BlackBerry Z10 vs. Galaxy S3: Their Innards Are Similar, But Bear In Mind, BlackBerry Has BBM

RIM...err Blackberry made its rather glorified re-entry into the smartphone market with the recent release of the Blackberry 10 OS and high-end Blackberry Z10 handset. As consumers decide whether to give BlackBerry another chance, one question is going to pop up - How does it compare to the current creams of the crop? Here we take a look at the BlackBerry Z10 against the best-selling Samsung Galaxy S3 from 2012. 

To begin with, one thing must be noted. The BlackBerry Z10 is not spec'd to deal with the upcoming slew of flagship devices. As a recent teardown from UBMTechInsights shows, its innards are incredibly similar to the Galaxy S3 LTE from almost one year ago. 

"All in all, the Blackberry Z10 seems to incorporate many of the component selections of the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE. It's not certain if these decisions the designers made on what semiconductors, ICs and other modules to use were by design or by accident but based on the relative success of the Samsung Galaxy S3, it isn't a bad model to draw from."

That being said, let's see what each handset offers under the hood so you can decide for yourself. 

The BlackBerry Z10 comes with a 4.2-inch display capable of a 1280X768 resolution and 356 ppi. It also sports a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 2GB RAM, and 16GB flash memory that's expandable for another 64GB through microSD. The handset supports LTE, and runs the latest BlackBerry 10 OS. The rear-shooter stands at the 2012 standard of 8 megapixels (bear in mind most 2013 flagship devices will have 13-megapixel cameras) and 1080p video and the front-facer is capable of 2-megapixel images 720p recording. One nice addition the Z10 has over the Galaxy S3 is that it comes with a micro HDMI port for streaming to your television. 

The Samsung Galaxy S3 (U.S. LTE variant), released last June in the United States, also sports a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and a similar 1280X720 resolution, although with 306 ppi on a much larger 4.8-inch display. The Galaxy S3 also comes with 16GB memory, 2GB RAM, and up to 64GB with a microSD card. Its cameras are an 8-megapixel 1080p rear-facing one and a 1.9-megapixel 720p front shooter. Most LTE Galaxy S3s in the United States are running Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, although Android 4.1.2 or Android 4.2 is expected to roll out for them in the first half of 2013.

The Z10 is said to have 10 hours of talk time, while the Galaxy S3 is listed as having 8 hours. The only major U.S. carrier that hasn't come out in full support of the Z10 is Sprint, which, however, offers the Galaxy S3. 

As you can see, the smartphones are pretty evenly matched, and while the Galaxy S3 has months of unparalleled Android success to rest on, the BlackBerry Z10 has yet to even release through major carriers here in the United States. The handset is expected to become available in March, so until you can get your hands on one, or have made up your mind about the BlackBerry OS vs. Android, which boasts an app library far greater than BlackBerry can offer at the moment, then this one is still up in the air. After all, BlackBerry's email and BBM features can be a selling point all in themselves.