Software

We can talk about hardware all day long but what we’re all really here to see is how well BlackBerry 10 stacks up, right? We come bearing good news: it’s really fast and fluid, thanks to the 1.2GHz processor and 2GB of RAM. We also like several of the new features BlackBerry added to the experience, including BlackBerry Peek, a revised BlackBerry World store and BlackBerry Hub.

The software is gesture based. You can swipe up at any time to unlock the screen. You can also swipe up (with the phone on) to return to the home screen at any time. In addition, you can swipe up and move your finger to the right – this activates BlackBerry Peek – and “peek” into your BlackBerry Hub. BlackBerry Hub is your unified inbox of notifications from email, BBM, text messages, social networks and more. The gesture interface certainly took some getting used to, however. We found that we weren’t completely adjusted until we had used the Z10 for six days or so.

Your main home screen is populated by open apps, and each is active in what it displays. You can see missed calls and texts, for example, or highlights from the BlackBerry World if that’s open. If you swipe to the left, you’re greeted with the standard array of applications in a grid, much like on most smartphone platforms these days. We do wish that BlackBerry kept the old QNX and webOS option to swipe apps off of the screen to close them, but instead you’ll need to make a deliberate poke to an X on the corner of each open app.

Speaking of apps, BlackBerry rebranded its app store to “BlackBerry World.” You can download movies, music and TV shows and it’s a much better experience than the company has ever offered before. There are some big name apps, but generally we were disappointed by the 70,000 apps that are available at launch. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Foursquare are all there, but Instagram and other favorites are still missing. It’s still a young platform, though, and you can sideload Android apps using CrackBerry’s handy guide.