After 1 month with my Blackberry Z10, I have thrown in the towel and switched to an iPhone. As a loyal Blackberry user for the past 9 years (7230 -> 8700 -> 8310 Curve -> 8900 Curve -> 9700 Bold -> 9800 Torch ->9790 Bold -> Z10), it wasn’t an easy decision to make but ultimately the mind won over the heart (I will surely miss the blinking red LED light).

Prior to the launch to Z10, many Wall Street analysts and early reviewers commented that Blackberry has done too little too late. I have disagreed. Perhaps it is because I really wanted Blackberry to succeed. Blackberry has never been known as a platform for apps (the java based OS is archaic) but it has several unique selling points such as BBM, excellent battery life and reliable email system that makes it as great “smartphone” until the arrival of Apple’s iPhone.

The Z10 comes with a new OS which is supposedly great at multitasking but in my experience, it puts such a drain on the battery life that makes the handset unusable. I understand that Blackberry has push through an OS update that rectifies the short battery life issue and Gmail integration bug but sadly this has come too late for me.

Blackberry will always have a soft spot in my heart. Maybe one day I will using a Blackberry again but given the escalating cost of handsets, switching between handsets and platforms isn’t cheap so Blackberry will need to do lots more before I will reconsider adopting the platform again. A QWERTY keyboard, BBM and the iconic red LED light isn’t enough in this day and age.

P.S. I am pleasantly surprised with the battery life of the iPhone 5 (maybe setting up the phone as a new device helps).

P.P.S. Whatsapp and Skype are still not available on the Blackberry ecosystem for Z10 at the time of writing.