once...!

[Laurageebaby]

I got my Z10 on Saturday, and I have to say, it's amazing! It took me maybe half an hour to get used to the gestures (if that) and it works perfectly and fluidly.

I have said that this is Blackberry's last chance with me, as I have had problems with previous handsets but (touch wood) it's going great so far!

The reason, I feel, that Blackberry's are better for use at work (apart from the Balance feature with this handset, which allow you to have two separate 'accounts'), is that they offer much better security, which my boss finds re-assuring.

[hutchingsp]

Most of the reviews I've read seem to imply that it is a good phone, and a good platform.

The bit that doesn't sit well with me is the price tag. At £500 it's up against some very heavy hitters with both a proven track record and the backing of developers.

I hope it does well as competition is good. I just suspect it may go the way of the Playbook, which regardless of how nice of an OS it may be, or how technologically proficient the hardware may be, is still on sale for £129 because it isn't Android or iOS and that's what people want right now.

[grumpyoldbat]

In my opinion, not having tried one yet, is that this is likely to be too late to fix BB's situation. They needed this OS a year ago. Now lots of people who were BB fans have moved on, mostly to Android.