Blackberry Z3

Verdict

This is where things get tough. Priced at Rs 15,990, we think it’d have been much simpler to recommend the Z3 wholeheartedly if it had been priced slightly lower, but then, we’d like all phones out there to be lighter on the pocket. Compared head on with other smartphones in the same price bracket, the BlackBerry Z3 looks like it’s fighting a losing battle, especially when you take pure specs into account. Android has always been BlackBerry’s nemesis, and compelling options like the Moto G (review), and the ASUS Zenfone 5 (review) don’t make things easy. Thanks to the crowded landsca... Read Full Verdict

This is where things get tough. Priced at Rs 15,990, we think it’d have been much simpler to recommend the Z3 wholeheartedly if it had been priced slightly lower, but then, we’d like all phones out there to be lighter on the pocket. Compared head on with other smartphones in the same price bracket, the BlackBerry Z3 looks like it’s fighting a losing battle, especially when you take pure specs into account. Android has always been BlackBerry’s nemesis, and compelling options like the Moto G (review), and the ASUS Zenfone 5 (review) don’t make things easy. Thanks to the crowded landscape, there are tons of other alternatives too, including Micromax Canvas Turbo, Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus and Alcatel One Touch Idol X+ (first impressions). Then there’s the Xiaomi Mi 3 (review in pictures), a smartphone that looks like it can blow everything else out of the water. It’s not easy to compete with that. Then there’s BlackBerry’s own Z10, which is selling for as low as ~Rs 17,000. The price difference between the two siblings is negligible, and admittedly, the Z10 does offer better specs, though its screen size is smaller at 4.2-inches. However, the Z10’s battery life isn’t as good, and for most, that could be the deciding factor.  The BlackBerry Z3’s key strengths lie in its sturdy build, smooth performance, and above all, superb battery life. The platform may not offer as much customisability or app variety as Android, but it does have a few areas where it excels. The email experience, which was one of the pillars of BlackBerry’s success in the past, is still great on BB OS 10, and by extension, on the Z3. The interface is quite intuitive, and many of its features such as the keyboard’s text prediction, pop-up notifications, etc are extremely useful. The one thing that takes it to a different level is BlackBerry Hub though, which just makes things extremely convenient for anyone who leads an active digital lifestyle. Not only does it provide a bird’s eye view of all your email and social accounts at a single location, it’s also very feature-rich and flexible. For anyone with multiple email and social networking accounts, this feature would be very useful to have. We hate to admit it, but this aspect points more towards executives, though it’d be useful to other types of users too. Having said that, the Z3 does offer FM radio and media players supporting a variety of audio and video formats too, so it isn’t as if you’ll be left wanting as far as entertainment on the go is concerned. The Z3 then, is an option that you should definitely consider when looking out for an affordable workhorse.