If you haven't heard, BlackBerry is in a spot of bother. Massive delays to BlackBerry 10 and a muted response to its last batch of handsets have meant that many have fallen out of favor with the company.
And while the announcement that the Canadian firm is being sold for $4.7 billion has probably steadied a few hands, considering Google paid a whopping $12.5 billion in May 2012 in order to acquire Motorola it's not massive money.
Couple this with the recent haphazard rollout of BBM on iOS and Android, which was pulled to address a few teething problems, and what you have is a brand that's got issues.
With so much going on, the BlackBerry Z30 launch could be one of the most important in the firm's history.
In this highly volatile tech world, we love to see comebacks. So, while fighting out against the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5S is going to prove difficult, we reckon the Z30 could be BlackBerry's saviour, and be a precursor for things to come.
Here's why...
The BlackBerry Z30 is ideal for business
Smartphones used to be devices that were the preserve of the business elite. This was great for BlackBerry as it was a world that it could dominate. The QWERTY keyboards and emphasis on email and messaging meant that IT departments fell in love with the company as it was ideal for the mobile worker.
We can credit, or blame, the iPhone for the wounds to the BlackBerry brand. Indeed it was the iPhone that made smartphones cool, and created the face of the mobile market that we see today.
Put simply, BlackBerry failed to keep up with the changes. BlackBerry had made many inroads into the consumer market, but with the rise of the App store and "theres an app for that" coming with iPhone OS 2, RIM was in trouble.
The lack of apps and the lack of a truly decent touchscreen device made BlackBerry devices uncool - kids simply didn't want them anymore.
BlackBerry's new Z30 addresses these issues and takes the firm back to its business heart, aiming to create "enterprise and prosumer-centric targeted devices".
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said at the announcement of the Z30, "Going forward, we plan to refocus our offering on our end-to-end solution of hardware, software and services for enterprises and the productive, professional end user".
Aimed at the business sector, the BlackBerry Z30 comes fitted with dual profiles (one for home and one for work), a micro HDMI port for easy connection to TVs and projectors, as well as the BlackBerry Priority Hub which curates your messages and call data and shows you what is most relevant to you.
The BlackBerry Z30 is, then, a device that is well suited for business users. BlackBerry Enterprise backs up the BB Z30, providing a more than capable service to challenge the Samsung Knox software as it can manage both Android and iOS devices as well.
High Security functions are also available, so enterprises can remotely manage camera, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi functions, and manage the use of social media feeds and applications.
The BlackBerry Z30 is well connected
Being 4G enabled might not seem like a big deal, global markets have had 4G LTE support for a while now, but it is still one of the hot topics in the UK as leading networks O2 and Vodafone have both just joined the fray.
They both now compete with the more established EE, as well as Three, who are due to start 4G broadcasting before 2013 is out.
Being famed for having decent signal reception, continuing this legacy is vital for BlackBerry. 4G is the future of the mobile web as it allows for faster internet browsing speeds and faster downloads, both of which are vital to stay connected to the office while out and about, and to stream videos while commuting.
To back the 4G connection up, the BlackBerry Z30 is fitted with its newly acquired Paratek Antenna technology, meaning fewer missed and dropped calls as it "dynamically tunes itself to the environment". Couple this with 1800/2600/900/800 MHz support; the BlackBerry Z30 will work on every UK network.
Dual band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE and NFC also come as standard on the BlackBerry Z30, future-proofing the Z30 and ensuring that it will should connect to the raft of wearable gadgets that are on the way.
The BlackBerry Z30 is a keyboard king
A top-class touchscreen device needs a quality keyboard. BlackBerry's offering on the Z30 is a really decent affair. In fact, the keyboard is built upon the very popular Swiftkey SDK.
We are massive fans of Swiftkey at TechRadar; it is one of the best keyboards out there for word correction and prediction. Seeing it powering BlackBerry keyboards, as well as Samsung's latest round of keyboards is a welcome touch.
As any Android user will tell you, the openness of the system and the customisability allows for the installation of custom keyboards. This is something that isn't possible on both iOS and BB10. It is worth mentioning, though, that the majority of users tend to stick with the stock option.
The 5-inch screen of the BlackBerry Z30 also goes a long way to help the keyboard, with screen sizes being something that is often discussed. We commented in our iPhone 5S review that the keyboard felt "very cramped for typing these days".
And let's not forget, BlackBerry created their brand around the physical QWERTY keyboard. As we said, the BlackBerry Z30 might not be the phone to totally reverse the ailing brand, but combine a strong touchscreen presence and a strong physical presence and BlackBerry will be on to a winner.
The BlackBerry Z30 has decent specs
Looking at the tech specs of the BlackBerry Z30, you might seem a little underwhelmed by the lack of a massive quad or octa-core processor, and there is no Full HD screen.
These things might be attractive to heavy mobile gamers, as well as those that spend forever watching movies on their devices, but BlackBerry isn't targeting this market.
What the BlackBerry Z30 does come with, is a more than sufficient 1.7GHz dual-core and 2GB of RAM. A HD Super AMOLED screen, although not Full HD, adorns the face of the Z30, and a quad-core Adreno 320 GPU sits behind.
This combination helps BlackBerry push the battery that extra mile, with a quoted talk time of around 18 hours, which is almost double that of Apple's quoted 10 hours. Given that a lot of complaints about the modern smartphone is how power hungry they are, a decent battery to power the BlackBerry Z30 is a more than welcome feature.
MicroSD support is also very welcome. Samsung has long supported microSD, however its exclusion is noticeable on the HTC One, and it has never been available on Apple's iPhones. Providing 16GB of internal storage can sometimes seem a little low, especially if you're storing large documents, so support up to an extra 64GB will give the BlackBerry Z30 the edge over two of its nearest rivals.
The BlackBerry Z30 is kind on the wallet
Launching against other flagship devices, namely the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5S, BlackBerry knows that it needs to keep itself competitive. A launch price of £529 might, then, seem a little steep.
Available from free at £32 a month, the BlackBerry Z30 launches directly against the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4. All three devices are considerably cheaper than the iPhone 5S, with tariffs starting at £42 a month.
SIM free, the HTC One is the cheapest, at around £480, with the BlackBerry Z30 coming in at £529, and the Samsung and iPhone both at around £549.
The BlackBerry Z30 is also a lot cheaper than previous BlackBerry launches. The BlackBerry Q10 launch Price was £579.99, and the Z10 launched on EE contracts of £41pm and a £49.99 upfront fee, and on Vodafone at £42pm, with a £29 upfront fee.
In a changing market, with IT departments and consumers becoming more and more budget conscious, BlackBerry desperately needed to adapt and the Z30 highlights just how much it has.
Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/why-the-blackberry-z30-could-save-the-phone-giant-1185073
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