iPhone vs. Blackberry Smartphone

Unlike Pepsi and Coke the ever warring carbonated soft drink giants that have more things in common, save and except the color of their cans (Red for Coke and Blue for Pepsi), contemporary smartphones mostly have similar features but are often chosen for their looks and performance. This post will draw some the distinctive feature of Apple’s iPhone (iPhone 5S) as compared to Blackberry’s smartphone (Blackberry Z10).

Design

The outward look of Blackberry Z10 is clean, simple yet stylish with  straight edges and rounded corners. It also does not have any physical keys or buttons for navigation, etc. to make it look free from clutters.   Measuring 66 x 130 mm and having a thickness no more than 9.2 mm, it looks more or less  like a slab of black plastic that weighs a mere 135g, fitting snugly in your hand even on a cold December dawn. The Z10 also looks and feels more robust than its sleeker sister iPhone 5S and comes with a thin plastic removable cover for protection against the elements, which of course is removable.As far as the outer look is concerned, Apple’s iPhone 5S  shares similar shape, size, design and weight as the iPhone 5 and somewhat resembles Blackberry Z10. However, it is slightly smaller and lighter ( 112g as against Blackberry’s 135g) than Blackberry and is perhaps less robust and that’s precisely why it’s outer cover is simply not removable at all.

Screen

Surprisingly enough, the 4.2 –inch Blackberry Z10 screen, though small in dimension is big in details. Coupled with the resolution of  768 x1280, the Z10 has a higher density: at 355 ppi, it beats the iPhone 5S that boasts a maximum of 326 ppi. But as I said earlier, the smaller screen size makes little difference for both the smartphones. Also, in both the cases, the colors are vibrant, contrast is remarkable while there is brightness galore. The only problem with the Z10’s screen is the lack of oleophobic coating that could save the clarity of its screen much longer.

Battery  

The Blackberry Z10 is fitted with a removable battery pack having a capacity of 6.7 Wh and according to Blackberry it is supposed to last up to 13 days on standby and 10 hours of talk time. But in actual reality, you need to recharge it every night. As for the iPhone 5S, the picture isn’t brighter too. It has a built-in non-swappable lithium-ion battery and according to Apple, it  will last for up to 250 hours on standby, and 10 hours of talk time. Web surfing is 8 hours on 3G, and 10 hours on LTE and Wi-Fi. Apple also claims 10 hours for video playback and 40 hours audio playback, for the iPhone 5S.

Processor / Performance

The situation here is no good either. While Blackberry (Blackberry Z10) has adopted 1.5 GHz dual-core processor along with 2GB of RAM, the question that obviously arises – why not a quad-core processor as this is common with most contemporary smartphones? But in this case, you can not complain because that makes little difference so far as performance is concerned. Even though it may not be called the very best, but at the same time, there is nothing wrong with it.

With iPhone 5S, which is the first 64-bit smartphone that boasts an all new A7 chip with 64-bit architecture, the performance beyond reproach. What is more, it has an M7 motion co-processor which allows more apps that use motion-tracking (fitness apps, etc).

Camera

Blackberry Z10 comes with a front (8 Mp with LED flash) camera with F 2.2 lens and a rear camera that can record video in up to full HD 1080p quality. To take a picture of your choice, you can select anywhere on the touchscreen to focus and the rest is done automatically. However, the principal feature of Blackberry Z10 camera comprises its Time Shift.  By taking numerous snaps in one go, you can adjust the whole image or individual elements like someone’s face. It’s a nice feature but don’t think that it is new or novel; the Nokia Lumia smartphones have a similar thing called Smart Shoot.

The iPhone 5S also has two cameras – one front-facing FaceTime camera, the other being a rear-facing one, described as iSight camera.  The iPhone 5S iSight camera has what Apple describes as a ‘better 8Mp sensor’, than either the iPhone 5 or the iPhone 5C. It lists the sensor as 8 megapixels with 1.5µ pixels. It has ƒ/2.2 aperture and a true-tone flash. The FaceTime Camera takes 1.2Mp photos at a resolution of 1280×960, and offers 720p HD video recording.

Software

The iPhone 5S comes with iOS7, but will be upgraded (for free) to all new versions of Apple’s operating system, as and when available. However, the iOS has some of the best app- and media support of most mobile platforms.

So far as Blackberry is concerned, the Z10 is the first smartphone to run Blackberry 10, the company’s all-new Operating System. For  more detailed info on this Operating System, you need to take a look at the company’s Blackberry 10 review. It will provide you with ‘features, performance and gripes’ of this new OS.

Bottom Line

To be more precise, most smartphones that are released in a given period of time comprise features that are similar, save and except one or two novelty items. The only opinion that proves valuable is those that are conveyed through word of the mouth. So, before buying your next smartphone, take the opinion of your friends and colleagues who will never lie to you.