BlackBerry launches BlackBerry Z30 Smartphone in India for Rs 39,990

Struggling Canadian handset manufacturer BlackBerry (previously Research in Motion or RIM) has launched the successor to its flagship Z10 in the Indian market. Taking a cue from the growing popularity of large screened devices, this time around, the company has opted for a phablet. According to the company, Z30 is the 'biggest, fastest and most advanced smartphone till date' from BlackBerry, and will be available for Rs 39,990.

It comes with a 5 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display (720x1280 pixel resolution), and runs on the latest BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2 out of the box. It is powered by a 1.7 GHz processor with quad core graphics and has 2GB of RAM. The internal memory of the device is 16GB, which can be further expanded an additional 64GB with a microSD card.

The Z30 sports an 8 megapixel auto focus camera that can record full high definition videos (1080p) at 30 frames per second and a 2 MP front facing camera that can also record high definition videos (720p) at 30 fps. It will also come with Time Shift mode, which captures milliseconds before and after you click the photograph – so that you can scroll back on the 'dial' to open your friend's eyes (assuming they were closed when the picture was taken) and then go forward to catch another friend smiling (if he/she was not at the time of the click), before combining them all to create the perfect picture.

On the connectivity front, the device has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 3G and 4G, and comes with a microSD card slot and a microUSB port. The dimensions of the device are 140.7mm x 72mm x 9.4mm and its weight is 170 gm. It has Near Field Communication (NFC), A-GPS, and a 2,880 mAh battery that the company claims will provide up to 25 hours of mixed use.

In comparison, Z10 sports a 4.2 inch capacitive touchscreen display (768×1280 pixels resolution) with 355 ppi (pixels per inch) pixel density, is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and has 16 GB that can be expanded up to 32 GB with a microSD card. Similar to the Z10, the Z30's touchscreen keyboard will learn your writing style and suggest words to help you type faster, more accurately and with the least effort. And if you tend to mistype certain letters regularly, the keyboard will remember and adjust accordingly to make sure you hit the right key.

New features of the BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2 include:

BlackBerry Priority Hub: While BlackBerry Hub is the one place to manage all your conversations and notifications, the new BlackBerry Priority Hub will learn what conversations and what people are important to you, making it fast and easy to find the messages and information you need. It collects priority messages across your email, social networking and other accounts and gives you instant access to the conversations most important to you.

BBM Now in any app & Message Previews everywhere: You can now get a preview of any message as it arrives in whatever app you are using, and immediately dismiss it or tap it to read the full content and respond. In addition, even if your phone is locked, you can tap the various icons on the 'lock screen' to see an instant preview of your most recent messages and notifications.

Stereo audio and BlackBerry Natural Sound: The BlackBerry Z30 smartphone comes with stereo speakers for better music, videos, apps and games experience (taking a cue from HTC, are we!). The BlackBerry Natural Sound makes BBM Voice and BBM Video chats sound more natural and realistic.

New antenna technology: The device features BlackBerry's new generation antenna technology that tunes reception for better connectivity. According to the company, the Paratek Antenna will provide faster data transfers and fewer dropped calls in low signal areas.