BLACKBERRY Z3 REVIEW/SPECIFICATION

I also had a bit of trouble at times using the swipe gestures from the top and bottom bezels. It wasn’t often, but when it happened it was certainly frustrating. Lots of swiping with no reaction. I assume it’s just due to the way the display is designed and all flow together, but I’ll see how much it happens and/or annoys me going forward.
Overall the Z3 feels extremely solid. It’s essentially one big piece from head to toe, and it doesn’t feel at all “cheap” or that it won’t last. It’s made with durable materials and it in for the long-haul.

Display

Overall the Z3 has a nice display. the LCD screen lights up bright on all 5” and I don’t really have any complaints. The only issue I ran into was using the device in direct sunlight, but that’s something you’ll run into on a lot of devices. Colors are sharp, whites are bright and everything looks good. The pixel based resolution of the Z3 is 540×960 but through the magic of upscaling, the scaled resolution is the exact same of that of the BlackBerry Z30 which is 720×1280. The glass also stretches from edge to edge thanks to the design of the Z3, giving you more screen and less bezel.

Camera

One place where the Z3 falls short is the camera. It’s obviously not built as a photo-taking machine, but it still could stand to be a bit better. The 5MP rear camera does an okay job of getting decent images providing the settings are right, but the 1.1MP front camera really isn’t good for too much — especially taking good photos. Both will serve their purpose of snapping quick images or using video chat however, but sadly you won’t be getting any masterpieces from the Z3 camera. The camera does have Time Shift mode and some great filters though, so that definitely adds some points — and hey, at least it’s got auto-focus.
A quick shot from the Z3 and Z30 for comparison (Z3 of the left, Z30 on the right):

Typing

Being a device for Indonesia, Bahasa Indonesia is ready to roll on the Z3 keyboard. Thankfully the BB10 keyboard is awesome so you can easily add in English (or any other language) and seamlessly switch between them while typing. The Z3 is also equipped with local dialects as part of the language, i.e. Basa Jawa and Basa Sunda, which enable the keyboard to understand the words in those two local dialects. As a result, you will be able to type in multiple languages such as English, Bahasa Indonesia and Basa Jawa or Basa Sunda simultaneously.

The virtual keyboard on BlackBerry 10 is still one of the best on mobile. Here you’ll find plenty of options for auto-correct and word prediction, and you can take full advantage of the swipe features that we’ve loved since we first saw them.

Apps

The good thing about the Z3 is that there are already loads of apps available. Any app with a Z30 variant will be fitted to the Z3 and ready to roll. So that means thousands of apps can be used right off the bat. BlackBerry World has all of the latest apps that Z3 users will be looking for. Apps for travel, lifestyle, music, video, games and news are all there.
Thanks to BlackBerry OS 10.2.1 there is now an even greater set of apps available for the Z3. Android apps can be installed OTA (over the air) directly to the device, eliminating the need to hook up to a PC to sideload. That means popular apps like Instagram, Path or other that aren’t available in BlackBerry World can be used on the BlackBerry Z3 with no noticeable differences. You’ll still have to seek out the APK files for these apps, but there are some great resources available as well as third-party apps stores like Snap that help out in that area.

BBM

The Z3 is rocking the latest version of BBM, so that means BBM Channels & stickers are ready to go. Indonesian users love stickers, so having them ready to roll out of the box will be a huge benefit. The users that will be buying the Z3 are doing so for the communication factor (more so than gaming, apps, photos etc) and having so many communication features within BBM will be a huge bonus. Out of the box the Z3 has BBM chat, voice, video with screen sharing, groups, BBM Channels and stickers. An exclusive Indonesia sticker pack will also be available at launch for a limited time from local artist Susiyo Saptoadi representing Punakawan Characters.

Instant Previews

Instant Previews are new to OS 10.2 and really add a lot to the notification experience. Rather than just having an audible alert and LED, Instant Previews allow for some notifications to show a short dropdown banner across the OS, letting you know just what message has come in. These previews work for email, Twitter, SMS, Facebook and BBM. Messages like even allow for quick replies right from the notification, without having to leave whatever app you’re currently using.

General	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100
	SIM	Micro-SIM
	Announced	2014, February
	Status	Available. Released 2014, May

Body	Dimensions	140 x 72.8 x 9.3 mm (5.51 x 2.87 x 0.37 in)
	Weight	164 g (5.78 oz)

Display	Type	Capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	540 x 960 pixels, 5.0 inches (~220 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes

Sound	Alert types	Vibration, MP3 ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

Memory	Card slot	microSD, up to 32 GB
	Internal	8 GB, 1.5 GB RAM

Data	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes
	Speed	HSPA+
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	v4.0, A2DP, LE
	USB	microUSB v2.0

Camera	Primary	5 MP, 2592 х 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging
	Video	1080p
	Secondary	1.1 MP, 720p

Features	OS	BlackBerry 10.2.1 OS
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8230 Snapdragon 400
	CPU	Dual-core 1.2 GHz Krait 200
	GPU	Adreno 305
	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity
	Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM, BBM 6
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	FM radio
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	Yes, MIDP 2.1
	Colors	Black
		- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - SNS integration - BlackBerry maps - Organizer - Document viewer - Photo viewer/editor - Video editor - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/FlAC/WMA player - MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input

Battery		Non-removable Li-Ion 2500 mAh battery
	Stand-by	Up to 384 h
	Talk time	Up to 15 h 30 min
	Music play	Up to 84 h

Misc	Price group

BlackBerry Z3 Review