Those who know me would know that I use phones from all 4 major platforms (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry) regularly. One question that I get asked occasionally is that “Why are you still using a BlackBerry?” My answer is pretty simple. “It works better for my set of needs.”Today I shall try to explain how, by talking about the features on BlackBerry 10 (in particularly on the Q10) that I love.

1. BlackBerry Hub

In a nutshell, and I quote David Lundblad, Design Director at Mobile Nations:

“I don’t care where the message was from, so stop making me go into all these different places. I just care about the content.”

With Hub, all my communications are located in a single location. SMS, Call Logs, Emails, Notifications, Twitter (Mentions & DMs), FaceBook (Messenger, Comments, Like, Tags, etc), LinkedIn, Foursquare, WhatsApp, etc.

Best part is, I can reply to my messages right within the Hub itself without ever needing to launch an app. Yes, including WhatsApp, facebook (messages/comments), Twitter (mentions/Direct messages), etc. It has a quick and easy way to filter the various sources of notifications as well, super useful if you receive a ton of them daily.

2. Fast access to Notifications

With a simple swipe up no matter I am in an app or not, I can see a what types of new notifications I have, and how much. In a continuos gesture right, I can take a deeper look into Hub at what exactly is new. If I wanted to take action, I complete the gesture. If not, I reverse the gesture in a continuous motion and go back to what I was doing.

In 10.2, there is the addition of Actionable Notifications. No matter what app you were in, you can have a toast notification show up for new notification. Like in the image above, I can tap on the arrow pointing left, and then reply to the message immediately, without ever leaving the app you’re in. Of course all those are customisable, you let in only the types of notifications you want to, and only those that you have prioritised.

3. BlackBerry Flow

The CB10 app is a testament to how great the “Flow” is on BlackBerry 10’s UI, especially when you are a heavy user of apps with deep navigation (forums).

A swipe to the right on any part of the app brings you back a page, no need to hunt for a back button. Then if you are browsing within sub-sections of the app that requires a lot of backing out of, and you want to jump into another completely different segment fast, swipe back from the back arrow, and you’re presented with a thin column of icons that allows you to jump between root tabs.

This Flow’s usefulness is exemplified if you are a heavy user of File Managers, and you often need to move files around folders, organising stuffs, etc. Which brings me to my next point.

4. File Manager

The built-in File Manger on BlackBerry 10 is a God-send to me. My entire workflow revolves around DropBox, and the File Manager has integration with DropBox, and Box. I have 90+GB on DropBox, and 50GB on Box. That plus MicroSDXC expandability (to 64GB) and 16GB of built-in storage, means I have more storage than I have on my current MacBook Pro, all in the palm of my hands. Oh, did I mention you can have remote file access to your home computer (provided it is turned on) and you have BlackBerry Link installed?

This allows me to send files to my clients that I normally wouldn’t store on my phone wherever I go as long as I have a good internet connection.

Oh yeah, it has the function to zip/unzip files with it too.

5. Browser + Keyboard shorcuts

The Browser on BlackBerry 10 is extremely capable. It is fast, and it is feature-rich. I did a quick video a while back comparing the Z10’s Browser with the browser on the Nexus 4 (both on the same WiFi).

That plus a plethora of keyboard shortcuts to make the browsing experience better. “T” to go to the top, “B” for bottom of page, “Space” to scroll down a page, “K” to bookmarks, “H” to history, etc.

The best shortcut, “R” for reader mode, which organises the website into a easily readable format. I mean screw text reflow, for long articles/stories, Reader mode is miles better. And I do read a lot. It helps that with 10.2, the URL bar at the bottom minimises itself to give more viewing room.

In fact yesterday night, I spent around 4-5 hours reading short stories on my Q10. It started with just wanting to do some reading before bed, and I ended up so engrossed in it that I read for 4-5 hours straight. And I never felt that the smaller screen size hindered the experience at all. In fact I prefer using the browser on the Q10 compared to the Z10 just because it’s so easy to get into Reader Mode.

6. The Best Physical Keyboard on a Phone + Battery Life

On the heel of talking about keyboard shortcuts in Browser, the physical keyboard on the Q10 is absolutely a joy to type on. The Bold series of devices were known for their awesome keyboard and I owned the 9000, 9650, 9700, 9780, 9790, and 9900. But the Q10 has by far the best physical keyboard. Period.

I could pump out messages even while I’m walking, by touch typing. Occasionally looking at what I’m typing, where my thumbs are on the keyboard, and where I’m going. This is a freedom that I really enjoy.

The larger battery is also very much welcomed. The Q10 can last me a full day of use with ease, something I struggled on the Z10 (and pretty much most other devices).

7. BBM 

BBM is the best Instant Messaging client I have ever used.  Really, it’s awesome! The immediacy of response is something that is not present in any other IM clients. It also has Voice chats, Video chats, as well as screen sharing over a video chat.

Currently BlackBerry has something called BBM Channels in the works, something that is still in beta, but I think has potential. I know I certainly love using it, raking in over 120 posts in a couple of months. You can find OurBerries’ channel at C000A9F10, and my personal channel at C00015605.

8. Sharing is Caring

BlackBerry 10’s sharing framework is awesome. I can share pretty much anything easily to anywhere I want to, using any method I wish to. Pictures, Audio, Video, Links, Text, etc.

Like the Share to Flickr app for example. It isn’t really a Flickr app, I wouldn’t even call it an app. It’s more like a plug-in. It’s only purpose, is to plug-in to the sharing framework of BlackBerry 10, and allow you to share photos easily to Flickr. Brilliant.

9. Gestures

The one gesture I use most is probably the swipe up from bottom bezel to wake the display. I use this to check time, to check reception, to check notifications. With 10.2, I can even have a quick preview of the notification on the lock screen itself. If I decide not to take action, in the same continuous motion I use to swipe up, I just reversed my geature to turn the display off again. Fast and effortless.

10. Instant Actions

This is something I have previously talked about here. It basically extends the already all encompassing universal search on BlackBerry 10 to allow actions. Like posting a quick Tweet, FaceBook/LinkedIn update. Creating a email, sms, BBM, etc to a recipient quickly. Create Note, Tasks, etc.

And with the Q10, you can trigger Universal Search just by typing on the homescreen, making it extremely efficient.

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Of course there are still little things around BlackBerry 10 and the Q10 that makes the phone great. Like BlackBerry Remember, Docs to Go, Time Shift camera, Android runtime (see image above) etc, but the things listed above are at the top of my list.

Having used pretty much all other major platforms out there, and knowing what they can offer, I still think that BlackBerry 10 is one of the best OS in the market right now. Sure it has its features I would love to see on it (SpeedDial, Keyboard shortcut on Homescreen), but other than that, the only real downside to me is the app ecosystem really. It is a real shame that not more people are giving it a try.

Even though the other platforms have a much better app ecosystem and peripherals support, I still chose the BlackBerry Q10 as my daily driver. I have phones from all 4 major platforms at home that I can use, but the one I chose is the BlackBerry Q10.

I really hope that despite all the doom and gloom out there surrounding the company, it will all work out eventually. I think they have genuinely great products, and has something great to offer consumers, but they really need to sort their shit out.