A week after BlackBerry released the BlackBerry Z10 in 21 countries across the globe, AT&T announces its launch in the United States on March 22. Pre-order sales for the new smartphone will start on March 12. The Z10 is the first BlackBerry to have a full touchscreen keyboard and is also the first BlackBerry powered by the new BlackBerry 10 OS.
BlackBerry Z10 Running on AT&T’s 4G Network
The AT&T announcement also underlines their 4G network capabilities. In tests conducted in 2012, the AT&T 4G LTE network had an average download speed of 18.6 mbps, and achieved burst speeds of up to 57mbps. AT&T also has the largest 4G LTE network, as its area of coverage has a population of 288 million. AT&T will accept pre-orders for the Z10 for $199 with a 2-year agreement starting March 12. It will be available for consumers and corporate accounts through AT&T sales channels starting March 22.
The BlackBerry Z10 is a completely re-designed phone with a completely new operating system called the BlackBerry 10. The Z10 runs on a dual-core, 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 2GB RAM. For video it has an Adreno 225 GPU with a 4.2 inch-display screen resolution of 768 x 1,280 pixels for a 335 ppi pixel density. Internal storage is 16 GB, and access to additional storage capacity is provided by a microSD slot. The smartphone has two cameras: an 8 MP camera facing the rear; and a 2MP camera facing the front. It has a 1080p HD video capability.
Other Networks Supporting BlackBerry Z10
Other American telecommunications networks will also be launching the Z10 by the end of March. Aside from the Z10, BlackBerry will be releasing the Q10 later in the year. The Q10 will have the traditional BlackBerry keyboard. AT&T and Verizon have committed to selling both the Z10 and Q10. T-Mobile will sell only the Z10, and Sprint will sell only the Q10.
BlackBerry had a successful launch of the Z10 in other countries and it is optimistic that it will meet the same success in the U.S. market. In terms of smartphone OS market share, BlackBerry retains third place behind Android and iOS running on Apple devices.
Key Software Features of BlackBerry Z10
The main draw for corporate customers is the BlackBerry Balance technology which allows the machine to have two separate personalities for corporate and personal use. The smartphone’s data is partitioned to differentiate between the two. Between the two partitions there is no data sharing making for a more secure smartphone for corporate use.
Another innovation is the BlackBerry Hub. This is the BlackBerry communications center, which is readily accessible at the swipe of the screen. The Hub lets the user access all messages, from text messages and emails, in one app, which also happens to be always on and in the sidelines. When needed the user swipes the screen to access messages.
The new BlackBerry 10 operating system is based on Unix. The jump to the unix-based operating system allows more flexibility for BlackBerry in terms of adding new features to the smartphone and for the users to add apps as well. BlackBerry has made sure that there were enough apps for the BlackBerry 10 OS before the Z10 and Q10 were launched.
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