By: iPadfanzz staff on April 5, 2013
Pre-orders for the BlackBerry Q10, the second handset to be launched with the new BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system, have opened in the UK on Carphone Warehouse.
The SIM-free option is available for £579.95 ($880), which allows consumers to take the device elsewhere and choose their own call, text and data plan. You can also get the device for free, but on a two-year contract with Orange, O2, Vodafone and EE. BlackBerry says contracts will also be available from Three and TalkMobile, although at the time of writing they weren’t shown on the Carphone Warehouse website.
The cheapest way to get a Q10 is with Orange, where the phone is available for free with a two-year contract costing £36 ($55) per month. It includes 1GB of data, unlimited texts and 600 minutes. For 4G LTE, EE will charge £41 ($62) per month for two-years, with 1GB of data and a free BlackBerry Q10.
The device offers a square, super AMOLED, 3.1” screen with 720 x 720 resolution, offering a pixel density of 328 ppi. In other respects the phone is similar to the Z10 with the Snapdragon S4, 1.5GHz processor, 2/16/MicroSD RAM/internal storage/slot, 2/8mp camera, 4G LTE (and earlier) and 139g weight.
The keyboard of the new device is sports similar sculpted edges that the BlackBerry Bold phones use. The Q10 flaunts a fancier design along with an all-glass back plate, which has been reinforced by a resin weave for extra durability. Another bright point is that the Q10 boasts a bigger 2,100mAh battery, compared with the Z10's 1,800mAh power unit.
The new version will offer a real good option to old-school BlackBerry fans who prefer the satisfying click of keys when emailing and texting. BlackBerry is reported to have plans for more keyboard-sporting phones, with a rumoured cheaper BlackBerry R10 also in line to offer a physical keyboard later in the year.
