The BlackBerry Z3 smartphone is the Canadian company’s vehicle for its bid to revive its fortunes, at least in emerging territories where it used to enjoy a large audience in the past. This BB 10 smartphone has been equipped with a moderate array of specifications which are meant to keep its price down.
Secondly, BlackBerry has taken yet another uncharacteristic detour by manufacturing the phone in partnership with Taiwan-based Foxconn. It was first released only in Indonesia in the form of a Jakarta Edition, but has now found its way into India with its price set at Rs 15990. Whether this will grant it enough potential to compete against entry-level Android and Windows Phone devices is a matter that’s up for debate.
But it’s mostly the lost loyalists that BlackBerry will want to bring back with this phone. Besides, there’s the one big change slated for this fall which will allow Android apps to run on the BB 10 operating system, giving users one more reason to give BlackBerry a second chance.
The Z3 grabs a decent design which mirrors that of the high-end Z30 flagship, granting it quite a premium feel overall. Its front surface is highlighted by a 5-inch display which reproduces its visuals in a 540 x 960 pixel resolution. At this price, you’ll expect the pixel density to be higher than 220ppi, but this limitation will need to be dealt with by all those willing to buy the smartphone.
A 1.2GHz dual core processor sitting atop a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset has been granted to the device. This setup has worked pretty well for many other devices in the past, so there’s no reason to believe that it’ll face any hitches on the BB 10 platform. It is accompanied by 1.5GB worth of RAM which is enough to handle heavy multi-tasking.
At a time when most entry-level handsets are bringing 4GB of storage along with them, the BlackBerry Z3’s 8GB flash memory is a welcome change. And then of course, there’s also its microSD card slot for those who don’t find that sufficient. This slot supports additional storage of up to 32GB.
Also Read: Motorola Moto E Android smartphone : Review of its best and worst features
A 5MP camera has been bolted onto the rear side of the BlackBerry Z3. Casual clickers won’t feel the need to ask for more, but photography enthusiasts won’t approve of it one bit. The fact that it’s an autofocus shooter will definitely give the Z3 an advantage over the Moto E and so will the fact that it grabs a front facing snapper.
The device packs inside it a 2500mAh non-removable battery, the performance of which can only be judged after using it for a while. Apart from all this, essentials like Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth as well as the usual array of sensors can also be found inside this smartphone.
The BlackBerry Z3 looks like a great device for loyalists of the company who aren’t willing to spend more than Rs 20000 on their next phone. But its price of Rs 15990 will make it incredibly hard for the device to compete with Android and Windows Phone gadgets.