When you think of a BlackBerry, you probably don’t think of an all touchscreen device, instead, you think of a Curve or Bold to buy. The company formerly known as Research in Motion (RIM) went back to its roots, with the release of its latest QWERTY handset. The Q10 has taken a long time to fully roll out to major carriers in the states, as AT&T recently began offering the device on June 21st. I’m not going to be cruel and hammer BlackBerry for making a portrait-QWERTY phone, because hey, someone has to do it, right?
But what I will say is the Canadian phone maker is playing to a smaller group of buyers by keeping this kind of form factor alive. The truth is, full-touch screen smartphones have all but cannibalized this niche handset market. The amount of ground that BlackBerry has lost to Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy S brand is stark.
However, the ones that have remained loyal to this classic form factor need to know if the Q10 is for them, and if it’s enough for them not to make the jump to the iPhone or Galaxy S 4.
Let’s find out.