BlackBerry Z10 vs Samsung Galaxy S III

Introduction:

History buffs be aware! Some of us might forget it, but 2008 surely turned out to be a banner year in the history of smartphones. At the time, BlackBerry smartphones were hotly sought out by people for both their consumer and enterprise features, but when Android officially launched on a device in the fall of 2008, it signaled a changing of the guard of some sorts. Fast forward to the present, the Samsung Galaxy S III has seemingly become the prized darling for the mature platform – while the BlackBerry Z10 is intent on starting yet another revolution of its own. Will BlackBerry’s flagship have what it takes to sway people from the mighty features set found with the Samsung Galaxy S III?

Design:

Knowing the size disparity between their displays, we’re somewhat surprised to see that the Galaxy S III is just a teeny bit larger in footprint than the Z10. Interestingly enough, the Samsung Galaxy S III is both skinnier and lighter too. Holding them in our hands, we’re still digging the design of Sammy’s baby more than the Z10 – primarily due to its rounded corners, which delivers a more natural feel in the hand. Indeed, their build qualities are similar to one another, since they sport all-plastic bodies that are clean looking, but it’s ultimately the Galaxy S III getting the nods with its more comforting and approachable design.

Taking a tour around their bodies, it’s quite evident that they share many commonalities – like their 3.5mm head jacks, standard microphones, noise-cancellation mics, microUSB ports for charging/data connectivity, earpieces, light & proximity sensors, and LED notification lights. However, we prefer the Galaxy s III’s set of physical buttons, the power and volume control, since they’re more distinguishable to the touch – whereas, it’s flatter in feel with the Z10. Still, we appreciate that the Z10 offers easy video-out functionality with its separate microHDMI port, which is better than purchasing an additional MHL adapter for the Galaxy S III.

On the front, the Z10 is packing along the slightly higher 2-mgeapixel front-facing camera – while the Galaxy S III has a 1.9-megapixel one. Flipping them over, they’re outfitted with 8-megapixel auto-focus cameras with LED flashes, which can shoot videos in 1080p. Sharing yet another commonality, we love that they feature removable rear covers to gain access to their batteries and microSD card slots.


Display:

Everybody appears to be going BIG with their displays, but that’s not quite the mentality we see yet out of BlackBerry’s camp. Then again, it’s a matter of personal preference. With the BlackBerry Z10’s 4.2-inch 768 x 1280 LCD display, it’s no doubt sharp looking with its pixel density of 356 ppi, but seriously folks, it’s not all that evident to the naked eye versus the larger 4.8-inch 720 x 1280 Super AMOLED panel of the Galaxy S III – and that’s despite its PenTile matrix arrangement! In terms of colors, they’re more on the neutral side with the Z10, but you can’t quite forget about the wow factor established by the vibrant and saturated tones produced by the Galaxy S III’s display. Outdoors, there’s no question that the Z10 is more viewable.

Interface and Functionality:

Without question, power users will undoubtedly gravitate to the depth of features found with the TouchWiz Nature UX experience running on top of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on the Galaxy S III. Simply, Android has the polished touch in both the visual and navigation department – even more when it’s sporting the better personalization too. From its vast set of useful widgets to its live wallpapers, it’s a joy to know that users can modify the experience to their liking. Well, it’s not to say that the BlackBerry 10 experience doesn’t stand a chance, especially considering this a v1.0 platform we’re talking about here, but it’s clearly going to have an uphill battle trying to convince power users to make the switch. For what it’s offering out of the gate, BB10 clearly emphasizes visual presentation with its various animations and transition effects, and has its own way on going about navigating around the platform.

Diving deeper to some of the core functions of both platforms, it’s obvious that Android is the more mature OS. Plainly, it’s very evident in the way the lockscreen and notifications system is handled by the Galaxy S III. Not only can you quickly launch specific apps directly from the lockscreen, but we’re also greeted with other tangible information – like notifications, weather details, and social networking statuses. With the Z10, we’re only given the bare essentials, the time, date, notifications, and access to the camera. Moreover, we prefer how notifications are handled by Android, as they’re accessible by swiping down the top bezel to expose its panel, which is easier than the gesture heavy process that’s required to get into the BlackBerry Hub. We won’t get into all the small details, but again we see a disparity between their maps (Google Maps vs BlackBerry Maps) and voice control services (Google Now vs BB10 voice control).



At the very least, we’re able to get by using their respective email apps, but of course, Gmail on the Galaxy S III is undeniably more equipped to handle our power needs. Strangely though, despite the larger screen real estate with the Galaxy S III, its on-screen keyboard layout is similar in footprint to what’s seen on the Z10. Quite frankly, we’re enamored by how well the BB10 on-screen keyboard works against the Samsung keyboard. Typing the old school way, we find ourselves faster with our rate of input with the Z10 – even more when it offers the better auto-correct feature.


Processor and Memory:

Everywhere we turn, it’s noticeable that the two platforms employ some pleasing eye candy with their presentations. And with that, we’re glad that their performances are equally on par to one another – though, intensive live wallpapers can sometimes slow down the Galaxy S III. Regardless of that, they execute all tasks with the same level of smooth performance. Would you believe that these two are running the same chipset? A dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus processor coupled with 2GB of RAM.

Nowadays, 16GB of internal storage is the minimum expectations amongst high-end smartphones – and that’s the tally we see with these two. Thankfully enough, we’re able to supplement their capacities seeing they sport microSD card slots as well.

Internet and Connectivity:

Speeds aren’t an issue with these 4G LTE enabled smartphones, therefore, complex web pages load in a jiffy. Making things even more enjoyable with them, they’re able to render stuff on the fly almost instantaneously, navigational controls are superbly tight, and they offer support for Adobe Flash to give us that desktop-like experience. All in all, you really can’t go wrong with either of them.



Lucky for all of us, these two prized devices are manufactured in both GSM and CDMA flavors – while offering 4G LTE connectivity too. Likewise, they’re packed with all of the modern connectivity features we expect to find, such as aGPS, Bluetooth 4.0, 5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, mobile hotspot functionality, and NFC.

Camera:

In general, both handsets offer acceptable quality with shots takes outdoors. However, the more we look deeper into each shot, we begin to notice that there’s more sharpness seen with the fine details of the Galaxy S III’s results – whereas, background details tend to be more dull with the Z10. At the same time, there’s some vibrancy splashed onto the images captured by the two, but there’s a subtle amount of saturation with the Z10 photos. Indoors under less lighting, it’s a strange result, as the Z10 is better at delivering the brighter shots – then again, their LED flashes are potent to light up the scenery.

Between the two, we’re digging the 1080p video recording quality of the Galaxy S III more because of the consistent amount of visual clarity it’s able to maintain throughout its recording. With the Z10, it’s marred by some distracting artifacting elements that speckle its fine details, but then again, it’s not 100 percent perfect with Sammy’s device, as voices tend to sound distorted.

BlackBerry Z10 Sample Video:



Samsung Galaxy S III Sample Video:



Multimedia:

Primarily due to the cooler looking 3D carousel of the Google Play Music app, we prefer the Galaxy S III’s music player over the predictable and complacent appearance of the one on the Z10. Paying attention to audio quality, their volume outputs are nearly identical – albeit, cleaner tones are more evident with the Galaxy S III. And lastly, we like how there are various equalizer settings available with Galaxy S III to better enhance its quality.



Playback performance is smooth and crisp with both smartphones, but seeing that the Galaxy S III has the wow factor with its larger and more vibrant display, it’s the preferable choice for watching high-definition videos. Furthermore, the pop up play feature of the Galaxy S III is pretty neat in the fact that we can multi-task while watching a video.

Call Quality:

Love talking a lot on the phone? Well, if you do, then you’ll be glad to know that you can go with either device, since voices on both ends are audible, noise-free, and clean toned. However, all is not perfect in the speakerphone department, as the Z10’s output is strained in tone – while the Galaxy S III tends to exhibit some over-sharpness with voices.

Battery:

Bigger screens tend to be battery hogs, but in this comparison, we actually find the Galaxy S III to put out the better battery life. Of course, we can argue that it can be attributed to its larger 2,100 mAh battery, but in any event, we’re able to get by through a day of normal usage with it. In comparison, the 1,800 mAh battery of the Z10 allows us only 10 hours of normal usage before it requires a recharge.

Conclusion:

Can BlackBerry do what Google did to it back in 2008? Although some might be quick to draw a foreseeable demise to BlackBerry, there’s still hope, of course, especially when Google made it on top. Needless to say, it’s funny in how some things turn out. No one said it would be easy to start fresh (again), but as long as BlackBerry can push out timely updates to enhance its new experience, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, but then again, we all know how webOS turned out.

So what device should you call your own right now? Seeing that these two are priced at $200 on-contract, it’s not all that difficult to point out the extensive set of features you’re going to get with the Samsung Galaxy S III. From the various software enhancements attached to its TouchWiz Nature UX experience, to the way Android as a whole adheres to the needs of power users, there’s a whole lot of bang for the buck put out by Sammy’s flagship. Still, if you opt to go with the BlackBerry Z10, there are some compromises that you’re going to make. It’s not perfect, obviously, but when there’s a minimum expectation, it’s hard to find valid arguments to point out the Z10’s superiority. Nevertheless, there’s always hope, hope for a better tomorrow.

BlackBerry Z10 vs Samsung Galaxy S III: