By Katrice
As soon as I heard that I was getting the BlackBerry Z10 as a part of the Verizon Ambassador Program, I thought I'm back! I have been using an iPhone for the past year and a half but it was absolutely a switch made out of desperation. I was completely enthralled with every one of my BlackBerries until there was nothing for me to upgrade to. It was a sad, sad day. So, when the Z10 arrived earlier this month, I just knew I would pick up where I left off with my last BB. Well ... It hasn't been quite that easy; What a difference a year (and some months) makes.
I love the design of the phone. It's ultra slim and lightweight with a nice size screen -- 4.2 inches to be exact. From the jump, I did find it pretty seamless to figure out the setup and actually was able to sign right back into the system manager with my old BB login information. That was cool. But, then, I hit a wall.
The phone was all set up, I'd taken a few test photos, loaded my go-to contacts (actually a post for another time) and I was on to Blackberry World to download the apps I use frequently. PageOnce, good. Facebook, got it. Twitter ... Tunein Radio, check. Instagram ... [scrolling] ... Instagram ... Hm. No Instagram. Okay, that's alright. Mapquest ... [scrolling] ... Mapquest. Oh, okay, no Mapquest. Netflix ... [scrolling] ... Hmmmm. No Netflix.
I actually had to take pause. I guess I didn't realize how app driven I was until that moment. Using my phone for actual calling has shifted to secondary. I conduct my life, in part, via the apps on my phone and it hadn't even occurred to me how involved all of this really was. So, on to Plan B. I thought, if I'm going to use this phone, I'll need to find some apps similar to what I'm missing.
Here's what I'm using:
Wisepilot is my answer to mapquest. It's efficient and updates automatically so I never have to worry about outdated streets or ever-present construction in our lovely city.
DoNow is new for me but I love it because I'm a list-maker. But, it's just that one single item that you need to keep top of mind at the present and it is on your homescreen whenever you look onto your phone. Perfect.
As soon as I heard that I was getting the BlackBerry Z10 as a part of the Verizon Ambassador Program, I thought I'm back! I have been using an iPhone for the past year and a half but it was absolutely a switch made out of desperation. I was completely enthralled with every one of my BlackBerries until there was nothing for me to upgrade to. It was a sad, sad day. So, when the Z10 arrived earlier this month, I just knew I would pick up where I left off with my last BB. Well ... It hasn't been quite that easy; What a difference a year (and some months) makes.
I love the design of the phone. It's ultra slim and lightweight with a nice size screen -- 4.2 inches to be exact. From the jump, I did find it pretty seamless to figure out the setup and actually was able to sign right back into the system manager with my old BB login information. That was cool. But, then, I hit a wall.
The phone was all set up, I'd taken a few test photos, loaded my go-to contacts (actually a post for another time) and I was on to Blackberry World to download the apps I use frequently. PageOnce, good. Facebook, got it. Twitter ... Tunein Radio, check. Instagram ... [scrolling] ... Instagram ... Hm. No Instagram. Okay, that's alright. Mapquest ... [scrolling] ... Mapquest. Oh, okay, no Mapquest. Netflix ... [scrolling] ... Hmmmm. No Netflix.
I actually had to take pause. I guess I didn't realize how app driven I was until that moment. Using my phone for actual calling has shifted to secondary. I conduct my life, in part, via the apps on my phone and it hadn't even occurred to me how involved all of this really was. So, on to Plan B. I thought, if I'm going to use this phone, I'll need to find some apps similar to what I'm missing.
Here's what I'm using:
Sometimes, I like to take my lunch in a park or at the picnic table outside my office and watch documentaries. The NFB Films app is perfect for that. Unlike Netflix, it's free and has a pretty robust catalog of docs and feature films.
DoNow is new for me but I love it because I'm a list-maker. But, it's just that one single item that you need to keep top of mind at the present and it is on your homescreen whenever you look onto your phone. Perfect.
