BlackBerry Z10

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BlackBerry Z10
BlackBerry Z10.jpg
BlackBerry Z10
Manufacturer BlackBerry
Slogan "Keep moving." [1]
Compatible networks LTE

PCS
CDMA
HSPA+
EDGE

GSM
Availability by regionJanuary 31, 2013 (UK)
February 5, 2013 (Canada)
February 10, 2013 (UAE)
February 22, 2013 (South Africa)
February 25, 2013 (India)
March 22, 2013 (US)
Predecessor BlackBerry Torch 9860
Related BlackBerry Q10
BlackBerry Z30
Type Smartphone
Form factor Slate
Dimensions130 mm (5.1 in) H
65.6 mm (2.58 in) W
9 mm (0.35 in) D
Mass135.4 g (4.78 oz)
Operating system Blackberry 10.2.1

Released January 28, 2014

Current: BlackBerry 10.3.3 (Released April 4, 2018)
CPU ARM 1.5 GHz dual-core
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus (MSM8960) (STL100-2 & STL100-3 & STL100-4)
Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 (STL-100-1)
Memory2 GB RAM
Storage16 GB flash memory
Removable storage Up to 256GB microSDXC [2]
Battery1800 mAH removable battery
Display1,280 x 768 px (0.98 megapixels) 4.2-inch (built on 71μm pixel) at 356 ppi, 15:9 aspect ratio
Rear camera8 megapixels, 1080p video capture
Front camera 2 megapixels, 720p video capture
Connectivity IEEE 802.11n-2009, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Micro HDMI, Micro-USB
Data inputs Multi-touch touchscreen, on-screen keyboard
Made inMexico/Canada
Website blackberry.com/blackberryz10

The BlackBerry Z10 was an LTE touchscreen-based smartphone developed by BlackBerry, previously known as RIM. [3] The BlackBerry Z10 was the first of two new BlackBerry phones presented at the BlackBerry 10 event on January 30, 2013. [4] The BlackBerry Z10 was followed by the Z30.

Contents

Development

BlackBerry's chief operating officer Kristian Tear and chief marketing officer Frank Boulben fought against co-founder and former co-CEO Mike Lazaridis to have the touchscreen Z10 prioritized over the Q10 which had a physical keyboard. [5]

Boublen was then responsible for and received "criticism for the marketing campaign that supported the Z10 launch, including a confusing Super Bowl advertisement which some board members hated". [5]

Both Tear and Boublen were ousted on November 25, 2013 by new CEO John S. Chen, whom weeks earlier had replaced Thorsten Heins. [5]

Software

The BlackBerry Z10 used the BlackBerry 10 (at the time running on 10.3.3) mobile operating system based on QNX. The user interface of BB 10 was based on the concept of direct manipulation, using multi-touch gestures. Interaction with the OS included a range of multi-touch gestures, all of which had specific definitions within the context of the BB10 operating system and its multi-touch interface. The Z10 came pre-loaded with a variety of default BlackBerry applications. [6]

The phone had a mobile hotspot functionality that could support up to 8 devices. [7] It accessed the BlackBerry World, an online application distribution platform for the BlackBerry OS. The touchscreen keyboard featured predictive text capabilities. [8]

The BlackBerry Z10 had an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Its camera software included a burst mode branded as "TimeShift". [9] [7]

The Z10 also featured voice control. [8]

Hardware

There were four SKUs for the Blackberry Z10, corresponding to the North American carrier band distribution and international versions. The LTE version of the Z10 featured the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus (SoC) which had a dual-core CPU running at 1.5 GHz, and an Adreno 225 GPU for LTE-capable units. [10] For markets where LTE was not supported (international model), BlackBerry released the Z10 with the Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 (SoC) which had a dual-core CPU running at 1.5 GHz and a PowerVR SGX 544 GPU. [11] It used a STE M5730 modem.

The outer housing of the Z10 frame was made of plastic combined with an internal stainless steel metal frame, while the back cover was made of plastic and protected by rubber finish. The on/off and volume button were made of metal.

It was available in black or white colour variants. A limited red edition was available for qualified app developers. [12]

Availability

In Canada, the BlackBerry Z10 was available at Bell Mobility (including Virgin Mobile Canada), Mobilicity, Rogers Wireless (including Fido), SaskTel, Telus Mobility (including Koodo Mobile), Wind Mobile, and Vidéotron Mobile. It went on sale February 5, 2013. MTS mobility started a presale for the Z10 with an unknown launch date for the phone. Eastlink has also released the Z10. [13]

In South Africa the Z10 became available on February 22, 2013 [14] on MTN. Vodacom had announced their intention to make the Z10 available, the day before on 21st Feb 2013.

In Nigeria, the Z10 became available on March 1, 2013 on carriers Etisalat, Glo, Airtel and MTN Nigeria. [15]

Claro República Dominicana announced pre-order date of March 7 on Facebook and sale on March 14 in the Dominican Republic. Orange Dominicana also announced pre-order of March 7 with a launch of March 14 on their Facebook page.

On February 10, 2013, prepaid provider and T-Mobile US-MVNO Solavei became the first in the United States to offer the BlackBerry Z10. [16] In March 2013, T-Mobile USA announced that the Z10 would be available for business pre-order on March 11, with pick-up on March 13. The store wide launch was scheduled for March 27. On March 11, AT&T announced a March 22 release date for the device, with pre-orders beginning March 12. Verizon announced pre-ordered for March 14, with a release date of March 28. [17]

Mexican Telcel announced pre-orders for Z10 on March 21 on Facebook and finally released on April 2.

In Australia, major telcos Optus and Telstra announced their intention to stock on March 25 and March 26 respectively. [18]

In New Zealand, Vodafone NZ made the BlackBerry Z10 available for sale on June 18, 2013. [19]

In India, the Z10 was launched on February 25, 2013.

In Taiwan, Taiwan Mobile made the Blackberry Z10 available on 15 April 2013. [20]

Model comparison

ModelSTL-100-1 (RFG81UW)STL-100-2 (RFH121LW)STL-100-3 (RFK121LW & RFF91LW)STL-100-4 (RFA91LW)
Countries Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Spain, Turkey, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, El SalvadorAustralia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, BrazilCanada, Mexico, United StatesUnited States
Carriers/Providers Ncell, Vodafone Spain, Orange España, Yoigo, Turkcell, Avea, Vodafone Turkey, Celcom, DiGi, Maxis, U Mobile, Smart, Sun Cellular, MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Etisalat Nigeria, Glo, Vodacom, MTN South Africa, Cell C, Telkom South Africa, STC, Mobily, Zain Saudi Arabia, Etisalat UAE, Du, Claro Colombia, Movistar Colombia, Tigo, Movistar Chile, Entel, Digitel, Movistar Venezuela, Taiwan Mobile Altel, Celcom, DiGi, Maxis, U Mobile, Optus, Telstra, A1, 3 Hong Kong, PCCW Mobile, Smartone Hong Kong, Globe Philippines, M1, SingTel Singapore, StarHub, Vivacom, Orange France, SFR, Bouygues, Vodafone, O2 Germany, Deutsche Telekom, O2 (Ireland), Vodafone Italia, TIM, WIND, KPN Netherlands, T-Mobile Netherlands, Vodafone Netherlands, Orange Polska, Play, TMN, Vodafone Portugal, Optimus, EE, O2 UK, Vodafone UK, 3 UK, TIM Brasil, Claro Brasil, Oi, Vivo Bell Canada, Rogers, TELUS, Telcel, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile US, Wind Mobile, Vidéotron Mobile (Québec) Verizon Wireless
2GQuad band GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)Dual band CDMA Cell and PCS (800/1900 MHz)
3GQuad-Band HSPA+ 1, 2, 5/6, 8 (850/900/1900/2100 MHz)Tri band HSPA+ 1, 5/6, 8 (2100/850/900 MHz)RFK121LW: Quad band HSPA+ 1, 2, 4, 5/6 (850/1700/1900/2100 MHz)
RFF91LW: Tri-band HSPA+ 1, 2, 5/6 (850/1900/2100 MHz)
Dual band CDMA(EVDO) Cell and PCS (800/1900 MHz)
Dual band UMTS (900/2100 MHz)
4GN/AQuad band LTE 3, 7, 8, 20 (1800/2600/900/800 MHz)Quad band LTE 2, 5, 4, 17 (700/850/1700/1900 MHz)LTE Band-13 (700 MHz)
Weight135.4 g136 g136.3 g137.5 g
SoC Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus (MSM8960)
CPU1.5 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 1.5 GHz dual-core Krait
GPU PowerVR SGX544 + Vivante CGPU Adreno 225
ISMI Prefix35401005:RFG81UW; 35703305:RFG81UW35489705:RFH121LW35292105:RFF91LW; 35292205:RFF91LW; 35388705:RFK121LW; 35428905:RFK121LW; 35625105:RFK121LW99000124:RFA91LW; 99000124:RFA91LW

See also

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