BlackBerry unveils the Z30 as its new flagship smartphone

(Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd launched its new Z30 flagship smartphone on Wednesday, as it battles to win back market share despite uncertainty around its future.

Once a pioneer in the smartphone arena, BlackBerry said last month it was weighing options that could include an outright sale, in the face of lacklustre sales for its new devices that run on the BlackBerry 10 operating system.

The long-rumored Z30 device, which is first being unveiled at an event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will be BlackBerry's new top-of-the-line device, taking the crown from the smaller Z10 that was launched early this year.

The new touchscreen device, which boasts a five-inch display and a 1.7 gigahertz processor, will compete against the likes of Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) new iPhone 5S and Samsung Electronics Co's (005930.KS) Galaxy S4, along with a slew of other devices that are powered by Google Inc's (GOOG.O) Android platform.

The company faces an uphill battle in generating interest in the new phone, however, given the lack of clarity around its future.

While the company has long aspired to make its BlackBerry 10 operating system the No. 3 smartphone platform in the market, the latest industry data indicates that Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) Windows Phone platform is in fact more likely to clinch that spot as its devices continue to gain ground.

Although the new line of BlackBerry devices has been well received by reviewers, analysts say the company lacks the financial heft to vie against industry giants like Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft, which boast massive marketing and R&D budgets.

Some analysts contend that Microsoft's move earlier this month to acquire Nokia's (NOK1V.HE) phone business and license its patents for 5.44 billion euros, poses another hurdle for BlackBerry, as the software giant is likely to redouble its catch-up efforts in the mobile device business.

But Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry, which is set to report its fiscal second-quarter results next week, appears to be sticking with its product roadmap for now, even as it reviews its alternatives.

The company, which touts the Z30 as its "biggest, fastest and most advanced smartphone" to date, said the device will begin to hit store shelves in the UK and parts of the Middle East as early as next week.

The smartphone will go on sale with select carriers and retailers in other regions over the remainder of the year, said the company, adding specific pricing and availability will be announced by its partners at the time of their respective launches.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Mark Potter)

This post has been edited by SyathibiyMegat: Sep 19 2013, 05:32 PM

BlackBerry Z30 is now official, runs BB10.2 out of the box

BlackBerry has just announced the Z30 - the smartphone with the largest touchscreen it has even put into production. Moreover, it's the first BlackBerry to ship with the company's latest version of BB 10 OS.

The BlackBerry Z30 is built around a 5" Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. This makes the pixel density meter stop at 295 ppi. In its core, the Z30 is powered by a dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset and 2GB of RAM.

Behind the battery back cover lies a 2,880mAh battery and measures 140.7 x 72 x 9.4mm. The larger battery found in the Z30 hasn't made it much thicker than the Z10 - the difference is just 0.1mm. The BlackBerry Z30 supports LTE as well as dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.

The back of the Z30 holds an 8MP camera with an f/2.2 lens and 1080p video recording capabilities. Video chatting has been taken care of with an 2MP front-facing snapper, which records 720p video.

As we mentioned, the BlackBerry Z30 runs BB 10 OS version 10.2 out of the box. It brings some improvements to the BlackBerry ecosystem including BB Priority Hub, message previews in the lockscreen as well as Wi-Fi Direct support, multiple alarms and standard Unicode emojis.

BlackBerry Q10 and Z10 users would be happy to know that the company will be launching the BB 10 version 10.2 update in mid-October. There might be some delays, which would be due to carrier approval of the update.

BlackBerry hasn't specified any pricing or availability information just yet, but the Z30 is expected to hit the UK as early as next week.

This post has been edited by SyathibiyMegat: Sep 19 2013, 05:33 PM

Well, there's a thread now...fresh off the launch at The Westin this afternoon. LOL!

I hope it does well, better than the Z10.

Anyone getting it?

wow..so fast launch new one

Rm1998, 5th oct, malaysia hongkong; celcom 14 days exclusivity
at this price point, yeah I'll pick one on day 1!

Change the thread title.

The Z30 promotion at celcom, need to apply for contract or can just buy the device only?

Contract for the promo.

Ahhh I dont want contract. :\

not much love for z30?

Yeah..i think not that much now la. I remembered lastyear when I was so damn psyched waiting for Z10 to appear. Now I dont feel the same way anymore.

yeah i think cause the lack of apps. made blackberry look bad. have to sideloads.

I just bought the Z10.....with maxis..

worth it or not?

lol =.= z30.....

Yes, RM 699 with plan

Need contract , got free z10 and some ticket . Browse thru lowyat first page

Celcom already released the plan for Z30, sadly only for 24 months contract.. so anyone going to queue to get Z30 + Z10?



Celcom Unveils BlackBerry Z30 Deals – Free BlackBerry Z10, Concert Tickets and More

There will be another round of fire sales for Z10 as all these 200 units will be flooded into the Lowyat for sale forum. LOL.

[quote=namh,Oct 3 2013, 09:00 AM]
Celcom already released the plan for Z30, sadly only for 24 months contract.. so anyone going to queue to get Z30 + Z10?

Hey guys, i am going to queue for Z30 Btw, i am currently MAXIS user, wonder number porting user is eligible for the Z30 first 200 promotion anot?lol

not sure on this, you can try visit or call Celcom for confirmation.. but to be safe, better you port in ASAP today so you can have peace of mind on saturday..

Thanks for the information, will try to check with Celcom later.

Porting should be ok.

Seems like no one interested to Z30 anymore sob sob, i guess im the only one who going tomorrow to get Z30 only....

Congratulations..

good luck so are you going to camp on sunway tonight

i want to get Z30 tomorrow too, but plan to sell and later buy Q10

Finally, z30 ori stock reach ya.. Woohoo~~

how much u sell? haha

Ori 19xx

Z30 warranty is 2 year? still brightstar distributor?

Look like z10 not laku ,, till can gt free ,, heheh

Yes, u r rite

Last time 2 yr..
Now all become 1 yr d..

Celcom soon

become a happyman for Z30.

This post has been edited by firecrac: Oct 5 2013, 10:50 PM

Gooding or not?

as an ex-iphone/android user, this is the first time i am on BB, the BB OS10 is simply impress me.

reporting in for Celcom sale of Z30 yesterday

now Celcom have new promotion for Z30:

https://www.celcom.com.my/personal/promotio...d=1360826467841

too much of a hassle for the promo - limited venues, add that to the 'carnival' madness crowd, i pass those up. add the contract sum to total cost mathematically, not worth it + i am hard core bb..

SO WHO WENT apart from nelson of bbugmy team?

Z30 still don't have a cheap case yet. In ebay have expensive official case. I think need to wait another 2 weeks or a month.

I just bought z30 because most of people say it was easy to load android apps. Try to add Instagram since saturday...almost give up already...any lead for me??

all I can get for screen protector is custom made from note 2 haha

all I can get for screen protector is custom made from note 2 haha

Plan + 3G/4G = RM 116/month,

handset = RM 699, advance payment another RM 1,000.

To me i just need a phone, but surprisingly 4 inch is just fit into my palm.

699 - 4" is for z10 not z30. z10 prices now ~ 1.3k LTE brightstar sets, AP and 3G sets cheaper ; telcos still keeping 1899/1799 z10 but it'll drop when z30 is out of celcom exclusivity soon.

z30 current contract pricing - still steep if u total up the cost pf ownership.

if u wanna buy, buy outright but wait few weeks, safe some $ too.

Steep or not it depends on usage. If you have such need for the plan to suit your usage, then it will be worth it.

then again a lot of BB users back then on unlimited BB plan tether like mad.

hye bro full tutorial for sideload android apps here HowToSideLoad from BBUGMY

goodluck

wonderful battery life !

are they getting rid of Z10

in a way yes, they are marking down Z10s for really cheap.

IF they are selling Z10s for 1.3K (LTE set), I wonder if Q5 will be marked down too?

Now I'm having a headache whether to go for a Z10 for RM1.3k (if this is true) vs RM1998 for a z30.

The reasoning? I would prefer z30 since its the latest phone, but the z10 seems fair for a 'budget'.

And I'll probably get the 3G version since LTE is non-existant outside of Klang Valley.

tq...before this i try to sideload using chrome extension...will definitely try on this method...will update the result here

let me know if u getting Z10 LTE, as i still holding one on hand. brand new set

I will let you know, thanks for the offer. But just from me, sell it to others if you can find a faster offer hahaha

I'll be happy if that happens. But then BlackBerry devices in Malaysia historically have very strong price retention, even for second hand phones.

Sell it at an RRP of RM1499, and BB will surely come back on track

huge battery in this...

They can't. Their margins on the z30 is less than 20%, so if you're pricing that they're losing at least 10-15% (including transportation and warehousing charges), and it goes negative margins. Not at least on the first batch I suppose.

Nahh, I'm saying in terms of specs if compared to Android devices. Dual-core and everything at RM1998? Most people will think it doesn't worth to give it a try because BB isn't as valuable as it was before

Considering the one closest to Z30 is the Moto X (then again Moto X has a dual core CPU, quad core GPU, and 2 extra independent core meant for speech processing and something else), the price difference about the two isn't that great, with exception that the MOTO X should be more 'worth it' on paper, since you can customize a lot of things about it.

But the Z10 is awfully priced. The Q5? Not so much, though like many I hoped it being a sub RM1000 device launched off the bat.

I have a Z10 LTE. Still like using it. To be honest, the only thing great abt the Z30 (when compared to Z10) is the batt life. The screen size increase not that much. Plus, its ugly. Is the black/silver combo the only colour available? I thought ive seen on the internet (think it was at the HK BB event recently) that they showed an all white Z30. Now that one is really nice. Any news on this whitey Z30?

Moto X is wayyy more valuable than Z30 But still, Z30's price has to be RM1499

1500? yeah, on contract yes. But I'll never give up my old contract, so I'll rather buy the z30 unlocked.

But hey, there are always other phones that are ridiculously overpriced. More than a BlackBerry.

On contract? I believe most telco will offer RM699 with contact, bro

Nope. So far, I can only think of Apple and BB's products. Even Nokia has learned how to price their products accordingly

Nokia MS strategy is different.


All other OEMs for Android, with exception of Google, runs on economy of scale. Especially the fact that the core OS itself doesn't need much R&D, since Google has done most of the heavy lifting for them. Not to say that they don't have costs, just not as high as how Google has to pay.

On the other hand, Google doesn't need to sell their Nexus with profit. They sell it with near-zero margin. Where does Google earn their money? By profiling users. Ads, profiles, etc.

BlackBerry sells I think less than 3M BB10 per quarter, and from their quarter reports, from January indicates that they have produced about (that's assuming 90 days is considered a quarter, give and take). Therefore BlackBerry does not enjoy the economy of scale to mass produce even the low end on low prices)

About Nokia, sure, they got MS's backing. That's equivalent of an Amex Black Card. But oh wait, despite relying on MS, they got sold to be a part of MS (Nokia is now only a services company). Cheap phones? Tick. Good build? Tick. But sold, to Nokia, by their own "ex microsoft" guy Stephen 'Trojan Horse' Elop. MS has been dumping money into WP, ever since, what, early 2000? And alot has happned, but things could have been better for Nokia, instead they went full "exclusive" with Windows Phones, and got themselves sold. What a waste.

I don't think BlackBerry can lower their price point at this stage even if they wanted to. With recent news of their hardware partners unable to produce due to low demand, I think if BlackBerry wants to achieve the economy of scale with or without profit they'll need to

a) dump the phones at loss (and this is difficult because they don't have the cash cow to milk in the form of BIS, BES? Yes, but no more BIS)

b) elect or partner with new hardware vendor that can meet up with BlackBerry's super strict QA on security (they have some very strict QA on their products in their factories, its a well known fact) yet achieve the economy of scale.

c) make deals with Qualcomm so that they won't lose out being first partners. Or, jump to Intel? (In the past the deal with TI-OMAP used to be very good, until TI-OMAP suddenly reversed its decision and abandoned the SoC market, and decided to only focus on the embedded chipset market, much to the chagrin of BlackBerry (where they have to re-code the entire thing from scratch)

saw this full page advertisement on The Star today.. It stated terms and conditions apply but nothing to read further to know what the terms is.. anyone have more info on this?

I want to know too.

i have google around, but no info can be found

i believe that is the contract you need to tie up with telco.

which telco?

which telco?

i check with Celcom, they dont have any promo like this.. their contract plan is stated as the website..

I'm thinking, it's from BB?

Hiii.. proud user of z30 here!
Hehe. Love the battery endurance.

But, my data quota drain way too fast!!
I'm Still using BlackBerry monthly data for rm25 (250mb)
Do I need to upgrade my data? Bcoz I saw celcom offer 5gb data for z30.

disable discontinue BIS subscription, and use normal data plan.
BIS is useless on BB10 devices. BB10 devices doesn't even use BlackBerry.net APN anymore.

This post has been edited by soulfly: Oct 30 2013, 05:06 PM

low price with high spec and bigger screen should be good for blackberry.. and i think only bb follower can feel it..

WTS BBZ30 Celcom SET. RM1600

anyone in Beta Zone with Z30 External Carbonite Pocket Beta programme ?
haha...

Are u bro? What is it for

finally come with Super AMOLED display, by the way this a great feature phone

Day 7 (25 days of gifts)

*Free Paid Game*

Angry Birds for Blackberry 10

**Strange thing is, in my BB Q10, Cut The Rope is free paid game**

This post has been edited by deddo: Dec 7 2013, 10:20 PM

Day 8 (25 days of gifts)

*Free Paid Game*

The Amazing Spider-Man

anyone know how to trace Z30 if lost? the phone need to login with BB iD?

Day 9 (25 days of gifts)

*Free Paid Game*

Asphalt 7: Heat

This post has been edited by deddo: Dec 9 2013, 10:10 PM

Day 10 (25 days of gifts)

*Free Paid Game*

PAC-MAN
by NAMCO BANDAI Games

Size: 27.9 MB

This Z30 thread is so quiet.

Guess the device is overpriced for its dual core processor.

This post has been edited by ferchang: Jan 2 2014, 09:06 AM

If you compare it with Moto X, yeah.

But for the fact that its one of the phones that can piggyback BB10 and Android OS, its quite the bargain actually.

http://n4bb.com/blackberry-hosting-os-10-2...-23rd-malaysia/

BlackBerry Hosting OS 10.2.1 Preview on January 23rd in Malaysia




BlackBerry 10.2.1 Rollout Begins January 28th

honestly the note 3 is brilliant! (if you don't mind touchwiz)

Hi, I'm thinking to get a Z30. Getting f**king fed up with my S3. Is the phone ok? I'm not too worry about lack of apps, as long as the essential ones are in place.

I don't really use Instagram.

Appreciate if you guys can gimme a feedback on Z30 and what's the best place to get one. Thx.

z30 rocks.

The Z30 is an exceptionally well done phone. I own a Z10 and I think you'll enjoy the z30 better. It has specs that is near similar to Motorola X.

But what makes the Z30 very special is that the hardware changes (small, but plenty of changes) compared to the z10 will make it worthwhile.

If you're like me, using DiGi, you'll be on 10.2.1. This means you can directly install APKs. However, to make things easy, go and download SNAP (the .BAR file) and install it. It is a front (made by 3rd party) for Google Apps, and frankly you'll be amazed.

I'm on Maxis. Surfed Maxis' website but I think they discontinued selling BB! Can't see the BB in their devices offered.

Any idea what's the selling price of Z30?