Worth the wait

I’ve been using the new BlackBerry Q10 for a week and so far I like it. Of course, my previous model, the 8700, was at least seven years old, so there’s lots new to learn and do. I like the keyboard. It’s crisp and responsive although the keys are much smaller than my previous model. Still, you hardly need to use the keys for emails. There’s excellent predictive software plus dictation to create your missives.

The price at Rogers for the hardware starts at $249 but there’s a $50 mail-in coupon. If you grumble, the associate finds another $50 but that’s it, taking the cost down to $149. I’m sure if you wait, it’ll drop to $99. After all, Walmart has been selling the Z10 for $99 for the past several weeks. I wasn’t happy with the $75/month package offered in the store so we phoned customer service and I was able to get it for $55 including plenty of MG plus unlimited minutes, local and in Canada, as well as voice mail and caller ID.

The general complaint is not enough apps but, so far, there’s plenty for me as a newbie. Even with some tutelage at the store it’s taken me the last week to set up my contacts, feel comfortable sending and receiving emails, using the phone, and generally getting up and running.

My only complaint is that the action required to close or operate whatever you’re in seems to range from having to plunge your thumb firmly up and across the touchscreen all the way to requiring the use of a more specific, deft touch. I’m hoping that I get used to that difference so that I don’t always spend more time closing an app or an action than I did using it.

In general, the Q10 is not sufficiently disruptive to knock competitors off their perch, but it may cause enough of the 75 million BlackBerry owners to upgrade so the company stays alive. For me, anyway, it was worth the wait. I can only hope the Mexican-made Q10 has sufficient quality to last as long as my previous workhorse.