I’ve been seen out in public using my BlackBerry Z10 for a while now, and I’ve noticed a trend with my friends, family, strangers on the street—and really anyone who notices me using my smartphone. Everyone wants to test it out. When I was in New York City last week for the U.S. launch, I was even stopped in a restaurant and asked about it.

Here are the most common reactions and questions when giving my BlackBerry Z10 a test drive:

“Wow. The screen is bigger than I pictured and the device feels comfortable in my hand.”

When people get their hands on my BlackBerry Z10, they almost always mention how natural the peek gesture feels when first learning how to navigate through the device. I think many don’t realize how easy it is to truly use this device with one hand.

“Can I test the Time Shift camera?”

I LOVE showing people this feature in greater detail. Many people are shocked to learn that not only can you shift the image of the person’s face, but also on the larger picture too. A lot of my friends have small children, and the general consensus is the BlackBerry Z10 has the best camera for capturing photos of their wiggly little kids.

“Is BBM Video Chat and screen sharing as seamless to use as I saw during the live launch?”

“It sure is,” is how I respond to this question. I typically call fellow Community Manager, Donny to showcase this one. He’s always good for a screen share that features his dog, George.

“Does the keyboard actually learn how you type?”

I love showing off this feature, primarily because it’s very clear this keyboard is already used to my typing patterns. For example, when typing that I’m laughing I always use “ha ha”. So when I type ‘ha’ the suggestion above the “H” is almost always a repeat of ‘ha’. I like to laugh, what can I say?

“What do you think about having all of your messages in one spot? Is it distracting?”

I think people have seen what the BlackBerry Hub can do, but I’ve started wondering how people feel about having literally every message being listed in one area. Many people don’t realize you can pick and choose which accounts are brought into the BlackBerry Hub. It’s also great to see the look on their faces when they see that you can sort by account too. It’s Always a great crowd pleaser.

These are the reactions and questions I get most.

What are you most excited about with your BlackBerry Z10?

By now, most of us know that BlackBerry 10 devices are different animals from their earlier counterparts. I still love my BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone, and it still works great. In the spirit of my dueling BlackBerry devices, I thought I’d share five quick things I’ve noticed as being big hardware differences between my BlackBerry Bold 9900 and the new BlackBerry Z10.

1. Front-Facing Camera. I love having a front-facing camera for video conferencing, and I found myself wanting it on my BlackBerry Bold smartphone so I wouldn’t have to grab my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. It’s a small thing, but to me it’s an important feature.
2. 4G LTE. Availability of 4G speeds depend a great deal on your carrier, but the download speeds I’ve noticed on the BlackBerry Z10 definitely make videos and sharing faster and smoother.
3. Apps and Games. While I definitely had a great collection of apps and games on my BlackBerry Bold smartphone, the graphics and processing capabilities of the BlackBerry Z10 are just that much better. What I’ve found in BlackBerry World is an awesome collection of fun and high quality games and productive apps that help me get through my day.
4. Screen Resolution. Can we talk about 356 pixels per inch for second? It’s gorgeous. I remember being blown away by the 286 pixels per inch my BlackBerry Bold smartphone sported, but 356 is so much sweeter. And don’t get me started on the 1080p HD recording versus the BlackBerry Bold 9900’s 720p.
5. Storage. Now that I’m grabbing more music and movies while traveling (thanks, 4G and retooled BlackBerry World), I appreciate the 16GB of onboard space versus the 8GB my BlackBerry Bold smartphone had. (Side note: Remember when 2GB was a ton of space?)

Of course, since BlackBerry 10 is an entirely new OS, there are also a ton of user experience differences, but these five hardware goodies offer their own slice of mobile deliciousness as well.

Which BlackBerry Z10 hardware features are you enjoying? Share your comments below!

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So there’s some great highlights of the new BlackBerry 10 browser – and isn’t it cool that Matthew also loves BlackBerry Remember? What do you love most about BlackBerry 10?

Ever since the introduction of the first BlackBerry devices equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, we’ve enjoyed seeing how people are using NFC in the real world. Whether NFC is used as part of a mobile payment solution, to interact with a book, or as a security card, there is little doubt that the technology is becoming widely adopted. Even just this week our Secure Element Manager (SEM) solution for NFC payments was approved by Visa – a clear sign the industry is getting behind NFC.

These case studies are all well and good, but I still have friends who ask me, “Why would I even need NFC on my smartphone? Does it do anything cool?” It’s a fair question. While there are more and more devices running NFC, the adoption of this or any new technology can happen gradually. Take Bluetooth for example. I remember the early days of Bluetooth, when it was (anecdotally) confusing for a lot of people I know. In the mobile and desktop space Bluetooth was a check box in the selling features category. It wasn’t until consumers and the industry really got behind it and understood how it was useful that it took off. Now you see Bluetooth everywhere; in mobile accessories, smartphones, and even cars.

We continue to see the infrastructure pieces coming together that are making NFC solutions simpler and more viable to the mass market. Like Bluetooth before it, I predict NFC will improve the way people interact with their devices, making everything from exchanging contact information, files and making payments as simple as tapping two devices or tags together.

Pretty cool, right? Also keep in mind that NFC is still growing as a technology so there are uses coming that we may not have even thought of yet. Where will NFC on your BlackBerry device take you?

We’re always on the lookout for new and fun uses for NFC, so please feel free to share your NFC story or feature in the comments below.

For those who don’t know, HTML5 is the latest version of HTML, the language that acts as the digital skeleton of most web pages. Probably the coolest thing about HTML5 is that it does more than just power web pages — it also powers web apps. These apps can work both online and offline to provide an experience much like a native app, meaning mobile browsers will have to be equipped to handle HTML5 quickly and smoothly.

This is where the BlackBerry 10 browser fits in nicely. The BlackBerry 10 browser itself is an HTML5 application, working as a gateway that serves up pages written in nearly any programming language, including HTML5. But that’s only half of the story. The BlackBerry 10 browser is also an extremely revved-up result of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet browser (which may just have the best HTML5 score for a tablet browser in the industry). This is the browser available in new BlackBerry 10 smartphones. This allows for not only compatibility of pages designed now and in the future, but also a faster browsing experience.

Who’s excited?

Every BlackBerry 10 detail, update, and feature, as soon as it’s released: BlackBerry.com/BlackBerry10. Test out BlackBerry 10 features hands-on, watch exclusive video interviews with the minds behind BlackBerry 10, and receive product and carrier updates straight to your inbox. Sign up today!