BlackBerry Z30 Review - Hardware

So we have seen reviews from Phonearena, CrackBerry et al, I managed to get my hands on the BlackBerry Z30 & did a test drive. What follows is a review based on 2 days testing hence it will not be complete but will be adding more features as I discover them. So here goes.

In The Box

Here you will find the phone, a USB cable, 2 pin charger, a set of headphones and depening on egion you can get the UK 3 PIN charger. You will find that there is not battery because the Z30 has a non-removable battery, the first on a BlackBerry Device.

The Boxed Accessories

Setting Up The Phone

 

This is very easy if you have BlackBerry Link or Desktop Manager software, just connect your old phone and initiate a device switch. For step by step instructions on how to do this, Click Here. You will get step by step method of doing this.

One thing I found about the BlackBerry Z30 that will likely annoy you is removing the back cover to insert Micro-SD card and Micro-SIM card. The cover is not made to be removed many times so it’s made to fit well and that means you will need nails to open it, unfortunately I had cut mine down to the base so I had nothing to work with. I also check on the internet to see if there is a trick to do it and I found something here courtesy of CrackBerry but still that was not enough. After I had opened it I decided to take some pictures so when someone faces the same problem they can refer and know what they need to do.

Facing Down/Latch Contact Areas

 

In this position the phone is facing down, in Green is the left cover latch and in red is the right side latch. So to open put your finger in the opening where you place your finger nail then slide it to the right or left until you lift off the latch for one side, repeat the same going to the other side.

 

Latch Contact Areas on Cover

 

Above is the screen shot of the cover itself showing the right and left latches and their positioning so that when you open it, you will have a sense of how much your finger should move before initiating a lift. Of course if you have longer finger nails this might not be much of a problem to you.



 

The Full Rear View

 

Above is a snap shot of the back of the Z30, of course the battery is hidden below as it is non-removable. The Micro-SIM & Micro-SD card slots are also marked for easy reference, the departure from previous BlackBerries is that instead of the gold chip/connectors facing down, you now insert them facing upwards.

Initially thought of making it a one review but didn’t want to bore you with a lengthy one so I thought I will do hardware. I have left out some stuff which I believe the referenced reviewers delved much into. So let’s take a break and we will look at what’s inside the phone in terms of usability.

 

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