BlackBerry - Z10 Cell Phone (Unlocked) - Black

This phone is ok. It's just not as user friendly as an iPhone.

This is what the other guys should be selling in the "I don't want a phablet-size phone, but do want a touch-screen device" form-factor. BlackBerry has been much-maligned but the Z-10 is a nearly-perfect rendition of what a business-enabling, easy-to-use and incredibly productive -- and fun -- handset should be. This is especially true now, with the 10.2.1 firmware showing up which is easily-loaded on all Z-10 models, including this one. The QNX-based OS runs both BlackBerry 10 applications and nearly all Android apps under 10.2.1, except those that are paid in Google Play. And it does so as well as a native Android device in virtually every case. But you also get real integrated email, text messaging, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Foursquare in The Hub, which gives you all your messaging in one place with a consistent interface, a STABLE operating system that is mercifully free of bloatware garbage you can't remove (or must void the warranty to remove), integrated VPN support (for security) and device-level encryption (same), excellent Bluetooth and WiFi support (including 5Ghz "A" band Wifi, which most of the other brands omit) and more. Among other unique features are cloud storage integration that includes remote access to your PC's files from anywhere -- over a secure tunneled and encrypted link. Neither Android or IOS offer anything like it and the one time you forget a file on your office PC or Mac and need it in a business meeting this capability to retrieve it instantly will save your job. Internal cloud integration with both Dropbox and Box is offered and Box can be set to automatically mirror photos and/or videos taken by the phone up to the cloud immediately, including the ability to either restrict the sync to WiFi only or allow it to do so on a cell data connection. I run my own "cloud" storage for contacts, calendars and email -- and this is the first device I've had that allows me to do that without being tied to Google or similar. If you prefer it will also sync against Google's services, either in place of or seamlessly along with your own -- your choice. The current firmware and BlackBerry Link will also sync (via USB cable) with Outlook. I bought one of these on "Release Day" for much more than they sell for now and I liked it then even with the much-more-limited firmware that it came with originally -- and the higher price. But unlike the other brands that rarely if ever get a firmware update BlackBerry has gone from 10.0.10 to 10.1.0 to 10.2.0 and now 10.2.1 due to show up in January (and available now if you're willing to load a "pre-release") -- that's the fourth real, no-nonsense upgrade in capabilities and performance in nine months. No other manufacturer has ever cared about making their devices better over time than these guys and the improvements have not been incremental -- they're revolutionary. The camera works well and has "time-shift", HDR and burst modes. The latter is especially interesting as it appears there is no buffer limit nor does it slow down after a few shots. Stabilization is also offered, focus can be locked by holding the focus selection square until a lock appears and then dragging it where you want it to focus on (especially useful for video) and some of the firmware versions have "face-focus" capability as well. It accepts microSD cards as well; while they claim up to 64GB beware that the phone is finicky on brand and model; I use a 32GB stuffed full of music with some space left for my pictures and videos. Finally, most cellphones have screens that are utterly impossible to see out in full daylight.. This is pretty-much the only exception I've run across; the "auto-adjust" brightness (once you set the base level you want) works exceptionally well and gets bright enough to use outdoors. BTW Best Buy is wrong about this being a "3g" device -- the STL100-3, which is the model here, is a fully-enabled LTE-capable device that also works on HSPA+, HSPA, EDGE and GSM. And the LTE performance is unbelievable -- 40Mbps transfers, if your carrier can do it, are common. There's nothing else on the market that gets close in this form-factor. If you want the bigger screen then the Z-30 is the one to choose, but that's hard to find (Verizon-only in the States.) But if not, and I prefer this size as it fits nicely in my pocket without being a pain in the neck -- this is, in my opinion, THE device to buy if you're on AT&T, T-Mobile or any of the prepaid alternatives that use their networks.

Nice work by Blackberry. Looks like an artwork well designed. They have took all good things learning from both Android and iPhone. If only they had over the par battery life (like 3 days without charging), it could have given them an upper hand. Overall its a great phone. Hoping that the price goes down and their app-base goes up!