BlackBerry unveils Q10 in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines -- BlackBerry officially unveiled on Wednesday the Q10 smartphone in the Philippines and will be sold in local retail stores starting Friday, June 7.

The Q10 is available in black and white colors and features large keyboard and touch screen display.

Priced at P31,990, Q10 is scheduled to be offered by local carriers, first by Globe Telecom on June 7. Smart Communications and Sun Cellular will make their own announcements soon.

BlackBerry executives said the Q10 has an improved hardware, communications and multimedia features and long battery life.

They added that the device works with multiple devices and workstations as long as the user signs in with the same BlackBerry ID.

Q10 is powered by the BlackBerry 10 platform that features the BlackBerry Hub, BlackBerry Balance, BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), and BlackBerry Remember technology.

Pre-loaded with BB's 10.1 platform, the smartphone's new enhancements across the BB 10 OS include landscape support for the calendar and international dialing.

The Skype app for BB also runs on the new BB 10.1 OS.  

Updating to BB 10.1 is free. A user can look for the alert in the notifications section of the BlackBerry Hub. One can also check for software updates sections in the Settings menu or through the BlackBerry Link desktop software.

The Q10 has an HDR (high dynamic range) mode that enables one to take multiple pictures at different exposure levels and layers them automatically to produce a single photo.

The "Hub" feature brings all conversations together in one place that users can access at any time from any app with a simple "peek" while the BlackBerry Balance technology separates and secures work applications and data from personal content.

The BBM feature, however, includes voice calling and video chat, and lets a user share screen with another BlackBerry 10 smartphone contact.

One can click on a phone number in an email or BBM message to call the number or copy and paste it right into the dialed screen in the phone app.

Meanwhile, the BlackBerry Remember feature is designed to help users tackle tasks with a new way to collect, organize and action all the information sitting in different places across the smartphone.

Through the Remote Folder Access, users can view or download content such as music, videos, pictures and documents from their work station to the BB 10 device.   

Here's the link to the earlier LIVE FEED coverage on BlackBerry Q10's launch at New World Hotel in Makati City.: http://www.philstar.com/gadgets/2013/06/05/950454/live-feed-blackberry-q10-philippine-launch