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BlackBerry saves the best for last with its Z30

SINGAPORE — BlackBerry’s troubles have dominated technology headlines in recent weeks, and rumoured attempts from Google, Cisco, SAP and Fairfax to buy the company could see the brand disappear within the next few months.

SINGAPORE — BlackBerry’s troubles have dominated technology headlines in recent weeks, and rumoured attempts from Google, Cisco, SAP and Fairfax to buy the company could see the brand disappear within the next few months.

But that has not stopped the Canadian company from making what could possibly be their last smartphone a great device.

The BlackBerry Z30 is not the thinnest or lightest device of its kind in the market, but it does come with a carbon-fibre-like weave case which BlackBerry claims is twice as strong as the plastic used on other smartphones. In the hand, the plastic casing felt solid and did not creak. The phone was light enough to hold as well.

The Z30 does not boast impressive specs either. It has a 5-inch Super AMOLED display — the largest to be fitted onto a BlackBerry — that is hardly revolutionary.

Its dual-core, 1.7 GHz processor also pales in comparison to the quad-core offerings its more successful competitors are putting on the market.

Thankfully, none of these mattered as switching between apps was lag-free, while videos, images and text were clear and sharp. I could even reply to a message while it was overlaid on a video playing smoothly in the background. Its 2880mAh battery managed to last for about a day.

What I liked most about the Z30 was the BlackBerry 10.2 operating system which was pre-loaded on the device. It features a new notification system on its lockscreen that lets you see and reply to your emails, messages, BBMs and missed calls at a glance, without unlocking your device.

You can also filter messages based on contacts and apps you interact with the most via the Z30’s Priority Hub, which also lets you pin any email or text message to the top of the list so you won’t need to scroll down a long list of emails or messages.

It has also built an excellent on-screen keyboard that has an auto-complete feature that beats any of the ones I have used on Android phones.

The BlackBerry Z30 will please those who are constantly working on the go thanks to its great screen, battery life and excellent messaging features. But despite being the biggest and best BlackBerry device ever created, it just is not impressive enough to lure users away from Apple and Android smartphones and save the company. As a result, it just might be the last BlackBerry device we ever see.

The BlackBerry Z30 will be launched in stores today and retails for S$828 (without contract).

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