AT&T BlackBerry Q10 Review

Our friends over at AT&T have sent us the BlackBerry Q10 for us to review. This is the second device to hit the market with the latest and greatest BlackBerry 10 operating system on board. The first device, as you may remember, was the BlackBerry Z10. You Can See Our Review Of The AT&T BlackBerry Z10, By Clicking Here. The biggest difference between the Z10 and the Q10, would be that the Q10 brings back the full QWERTY keyboard. This was what BlackBerry was known for, having one of the best keyboards on the market on all of their devices. This is the first time the legendary keyboard is paired with the BB10 operating system. Will the BlackBerry Q10 be your next smartphone? We will answer that in the full review which begins now!

Software

BlackBerry 10 is the latest and greatest operating system for BlackBerry’s. It is the newest operating system for the smartphone world and has some neat features. It brings back BlackBerry Messenger and many other features. When it first launched it did not have the largest application store out there. It was similar to Windows Phone 8 in that the store was still growing. BlackBerry world is still growing with applications, music, movies, books, and more. The Q10 still has the same awesome features the Z10 had and a new killer feature that is built-in to the software.

The user interface of BlackBerry 10 is a new look at BlackBerry and it is similar to other operating systems on the market. It is very easy to use and this will set it apart from other operating systems. The home screen now shows you the time, date, notifications, easy access to your camera, networks available, and more. I wish they let you swipe on the notifications so you could go right in the operating system. Hopefully this will come in a future update. The camera can be easily accessed, just simply hold down on the icon and wait for it to open. Or if you want to enter the operating system, simply swipe up from the bottom of the screen. Once you unlock the device you will be greeted by your applications. Out of the box on the AT&T variant you will get 4(four) pages with applications. If you swipe to the left you will enter BlackBerry Hub.  On the bottom of the display you will find the phone, page navigation, and camera application buttons. This makes it super easy to access the applications from wherever you are in the operating system.  If you swipe down from the top of the screen you will find easy to use settings. You can turn on turn Bluetooth on or off, turn WiFi on or off, turn notifications to normal or silent, access your alarm, or enter settings. The top bar will show you the time WiFi signal, network signal, the time, and battery levels. If you have applications open they will show up on the multitasking page this will automatically appear in between BlackBerry Hub and the applications pages. If you open an application you can exit the application by swiping up from the bottom of the display. If you want to close out of the application you can hit the “X” in the right hand corner of the box on the multitasking page for that application. This is a brief overview of the new User Interface in BlackBerry 10 on the Q10.

BlackBerry Messenger has been one of the best feature on every single BlackBerry that has come out. It is back on the Q10 and it is very welcomed. Not only can you still make free WiFi voice calls, but you can now video call over BBM. In fact you can even share your screen. Video calling with the AT&T BlackBerry Q10 is crystal clear and it truly was an awesome experience. Both the quality of the sound and video were great. You can thank the 2 megapixel camera on the front for the clear picture quality. When BBM video calling to a Z10 the quality is just as good. Video calling is not small on the 3-inch Super AMOLED display. The world-famous BlackBerry Messenger Emoticons are back as well and they still work great. You can easily share a voice note, photos, videos, files, contacts, appointments, and your location with your BBM contacts as well. When you are messaging with BlackBerry Messenger you can see when the message has been delivered and read. And of course you can see when the other person is writing you a message. BlackBerry Messenger is on of the best features on the Q10.

BlackBerry calls “BlackBerry Hub” the universal inbox, but they say it is more than that. This is one of my most favorite features of the Z10 and BlackBerry 10. It gives you a super easy way to manage all of your messages. You can easily access BlackBerry Hub from almost any application by swiping up and to the right. BlackBerry Hub works great and easily the best way to view all of your messages. You can compose a new message directly in BlackBerry Hub as well and if you don’t want everything combined into one simply tap the Hub button and then you can break it down to just viewing your email, Facebook, Twitter, and other messages. Let’s say your reading an email in BlackBerry Hub right from there you can reply, reply all, forward, mark unread, flag, file, invite the person to a meeting, add them as a contact, or delete it. BlackBerry Hub is by far the killer feature of BlackBerry 10 operating system, but it may not be the best feature of the Q10.

BlackBerry’s new feature to the software on the Q10 is “Instant Actions” and this makes great use of the full QWERTY keyboard on the device. This will allow you to get things done quicker by using keyboard shortcuts. For instance you can type “Tweet Hello” and it will open up a Twitter status box. From there you can preview your Tweet and then send it. You can do this all by just using your keyboard, there is no need to open up the application. This works with updating your Facebook status, text messaging, BBM-ing, and much more. Instant Action will let you type out your tasks and will let you get them done faster.

As you may remember the BlackBerry Z10 came pre-loaded with several applications from AT&T, the BlackBerry Q10 has no AT&T applications pre-installed at all. There are pre-loaded applications on the device, 4(four) pages worth of them, but none of them are AT&T applications. In the BlackBerry World store there is an AT&T featured section. This section features applications like AT&T Digital Life, AT&T FamilyMap, myAT&T, Device Help, MLB.com At Bat 13, and many others. Pre-loaded on the AT&T BlackBerry Q10 you get Contacts, Browser, Calendar, BBM, Text Messages, BlackBerry World, Remember, Docs To Go, Pictures, Music, Videos, Story Maker, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Maps, Games, YouTube, Voice Control, Weather, Clock, Calculator, Compass, File Manager, Box, Connect To Dropbox, Print To Go, Smart Tags, Settings, Adobe Reader, Phone, Camera, Setup, Help, Search, Phone, and Camera. Of course there are many more applications available for you to get in BlackBerry World.

Software Gallery

Hardware

The keyboard on the AT&T BlackBerry Q10 is great and I am very happy to be using a BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard again, although the one on the Z10 is pretty much identical. It felt like using the old BlackBerry’s again and it was very easy to jump back into using the physical keyboard. The keyboard on the Q10 is very clean, it runs straight across and each row is separated with a silver accent line. It is very similar to frets on a guitar and there is one fret going across the back of the device. The designer of the device thought of guitars when designing the device and made sure he got it right. The keys are very easy to use on the Q10 and overall using the keyboard is very enjoyable experience.

The AT&T BlackBerry Q10 runs on AT&T’s 4G LTE network! 4G LTE is up to 10 times faster than a 3G network, this means you will get very fast data speeds. Keep in mind that coverage depends on your specific location. Now, if AT&T 4G LTE is not yet available in your area you will be running on AT&T’s 4G HSPA+ network. AT&T’s 4G networks have an extensive backend and they have built up over many years. Thanks to a built-in Mobile Hotspot you can share your 4G connection with up to 8 WiFi devices. The BlackBerry Q10 has more connectivity to it than just it’s network. It features BlueTooth 4.0, Dual Band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Near Field Communications(NFC), and more!

The AT&T BlackBerry Q10 is a fast device and multitasking happens very quickly on it thanks to a mostly gesture based operating system. Inside the Q10 you get a 1.5GHz Dual Core Qualcomm Processor with 2GB of RAM. This is the same processor and RAM configuration found in the BlackBerry Z10 and it is very common in many smartphones. During my testing it really did not have any hiccups with the multitasking or using the operating system. If I had a lot of applications open in the background and was playing a game, it may have been a little slower. However, this was quickly resolved by closing out one or two of the applications. From typing with you fingers on the full QWERTY keyboard, it immediately appears on the screen. There is no delay with typing on the keyboard at all.

BlackBerry wanted to make sure you had plenty of storage options on the Q10. Let’s begin with your internal storage, inside you get 16GB of space. From there you can expand with a micro SD card in the micro SD card slot. If you want to use cloud storage, they have options for you as well. While there is no official Dropbox application for BlackBerry 10, they do have a connect to Dropbox application that is pre-installed. You can view files from your Dropbox and sync more files to your Dropbox. You can even create new folders and do some organizing right from your Q10. Another cloud storage solution, “Box”, comes pre-installed on the device as well. You have plenty of options for storing your data on the AT&T BlackBerry Q10.

The AT&T BlackBerry Q10 gets it’s power from the NX1. This is a battery that is custom-made for the BlackBerry Q10 and it is 2100mAh. It is not as long as the Z10’s battery, but it is just as thin and light. Meaning that if you want to carry around an extra battery, you could do so. BlackBerry sells many accessories for the Q10 and a few them of battery related. With average use I got around 9 hours of battery life, which was very nice. For someone who plays a lot games and is a power user, I would have to suggest you go for an extra battery. This way you would be safe if you do run out of power.

Camera

On the front of the AT&T BlackBerry Q10 you will find the 2 megapixel camera. This is very similar, if not the same, as the camera on the BlackBerry Z10. It performs just as well as the camera on the Z10 and it is great fit for BlackBerry’s or any mobile device for that matter. It features 3X digital zoom, this way you can get up close and personal with yourself. It can also act as a mirror in this way. It perfect for taking selfies of yourself or with a group of friends. One of the biggest features in BlackBerry 10 and in BlackBerry Messenger is that you can now make video calls in BBM. As I mention in the AT&T BlackBerry Q10 Camera Test below, the quality of my video in the BBM video call was great. This due to the fact that the 2 megapixel front facing camera on the Q10 records video in 720pHD. Even when video chatting with someone using the Z10, you could not tell a difference between the two video streams. BlackBerry has done a very impressive job with the quality of the 2 megapixel front facing camera.

On the back you have an 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash, this is pretty much the same lens on the back of the Z10 as well. It features Auto Focus and 5X digital zoom. There is not a dedicated shutter button on the camera application, you can tap on the screen anywhere and it will take the photo. While this does make it super easy take the photo quickly, focusing can take longer. But you can change how you focus in the settings of the camera application. Some of the images appeared a lot darker than what they looked like during the picture-taking. There was some overcast but, the sun was coming through. Overall, I was happy with the quality of the photos. Video recording in 1080pHD is great as well, you judge it for yourself in the camera test below.

Overall, I am happy with the quality of both the 2 megapixel front facing and the 8 megapixel back camera. They are both great shooters and BlackBerry did a great job with these lenses and the camera application. Time Shift is still the killer feature of the Camera application and I have yet to see any other device makes implement any tool like it. While Burst Shot is similar, Time Shift lets you capture the perfect every single time. I highly recommend you play around with Time Shift as it may make the decision about your next smartphone a lot easier. Check out our camera test and a gallery of images taken with the AT&T BlackBerry Q10 below.

Camera Gallery

Design

The AT&T BlackBerry Q10 has a very nice design and goes back to the original BlackBerry’s. It brings back the legendary keyboard that BlackBerry is known for, although the Z10 does have the best touchscreen keyboard on the market. The Q10’s main build is made out of a very durable plastic and some metal might have been thrown in there as well. The back cover is most certainly made out of a durable plastic. AT&T carries the black version of the Q10, while Verizon has the exclusivity to the white variant. However, I am a big fan of the Q10 in Black, it accents the frets that go around the device. These silver frets separate the different rows of keys and one goes around the back of the device. The designer was inspired by the frets on the guitar and I think it is one of the coolest features of the Q10. It adds a pop of color to the design of the Q10 as well. The AT&T BlackBerry Q10 comes in at just 10.35-millimeters thick and it weighs in at just 139 grams. It is very similar to the BlackBerry Z10 and other smartphones currently on the market. The Q10 feels very nice in the hand as well, it has a smooth back and is a great device to use. It feels very natural to use the BlackBerry Q10 for AT&T.

Now it is time for a quick tour around the device. Above the 3.1-inch Super AMOLED display you will find a LED notification light, earpiece, 2 megapixel camera, and a BlackBerry logo. Below the display you have one of the best physical keyboards to ever hit  the market and that is the classic BlackBerry Full QWERTY Keyboard that is separated by silver frets. Below the keyboard you will find a AT&T logo, this is the only AT&T logo on the device and for that reason it may seem like an international version. The bottom of the device will be home to a microphone and the main speaker for the Q10. The micro HDMI port and micro USB port live on the left hand side. While your volume rocker and preset button can be found on the right hand side. Your power/sleep button, more microphones, and headphone jack are on the top of the device. When you flip the device over to the back you will find the 8 megapixel back camera with LED flash, a silver fret, and the BlackBerry logo. You can take the back cover by sliding down on the panel underneath the silver fret. You have Near Field Communications or NFC built-in to the back cover. Under the back cover you will find the SIM card slot, micro SD card slot, and the BlackBerry NX1 Battery. The back of the device has a checkered carbon fiber pattern to it.

Bottom Line

The AT&T BlackBerry Q10 is the BlackBerry 10 device that many have been waiting for and you should be happy that it is finally here. Everyone who was waiting to upgrade to a new BlackBerry, the time has now come. The BlackBerry Q10 is here and it brings along the physical QWERTY Keyboard that you have been waiting for. It pairs with the latest and greatest operating system around for BlackBerry’s and gives it a nice 3.1-inch Super AMOLED display. You have a great 2 megapixel front facing camera and an even better 8 megapixel back camera. You have access to the super fast AT&T 4G LTE and 4G HSPA+ networks. Inside your Q10 is powered by a 1.5GHz Dual Core Qualcomm Processor with 2GB of RAM. To top off the Q10 it has great design and an awesome pop of color from the silver frets. Now is the time to upgrade if you have an older BlackBerry, the classic keyboard is here and it is paired with great hardware, a great design, and a great operating system. The AT&T BlackBerry Q10 retails for $199.99 with a 2-year contract or $584.99 with no contract. For More Information On The AT&T BlackBerry Q10, Please Click Here. We would like to thank AT&T for providing us with a copy of the “AT&T BlackBerry Q10”.