One of the things BlackBerry seem to have realized recently, is that people loved them for their physical keyboards (among other factors). With the release of the Z10, some old-school fans were left understandably disappointed – and now the company is trying to remedy the situation by releasing new devices which bring the BlackBerry brand back to its roots. Is the new Q20 enough to win back the hearts of those who’ve given up on the brand though?
The phone sees the return of not only the physical keyboard under the screen, but also the row of extra navigation keys, including the dialing buttons and the BlackBerry menu key. The keyboard layout seems to be the same as was used in the old BlackBerry phones (the ones running the BB7 OS), which should be good news for fans who’re looking for a familiar experience. At the same time, the company has also made some improvements to the design, making it more comfortable to use.
On the software side, the phone is running the latest version of BlackBerry’s BB10 operating system. Despite the initial criticism that the company faced for introducing yet another operating system into an already well-saturated market, critics were quick to change their opinion once they saw what BB10 was actually capable of. The new version of the operating system is a definite step in the right direction, although it still has the main problem that has been plaguing it since it was released – the app store looks a bit bare compared to what users can find in any other mobile operating system, even Windows.
Still, another entry into this market may not be that bad, because it could stimulate innovation, particularly if BlackBerry come up with some innovative ideas that the others will be eager to copy. It won’t be the first time it happens, and it’s certainly clear that BlackBerry still have some serious engineers and designers on board, who know how to develop a product which simply works well.
The price tag might seem a bit high for the average user, but it should be noted that this is a device meant more for business-oriented buyers, not for regular everyday use. It comes with some serious hardware that makes it more than capable of running powerful applications without much trouble, which, combined with the comfortable physical keyboard, should make this the perfect tool for writing long e-mails or documents on the go. Whether it will manage to establish a good position in the business market is a bit too early to say, but BlackBerry are definitely the one company with enough experience to pull off something like this at the moment.