BlackBerry Z10 review: A touchscreen only by BlackBerry, completely devoid of the QWERTY keyboard that made this Ontario-based handset maker a former leader in the world of mobile handsets.

As the company is moving back to its roots, taking the route of appealing to a core-customer base of keyboard fanatics instead, the release of the BlackBerry Classic as a sign of what’s to come, will the BlackBerry Z10 reach end of life status soon? The answer: Unlikely.

Specs of the BlackBerry Z10 include a dual-core processor, 16GB memory, 2GB RAM and an 8MP camera. The $250 smartphone is deemed a success for the company, thanks to the good reviews the unit has gained during launch. It has been described at some point as a ‘Black iPhone.’

Though BlackBerry has lose a huge chunk of its market share over the years, it continues to appeal to a segment of consumer loyal to its brand.

For many years now the Canadian mobile manufacturer has been striving to bounce back in the market through the release of smartphones intended to compete against giants such as Samsung and Apple. Last year, BlackBerry launched the Z10 as one of its flagship models. With a good set of specs and features, the smartphone certainly gives off a message that it means serious business. The question is: Does it deliver?

The BlackBerry Z10 has a dimension of 5.12 x 2.58 x 0.35 inches and a weight of 137.5 grams, making it one of the thinnest models in the entire company’s roster. It also has a thick, rubberized, dimpled coating with a soft finish for a solid and comfortable grip.

Although the handset’s design doesn’t turn heads or receive awards, its entire body screams of functionality, sophistication, and most of all, formality—all qualities that make it business-like.

Meanwhile, its 4.2-inch display has a resolution of 768 x 1280 pixels and a pixel density of 355 ppi. It has an adequate amount of pixels for a crisp web and media viewing experience. This time, BlackBerry has veered away from its trademark QWERTY keyboard. As a result, the Z10 has more room for your fingers compared to the cramped BlackBerry 9900.

In terms of performance, there is nothing really special about the Z10’s 1.5 GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 dual-core processor. It isn’t even at par with high-end smartphones that are already on the quad-core level. Still, it is responsive enough for simple, everyday tasks.

Scott Hanselman sees the Z10 as the “Black iPhone” not only because of its appearance, but also because of its impressive response time.

“It actually feels more like the lovely HP TouchPad's webOS than like anything I've seen in the Blackberry universe. It's certainly more visually polished and consistent than any Android I've used, has more clarity and depth than a Windows Phone and is somehow as fluid as an iPhone,” he adds.

To sum it up, the BlackBerry Z10 is one serious smartphone. It may not have mouth-watering features unlike its competitors nor the QWERTY keys of BlackBerry legacy, but it still delivers a business-like look coupled with decent specs.