Event Coverage

Hands-on: BlackBerry Z30

By Sidney Wong - 26 Sep 2013

Hands-on: BlackBerry Z30

BlackBerry Joins the 5-inch Party

Joining the ranks of the BlackBerry Z10, Q10 and Q5 is the Z30, the company's latest offering to keep pace with the highly competitive smartphone market. Here at BlackBerry Jam Asia 2013 in Hong Kong, we had a chance to go hands-on with the Z30 and compare it with the Z10.

 The Z30 has the largest battery and display ever on a BlackBerry device.

 

Design and Handling 

The Z30 feels great in the hands, which doesn't come as a surprise since BlackBerry's premium devices generally boast solid build quality. Ironically, we find the handling of the Z30 to be a tad better than its 4.2-inch Z10 sibling despite its slightly thicker and heavier chassis. 

The BlackBerry Z10 (left) and the BlackBerry Z30 (right).

Seen here are the 9mm thin BlackBerry Z10 (top) and the 9.4mm thin BlackBerry Z30 (bottom).

As you can see from the photo above, the Z30 has a different finish on its rear compared to the Z10. While the Z10 has a dimpled, soft material on its rear cover, the Z30 sports a matte, three-dimensional carbon fiber back cover that is similar to the Q10. The change of material does not affect the grip of the device; we still find the carbon fiber back to provide a good amount of grip. The Z30, like most BlackBerry devices, features a removable back cover.

The Z30 (left) has a different rear cover compared to the Z10 (right). We're sure that both devices will have their fair share of fans.

The main highlight of the Z30 is its 5-inch Super AMOLED display. It's the biggest display ever on a BlackBerry smartphone, with the former champ being the 4.2-inch Z10. Its display resolution is 1,280 x 720 pixels, which works out to be 294ppi. Compared to the current range of 5-inch, Full-HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) Android flagship devices, the Z30 seems to lag behind. Nonetheless, we are still impressed with the quality of the display on the Z30. The Super AMOLED display exhibits rich and vibrant colors.

The Z30 has great viewing angles.

 

Software and Processor 

Running under the hood is BlackBerry's latest version of its operating system titled 10.2. According to BlackBerry, there are hundreds of refinements and several new features to help users be more productive on their devices. Two key  features are: 

  • BlackBerry Priority Hub: The new BlackBerry Priority Hub can now learn what conversations and contacts are most important to you by collecting priority messages across your email, social networking and other accounts. 
     
  • Access BBM anywhere on the phone: For normal messages, you can preview them as it arrives in whatever app you are using. You can decide to dismiss it, or respond to it by tapping on it and reading the full content. For BBM messages, you can instantly reply to the message without having to leave the app that you are currently in.

The Z30 is the first BlackBerry device to run on BB10.2 OS.

Powering the BB10.2 OS is a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro dual-core 1.7GHz processor and 2GB RAM. During our hands-on with the Z30, we find the user navigation to be smooth and lag-free. Keeping the device powered on is a 2,880mAh non-removable battery, which is the largest ever on a BlackBerry smartphone. BlackBerry claims that the battery is able to provide up to 25 hours of up-time. We shall reserve our judgement until we have a review unit to see how it performs in daily use.

Other specs of the Z30 include an internal storage of 16GB, a micro-SD card slot that supports cards up to 64GB, a micro-HDMI port for connection to HDTV or projector, an 8-megapixel rear autofocus camera with 5-element F2.2 lens, BSI sensor and LED flash.

 

Closing Thoughts

The Z30 comes across as a very decent smartphone, but we wonder if it is a step too late. With a market brimming with 5-inch Android flagship devices which outgun it in terms of specs, design and the app ecosystem, BlackBerry faces an uphill task of marketing the Z30. Nonetheless, we believe loyal BlackBerry users will be satisfied with what the Z30 has to offer. Here's a quick comparison of the BlackBerry Z30 and the current competition: 

BlackBerry Z30 vs. The Competition
  BlackBerry Z30 ASUS PadFone Infinity (32GB) HTC Butterfly S LG G2 Samsung Galaxy S4 Sony Xperia Z1
  BlackBerry Z30 ASUS PadFone Infinity (32GB) HTC Butterfly S LG G2 Samsung Galaxy S4 Sony Xperia Z1
Launch SRP
  • From S$828
  • From S$898
  • From S$988
  • From S$898
  • From S$998
  • From S$998
Operating system
  • BlackBerry 10.2 OS
  • Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
  • Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with HTC Sense 5
  • Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean (at launch)
  • Android 4.4.2 KitKat (updated)
  • Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
  • Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Processor
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro dual-core 1.7GHz
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core 1.7GHz
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core 1.9GHz
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core 2.26GHz
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.9GHz Quad-core
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core 2.2GHz
Built-in Memory
  • 2GB RAM
  • 2GB RAM
  • 2GB
  • 2GB RAM
  • 2GB RAM
  • 2GB RAM
Display
  • 5-inch / 1,280 x 720 pixels / Super AMOLED
  • 5-inch / 1920 x 1080 pixels / Full-HD Super IPS, 441ppi / Corning Gorilla Glass with HCLR Film (Anti-fingerprint coating)
  • 5-inch / 1920 x 1080 pixels / Super LCD 3 with Gorilla Glass 3
  • 5.2-inch / 1,920 x 1,080 pixels / IPS
  • 5-inch / Super AMOLED / Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (441ppi) / 16M colors
  • 5-inch / 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (441 ppi) / TRILUMINOS Display for Mobile
Camera
  • 8-megapixel rear autofocus camera with LED flash
  • Secondary: 2-megapixel
  • 13-megapixel / autofocus / Sony BSI sensor / F2.0 aperture / 5-element lens / LED flash
  • Secondary: 2-megapixel
  • 4-megapixel HTC UltraPixel camera with BSI, HTC ImageSense 2, f/2.0
  • Secondary: 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera / wide angle lens / F2.0
  • Rear: 13-megapixel with optical image stabilization
  • Front: 2.1-megapixel
  • Rear: 13MP / Autofocus / LED flash
  • Front: 2MP
  • 1080p recording @ 30fps
  • 20.7-megapixel / autofocus / F2.0 / 27mm wide angle / 1/2.3 -type Exmor RS for mobile CMOS image sensor
  • Secondary: 2-megapixel
Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, 4G LTE, NFC, micro-HDMI port, GPS with GLONASS
  • WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, NFC
  • Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, DLNA, Miracast, NFC, 4G LTE
  • Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP and LE, DLNA, micro-USB 2.0, 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, NFC, IR LED, micro-USB 2.0 (MHL 2.0), 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, DLNA, Bluetooth v4.0, NFC, micro-USB 2.0 (MHL), 3.5mm headphone jack
Storage Type
  • 16GB internal storage
  • micro-SD support up to 64GB
  • 32/64GB
  • 16GB internal storage with free 25GB Dropbox storage for two years
  • microSD support up to 64GB
  • 32GB internal storage
  • 16GB internal storage
  • microSD card (up to 64GB)
  • 16GB internal storage
  • micro-SD support up to 64GB
Battery
  • 2,880mAh
  • 2,400mAh
  • 3,200mAh
  • 3,000mAh
  • 2,600mAh
  • 3,000mAh
Dimensions
  • 140.7 x 72 x 9.4mm
  • 143.5 x 72.8 x 6.3 ~ 8.9mm
  • 144.5 x 70.5 x 10.6mm
  • 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9mm
  • 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm
  • 144 x 74 x 8.5mm
Weight
  • 170g
  • 145g
  • 160g
  • 143g
  • 130g
  • 170g
 

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