To back the 4G connection up, the BlackBerry Z30 is fitted with its newly acquired Paratek Antenna technology, meaning fewer missed and dropped calls as it "dynamically tunes itself to the environment". Couple this with 1800/2600/900/800 MHz support; the BlackBerry Z30 will work on every UK network.
Dual band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE and NFC also come as standard on the BlackBerry Z30, future-proofing the Z30 and ensuring that it will should connect to the raft of wearable gadgets that are on the way.
The BlackBerry Z30 is a keyboard king
A top-class touchscreen device needs a quality keyboard. BlackBerry's offering on the Z30 is a really decent affair. In fact, the keyboard is built upon the very popular Swiftkey SDK.
We are massive fans of Swiftkey at TechRadar; it is one of the best keyboards out there for word correction and prediction. Seeing it powering BlackBerry keyboards, as well as Samsung's latest round of keyboards is a welcome touch.
As any Android user will tell you, the openness of the system and the customisability allows for the installation of custom keyboards. This is something that isn't possible on both iOS and BB10. It is worth mentioning, though, that the majority of users tend to stick with the stock option.
The 5-inch screen of the BlackBerry Z30 also goes a long way to help the keyboard, with screen sizes being something that is often discussed. We commented in our iPhone 5S review that the keyboard felt "very cramped for typing these days".
And let's not forget, BlackBerry created their brand around the physical QWERTY keyboard. As we said, the BlackBerry Z30 might not be the phone to totally reverse the ailing brand, but combine a strong touchscreen presence and a strong physical presence and BlackBerry will be on to a winner.
The BlackBerry Z30 has decent specs
Looking at the tech specs of the BlackBerry Z30, you might seem a little underwhelmed by the lack of a massive quad or octa-core processor, and there is no Full HD screen.
These things might be attractive to heavy mobile gamers, as well as those that spend forever watching movies on their devices, but BlackBerry isn't targeting this market.
What the BlackBerry Z30 does come with, is a more than sufficient 1.7GHz dual-core and 2GB of RAM. A HD Super AMOLED screen, although not Full HD, adorns the face of the Z30, and a quad-core Adreno 320 GPU sits behind.
This combination helps BlackBerry push the battery that extra mile, with a quoted talk time of around 18 hours, which is almost double that of Apple's quoted 10 hours. Given that a lot of complaints about the modern smartphone is how power hungry they are, a decent battery to power the BlackBerry Z30 is a more than welcome feature.
MicroSD support is also very welcome. Samsung has long supported microSD, however its exclusion is noticeable on the HTC One, and it has never been available on Apple's iPhones. Providing 16GB of internal storage can sometimes seem a little low, especially if you're storing large documents, so support up to an extra 64GB will give the BlackBerry Z30 the edge over two of its nearest rivals.
The BlackBerry Z30 is kind on the wallet
Launching against other flagship devices, namely the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5S, BlackBerry knows that it needs to keep itself competitive. A launch price of £529 might, then, seem a little steep.
Available from free at £32 a month, the BlackBerry Z30 launches directly against the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4. All three devices are considerably cheaper than the iPhone 5S, with tariffs starting at £42 a month.
SIM free, the HTC One is the cheapest, at around £480, with the BlackBerry Z30 coming in at £529, and the Samsung and iPhone both at around £549.
The BlackBerry Z30 is also a lot cheaper than previous BlackBerry launches. The BlackBerry Q10 launch Price was £579.99, and the Z10 launched on EE contracts of £41pm and a £49.99 upfront fee, and on Vodafone at £42pm, with a £29 upfront fee.
In a changing market, with IT departments and consumers becoming more and more budget conscious, BlackBerry desperately needed to adapt and the Z30 highlights just how much it has.
