Blackberry Q10 Review - Buttons Are Back!

BLACKBERRY Q10 AT&T SMARTPHONE HITS THE STREETS

Attention Crackberry fans! I have in my hot hands a Blackberry Q10 smartphone complete with old school buttons right on the face, serving up data on the AT&T mobile network. Is this the comeback device for Blackberry?

I'm sure the execs at RIM (Research In Motion) hope that the Q10 pans out to be a contributor in their company's rebound. If the current loyal Blackberry user base gives it a chance, i believe this could be the device to save the ship.

Instead of pull-out or slide-out keyboards, Blackberry has taken this phone back to basics with the trusted traditional click-style keys that so many people came to love. I still know of Blackberry fans who refuse to switch to a touch keyboard smartphone.

But the Q10 has a surprise. Not only do you get the traditional physical keyboard on the face of the smartphone, you also get a complete touch screen with this device. That's delivering the best of both worlds. But will this bring back all of the former fans who grew to love their Blackberries?

I think it can. My first impression of this smartphone right out of the box was very positive. Once you figure out the gestures to manuver around the operating system, this phone is a whip. And there's no frustrating fumbling to deal with like you get with all-touch soft keyboards on current smartphones.

They have preserved the unique operating system environment of the older Blackberry devices, and it's simplicity is something to be appreciated. When my wife (a former Crackberry addict) saw this device, she considered dropping her Samsng Skyrocket to go back to her first love, a physical keyboard.

Hopefully I'll keep this phone out of her sight, so I can avoid switching her out in the middle of her contract period. Believe me, I don't want to pony up the cash to make that happen.

I used to be an avid Palm Treo user, owning a Treo 300, 600, and 650. I was about to buy a 750, but rumors started to swirl about the company's demise. But when the Palm Pre was released, I knew it was time to get off of the dying Palm bandwagon.

The jury is still out on whether or not RIM will make a full recovery. We don't really know the reason why investors dumped massive amounts of shares in the company during the latter part of June, 2013. But I hope the company makes a connection with their once loyal customer base with this new device.

Up until now, I've been avidly texting and writing emails with this device. This is a strongpoint with Blackberry's brand, and always has been. I'll be digging deeper into the operating system this week, and I'll have a full report for you soon.

Stay tuned, Blackberry fans!

Carlton Flowers
Keyboard Krusher