It is finally here. The phone BlackBerry users have been waiting years for has finally arrived, equipped with the iconic Bold keyboard and running a modern, touch-friendly operating system, BlackBerry 10. Do physical keyboard fans finally have a viable modern smartphone option? Will this be the device that sends users running back to BlackBerry?

First a quick rundown of the specs: the Q10 is equipped with a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 2100mAh battery, LTE, and the BlackBerry 10.1 operating system. It is every bit a BlackBerry, just packed with modern internals.

HARDWARE

The Q10 feels immediately familiar yet somehow new. It is one of, if not the only device with a physical QWERTY keyboard on the market today, differentiating it from the hordes of glass candy bars lining store shelves.

As far as aesthetics, the Q10 looks and feels like a BlackBerry. I liken it to the lovechild of a Bold 9900 and Z10, as it features design elements from each. The entire front face and QWERTY keyboard recall the 9900, while the back plate, camera, sleep/wake button, and volume rocker are all borrowed directly from the Z10. Speaking of, you know that unique “glass weave” backplate BlackBerry has been touting for the Q10? Turns out that is exclusive to the black model; the white version features the same dimpled, rubberized back as the Z10. I’m quite fond of the rubber back actually. It feels great to hold, and provides the durability of plastic while not being slimy and glossy.

The short and stout body of the Q10 also means it’s a little thicker than most smartphones these days, but that’s a good thing. The thickness gives you more to wrap your fingers around, and helps you comfortably position the phone in hand for typing. The Q10 is by no means fat though; at 10.4mm thick, it falls between the svelte iPhone 5 and hefty Lumia 920. The device also has a nice weight to it, at 139g.

The Q10′s display is a 3.1-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, with a perfectly square 720×720 resolution. I’m pleased to report that the screen is wonderful, with extremely sharp text and detail thanks to its 328ppi pixel density. My one complaint with the display is that it seems quite dim compared to other smartphones, even at maximum brightness with auto-brightness disabled.

I will also complain about the bezel around the screen, which is too small for some of BlackBerry 10′s essential gestures. The “swipe up to go home” gesture feels the most awkward, since there isn’t much space below the screen on the Q10 - it could have used a larger “gesture area” below the display.

As for that QWERTY keyboard, let me preface this by saying I am not a physical keyboard kinda guy. For the last seven years I have been thumb-typing on touchscreens, and I’ve gotten much faster and more accurate on glass than I am on physical keys. That being said, the Q10 has a very nice keyboard. No, I can’t type very fast on it yet, but it feels great and works well.

The keyboard design has been carried over from the Bold 9900, though the keys on the Q10 are now laid out in a straight line rather than the old curved style. I still find my fat fingers manage to squash two or three letters at once, but for a practiced physical QWERTY user this is probably a non-issue. While the individual keys all touch each other, each row is spaciously separated with stainless steel frets. Bottom line: this is a classic BlackBerry keyboard. Diehard QWERTY users can jump right in and love it.

What’s old is new again is the perfect way to describe the Q10. It looks and feels exactly as you would expect a new BlackBerry to, with some updated design elements and more modern specs.

PERFORMANCE

Battery life on the Q10 is top-notch. The 2100mAh battery breezes through a full day of use on LTE with ease, and standby life is even better. Speaking of, LTE speeds were excellent on the Q10, and Rogers’s LTE network pulled in a consistently strong signal. Oh, and it also makes phone calls and sends text messages.

One of the things that impressed me most about the Q10 was software performance. I found BlackBerry 10 to be extremely fast and responsive on the Q10, a noticeable improvement over the Z10. Scrolling felt much faster throughout, especially in the browser and Twitter apps. I’m not sure whether to attribute this to the smaller screen (does pushing less pixels lighten the load on the CPU, thereby increasing speed?) or if BlackBerry has made some significant performance enhancements to BlackBerry OS 10.1.

The camera is also much improved over previous QWERTY BlackBerry’s, but it still isn’t as good as some other high-end smartphones out there. Some photos looked a little washed out, and not as vibrant as they should. Photos also appear grainy in even mildly low-light situations, and sharp edges were lacking detail. Still, the 8-megapixel camera will suffice for those coming from an older BlackBerry, and is perfectly capable for snapping a quick shot to post online.

Q10 test shot (click for full size)

SOFTWARE

On the software side, not much has changed since the Z10 came out in January. The Q10 ships with BlackBerry 10.1 preloaded, which includes some new features and hardware keyboard-specific functionality, which I’ll discuss here. For a more in-depth review of BlackBerry 10 as a whole, check out our BlackBerry Z10 review from February.

One of the new hardware keyboard features included in BlackBerry 10.1 on the Q10 is Quick Search, which allows you to perform a number of actions or searches right from the home screen. To activate Quick Search, you just start typing, much like the old Just Type feature from Palm’s webOS. You can perform a web search, device search (to find an app, song, or message), or even send a text message, email, or make a call right from the home screen. It’s neat, and could be useful for people who need to get things done fast.

Of course the highlight of this device is its messaging features. I stand by my previous assertion that BlackBerry HUB is one of the best messaging solutions on any smartphone - this has always been BlackBerry’s forte, and HUB delivers on that legacy in BlackBerry 10. In BlackBerry 10.1, BlackBerry HUB has been updated to include PIN to PIN messaging (aka. BlackBerry Messenger), so now you can truly keep track of all of your conversations in one place. Having instant access to all of your messages across every important platform - SMS, email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and BBM - from anywhere within the OS is a really amazing feature. If you’ve been holding out for the physical keyboard, you likely spend a lot of time typing and messaging, and you will undoubtedly love BlackBerry HUB.

Since the Q10 features a perfectly square 720×720 pixel screen, apps are shrunken down to fit. While it may look a little strange at first, everything works perfectly - even some App World apps like Neatly, a Twitter client, and Angry Birds are optimized for the square display.

Speaking of, the app ecosystem is still the biggest problem with BlackBerry 10. While it is improving - notable apps like Skype, Kindle, WhatsApp, The Wall Street Journal, and Amazon have all launch in recent weeks - there are still some major holes in the lineup, and the quality of apps is not up-to-par with competitors.

WRAP-UP

Passing judgement on the BlackBerry Q10 is a difficult task, because I believe the market for such a device is extremely narrow. The people who will buy this phone are those who still have an old BlackBerry, and are looking that familiar physical QWERTY keyboard, messaging capabilities, and security features. In that case, the BlackBerry Q10 is perfect. It is the best BlackBerry ever made, better even than the Z10 because it embodies everything you expect from a BlackBerry.

However, my earlier conclusion about BlackBerry 10 still stands. I see no differentiator, no killer feature, and no added value in the platform over what iOS and Android offer. Most people have already graduated to one of those platforms, drawn in by their extensive and exciting media and app ecosystems. For those people, the Q10 basically doesn’t matter.

It seems clear that, for now, BlackBerry will remain a “professional” device, used and beloved by business users the world over. For them, the BlackBerry Q10 is the one to buy.

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