Six Clicks: Good reasons to still consider a BlackBerry 10 smartphone

I thought the Q10 and Z10 would be the last devices we saw as the company seemed to be on its last legs in 2013. I was wrong and — according to the latest financial results — BlackBerry earned a healthy profit and beat analyst expectations.

I recently bought a BlackBerry Z30 and think there are still good reasons to consider a BlackBerry 10 device today.

There is lots of competition in the mobile space with fantastic, high-end Android devices, aging Windows Phone devices, a likely new iPhone launching in a couple months, and the Amazon Fire phone.

Android phones are pushing specs to the limit and offer just about every application you could want. There are very few new Windows Phone devices in the US, but with Windows Phone 8.1 starting to appear we may see some new devices before the end of the year. There is still an app gap for many apps beyond just the most popular.

Apple's new iPhone will perfect things that Android and Windows Phone have been doing for a couple of years and will again sell millions of new devices. After testing the Amazon Fire phone, it is clear to me that a BlackBerry 10 device is a better choice for most people, especially for those using their phone to get work done.

Here are my six reasons to still consider a BlackBerry 10 device. The BlackBerry Passport is coming soon and there is likely to be a Z30 successor later this year as well.

More ZDNet BlackBerry coverage

• BlackBerry Z30 hands-on: Rock solid smartphone, but others still offer more
• Remembering the BlackBerry
• BlackBerry reveals why the Passport is hip to be square: It's all about the spreadsheets
• BlackBerry Q1: $23 million in profit, beats analyst expectations

I keep going back to using a BlackBerry device when I need to focus on communications because nothing beats the centralized communications center called BlackBerry Hub. If efficient communications is important to you, then you should definitely consider a BlackBerry 10 device.

More ZDNet BlackBerry coverage

• BlackBerry Z30 hands-on: Rock solid smartphone, but others still offer more
• Remembering the BlackBerry
• BlackBerry reveals why the Passport is hip to be square: It's all about the spreadsheets
• BlackBerry Q1: $23 million in profit, beats analyst expectations

The BlackBerry Q10 is a rock solid device and I was pleased to see the Z30 take many of those same design elements. I have been pleased with every BlackBerry 10 device I have tried so far and am very interested in seeing the upcoming Passport device.

More ZDNet BlackBerry coverage

• BlackBerry Z30 hands-on: Rock solid smartphone, but others still offer more
• Remembering the BlackBerry
• BlackBerry reveals why the Passport is hip to be square: It's all about the spreadsheets
• BlackBerry Q1: $23 million in profit, beats analyst expectations

BlackBerry has always been known for focusing on security and that continues today. This is especially true if your company has a BES; with a BES, you can use a phone with a well designed business and personal experience available with a flip of a setting.

More ZDNet BlackBerry coverage

• BlackBerry Z30 hands-on: Rock solid smartphone, but others still offer more
• Remembering the BlackBerry
• BlackBerry reveals why the Passport is hip to be square: It's all about the spreadsheets
• BlackBerry Q1: $23 million in profit, beats analyst expectations

While the Q10 is one of the best hardware QWERTY keyboards we have seen from BlackBerry, their software keyboard is one of the best ever as well. The prediction is pretty amazing so even if you go with an all-touchscreen device you can experience BlackBerry as it was designed.

More ZDNet BlackBerry coverage

• BlackBerry Z30 hands-on: Rock solid smartphone, but others still offer more
• Remembering the BlackBerry
• BlackBerry reveals why the Passport is hip to be square: It's all about the spreadsheets
• BlackBerry Q1: $23 million in profit, beats analyst expectations

With BlackBerry 10.2, getting Android apps through the Amazon Appstore or Google Play Store is quite easy. The Android support is going to be even better in the upcoming BlackBerry 10.3 release too. Most Android apps run well on BB10 so any gaps in the BlackBerry store can be filled with Android apps.

More ZDNet BlackBerry coverage

• BlackBerry Z30 hands-on: Rock solid smartphone, but others still offer more
• Remembering the BlackBerry
• BlackBerry reveals why the Passport is hip to be square: It's all about the spreadsheets
• BlackBerry Q1: $23 million in profit, beats analyst expectations

BBM has always provided a core messaging experience unlike others on BlackBerry devices. BBM is now available on Android and iOS, with a beta being tested on Windows Phone. While it is nice to see BBM coming to other platforms, the BBM experience on BlackBerry smartphones is still the best.

More ZDNet BlackBerry coverage

• BlackBerry Z30 hands-on: Rock solid smartphone, but others still offer more
• Remembering the BlackBerry
• BlackBerry reveals why the Passport is hip to be square: It's all about the spreadsheets
• BlackBerry Q1: $23 million in profit, beats analyst expectations