It’s no secret that I’m a die-hard fan of the iPhone. But I’m open to trying new gadgets. I had the chance to play with the BlackBerry 10 demo last year. I learned about some of the new features on the device and was blown away! I wrote about the 5 cool things you’ll want to know about the BlackBerry 10. At the end of January, I wrote about the official launch party.
Then I was offered the final product to test drive for two months from my friends at Telus. I was completely surprised (you can ask them) and excited..but I have to admit I was a little scared.
I’m a pretty loyal person by nature…so as I hold this new device in my hand, I can’t help but feel like I’m about to have an affair on my iPhone. Not that I know what that feels like, of course.
But I’m very curious about the BBZ10 and what it can ultimately do. Could it sway me to make a switch? My husband said, “don’t think about that, you’ve been given this opportunity to play around with it for two months, just use it and decide later.” Will it do what I need it to do and how fast will I adapt to it? Working in social media there really is no downtime. There is no taking it slow so this baby has got to deliver and tutto pronto!
BlackBerry was always considered a business device for the corporate world and known for it’s slam-dunk security system. iPhone was always the device for the creative types. But in the past couple years other devices have been gaining on Apple including the Samsung Galaxy SIII and Note. The competition is only getting better so, BlackBerry knew it had to step up to the plate.
I was little overwhelmed at first. Questions ran through my head constantly but I’m a “jump in with two feet” type. As mentioned, this device was offered to me for review purposes. So far, Telus have been holding my hand and have been walking along side with me to ensure I’m getting what I want out of this device without any pressure. I’ve been reaching out as the average Jane consumer and asking for help from their customer service reps via Twitter, Facebook, and call centre. I will also be heading into an actual Telus store (Yorkdale) for a One-on-One Learning Session once I’ve figured out as much as I can on my own (I’m about there now). They’ve also been busy creating YouTube learning sessions on some of the specific features of this device and will be posting them up on their website with great tips to get the most out of the device. They’ve already created a great introductory video for anyone who has a BBZ10 or is contemplating getting one. You can link here: BlackBerry Z10 Telus Learning Session
I have to admit that I’m feeling a bit like a rockstar since I’ve received this beauty. Everywhere I go everyone wants to touch me the BBZ10. It’s got that cool factor that it didn’t seem to have before. But I’m not surprised by the curiousity. Creative types are just as eager to see what it can do as are corporate types.
So, what have I discovered so far? I was most excited about the StoryMaker App that is exclusive to the BBZ10. It took me about 1 minute to piece this together. Here’s my first video of my little guy’s first time EVER on skiis..and his first run down the bunny hill. (shameless proud mommy moment)
I’m also excited to be able to have the ability to have my personal and work profiles separate on the device. Now I won’t (nor my will my kids) mistakenly email my work contacts anything we shouldn’t. I love the HUB feature on the BBZ10. You can quickly take a peek to see if you’ve got new emails, Facebook and Twitter notifications without having to shut the other down or open any other browsers. Plus, it’s fast and powerful. You can run 8 apps at once and I’ve put that to the test already. It’s solid.
As for APPS I’m still downloading them. There are some popular ones still M.I.A. but it’s a matter of time that those will be available (um….hello, Instagram?) I was concerned about losing my entire iTunes library and having to start from scratch but apparently there are APPS that will help sync those as well. I’ll have to figure that out soon…you know, ’cause I’m totally digging JT’s new song.
The TIMESHIFT ability on the camera is still the WOW factor that everyone wants to see. It basically captures a few seconds when you take a photo and then you can select what moment you’d like to save. Handy for eyes closed or tongue out photos of the kids. You can go one step further and manipulate individual faces in one shot.
Here I am into week 3 of the BBZ10 test drive. So far, so good! I’m having a lot of fun with it. There’s a lot to learn about this device..but then again, it does so much more than I expected….except make dinner. Will someone create an app for that please!
What do you want to know about the BBZ10?
This post is not sponsored nor was I compensated. I was provided with a BlackBerry Z10 for review purposes.