Will the New Blackberry Z3 Appeal to the Masses?

BlackBerry, the Canadian smartphone maker has always been recognized as one of the premium smartphone manufacturers with its own operating system (OS). Off late the company has been struggling with its finance because of the huge losses it has incurred in the recent past. Now it is relying most on the introduction of the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which seems to be its latest strategic move. According to the recent updates released by the company, Foxconn would be manufacturing its devices and the BlackBerry Z3 is the proud outcome of the collaboration. BlackBerry Z3 is the first BlackBerry smartphone that has been manufactured by Foxconn and is one of the lowest-priced BlackBerry 10 devices available in the market. The pricing strategy and positioning of the Smartphone clearly portrays the business idea of the Canadian manufacturer that accommodates features and elements to appeal the masses. Priced at $260 (approx.), the smartphones is available in some of the regions and is expected to be released globally very soon.

Let us read about what the company has offered to its customers this time:

Design

Featuring the same design philosophy used in the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Z30, the BlackBerry Z3 also features sharp corners, plastic build, and a 5 inch display. Possessing a conventional square design, the plastic-made device weighs 164 grams, slightly lighter than the BlackBerry Z30 at 170 grams. Supported by the large 5 inch display, the device looks quite competitive without any Windows and Android competitors available within the same price range. The notable change in the build of BlackBerry Z3 is the placement of the power button, which has now been shifted along with the volume rocker and mute key.

Display and QWERTY keyboard

Featuring a 5 inch IPS display, the latest smartphone by BlackBerry comes with a QHD (960x540) resolution display and supports decent viewing. The device follows the same ‘Think BlackBerry and think QWERTY’ approach and is equipped with a touch-screen keyboard to cater your browsing, chatting, texting, and other such requirements. The added advantage is that the BlackBerry Z3 is supported by local dialects and allows a user to easily type in English and Hinglish. Users can also make use of 'In-letter' and 'In-column' styles to get word predictions on letters or on a column above the keyboard and make their texting experience better. As far as display is concerned, the closest competitors include Moto G and the Xiaomi Mi3 that are offering a 720p and a 1020P display, respectively.

Camera

The camera has never been a forte for BlackBerry and the BlackBerry Z3 isn’t an exception to that. Coming with a 5MP rear camera and a 1.1MP front-facing camera, the device is capable of clicking decent pictures. The rear-facing camera has been paired up with various features such as auto-focus, Time Shift mode, and some great filters to meet user requirements at large.

Performance and battery

Powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8230) dual-core processor, this latest BlackBerry smartphone is well-supported by a 1.5GB RAM and an 8GB Flash memory. The BlackBerry Z3 supports only four apps in the active panes and is the cheapest BlackBerry 10 OS device, presently available in the market. Backed by a 2,500 mAh battery, the device supports up to 15.5 hours talk time, 16.2 days standby time, 84 hours audio playback, and 10 hours video playback.

With so many features and hardware configuration equipped, the BlackBerry Z3 could have been an interesting proposition in the smartphone market. The only thing that can disappoint the users is its price as users can get much advanced products like Asus ZenFone 5, Moto G, and Xiaomi Mi3 within the same price range. Being credible to the handsets made available by different vendors, market strategists are considering this smartphone as a slightly overpriced device and expects to impress only BlackBerry loyalists.