BlackBerry Q5
Specifications
Pricecompare
Average of 12 scores (from 18 reviews)
Reviews for the BlackBerry Q5
Austerity measures? Following the exceptional BlackBerry Q10, the Canadian manufacturer releases an even less expensive version on the market dubbed BlackBerry Q5. For an RRP of 399 Euros (~$534), the smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard inherits a lot of traits from its Q10 sister model, such as a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus SoC with 1.2 GHz, 8 GB of flash memory and 2 GB of RAM.
Source: Tech Advisor Archive.org version
It's a mixed bag when it comes to the BlackBerry Q5. It's cheaper than both the BlackBerry Q10 and Z10 and a lot of its hardware specs are better than we expected. However, build quality isn't inspiring and while BlackBerry 10 is smooth with good features, a shortage of apps remains a downfall.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 08/13/2013
Rating: Total score: 60% price: 60% performance: 60% features: 60% workmanship: 50%
Source: Engadget Archive.org version
The BlackBerry Q5 isn't a bad handset, but it carries the weight of disappointment when you realize that it's not just a stripped-down Q10. Had it been, we'd probably be far more appreciative of the hardware, but as it stands we have two objections we simply can't get past. First things first, the price.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/18/2013
Source: Think Digit Archive.org version
The Q5 is a tad more expensive than what the sweet spot would have been - somewhere around the Rs. 20,000 mark. It's a must buy for those who desperately want a BlackBerry 10 device, but for whom the Q10 is out of budget. Otherwise, for the same amount of money, a few Android phones and the Apple iPhone 4 (if you don't mind the old phone) will offer better application variety and usage experience.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/17/2013
Rating: Total score: 60% price: 50% performance: 70% features: 60% workmanship: 70%
Source: Tech2.in.com Archive.org version
The first piece of good news is that the Q5 is substantially cheaper than the Q10. BlackBerry has had to cut down on some key specifications and the materials used to build it, but overall you’re left with a very good experience that comes close to its more expensive brethren. However, Rs 24,990 is still quite expensive for the Q5 as we would peg the value of the handset at not more than Rs 20,000. If BlackBerry drops the price to sub-20k, then the Q5 has the potential for doing well.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/17/2013
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: T3 Archive.org version
The Q5 is a tough call to make. It’s almost certainly going to become the work BlackBerry if the Z10 hasn’t already and while we commend BlackBerry’s intentions in trying to create a BB10 handset for both work and youth, it's kinda missed the point. Would we recommend it? If you’re after a typing experience but can’t afford the frankly silly price of the Q10 then this is definitely your best bet, but if you’re after something more than that we’d have to suggest looking elsewhere.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 07/16/2013
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: V3.co.uk Archive.org version
We expected the more expensive BlackBerry Q10 to put its cheaper sibling to shame in pretty much every category. However, having compared the two, we found the two smartphones fairly evenly matched, raising the question as to whether the BlackBerry Q10 is worth the extra £200. Aside from those considerations, however, we found that the BlackBerry Q5 does a good job for its price, matching the BlackBerry Q10 with regard to screen, performance, operating system and all-round usability.
Comparison, online available, Medium, Date: 07/16/2013
Source: Reg Hardware Archive.org version
All in all, the Q5 is a workhorse with an OS still in its early days. I suspect the "ambitious" and "youthful" crowd won’t be getting a Q5 out of choice - it’s still too expensive. It needs to be on a £20/month contract to be considered, and they’ll be after something classier if they can afford it. Priced alongside last year’s Galaxy S3 for example, it’s hard to see who in that target market would opt for this drab offering. The beloved BIS, which piped email and BBM to a BlackBerry subscriber for a flat rate, is gone, and isn’t coming back. Very shortly one will no longer need to buy a BlackBerry to tap into the previously exclusive BBM social network. For enterprises, particularly those with a sunken investment in BlackBerry Enterprise Server and corporate apps, it’s a more solid choice. Shame about the unforgiving keyboard.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/10/2013
Source: It Pro Archive.org version
With decent performance levels and a mid-range price, the Q5 is reasonable handset. However, it's suited more to the consumer market and is unlikely to anything more than a secondary messaging device for most business users due to the small screen.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 07/08/2013
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Slashgear Archive.org version
What gives us most pause about the Q5 is its price. It may have half the name of the Q10, but it doesn’t have half the RRP: in fact, SIM-free in the UK where sales have already begun, the Q5 is £320 ($477) including tax, versus £480 ($715) for the Q10. Sign up to a contract, and you’ll spend just £8 ($12) per month more for the Q10 than the Q5. We’d argue not only that the Q10 is still too expensive for what you get – though we’d prefer it over the Q5 – but that the Q5 isn’t as cheap as it really needs to be. If you’re determined to get a BlackBerry and must have a keyboard, then the Q10 should be your choice; everybody else will likely find more rewarding devices running Android or iOS.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/07/2013
Source: Techradar Archive.org version
The BlackBerry Q5 is difficult to love. Sure it's got all the core smartphone features, but it doesn't really excel at anything, apart from perhaps web browsing, but even that's hampered somewhat by the pokey 3.1-inch display. The BlackBerry Q5 feels like it should be dropped down the pricing scale, towards the bottom of the mid-tier of smartphones - and at that price we could very well be recommending it, but as it stands it's hard to make a convincing argument for this BlackBerry 10 handset.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 07/04/2013
Rating: Total score: 60% price: 50% performance: 70% features: 70% workmanship: 40%
Source: V3.co.uk Archive.org version
Summing up, we've found the Q5 lives up to the legacy set by its top-end siblings, delivering the same BYOD and productivity services that made the Z10 and Q10 an ideal choice for business. However, it also suffers from the same weakness, featuring middling build quality, a screen overly prone to picking up glare and an average rear-facing camera. All this adds up to mean that while the Q5 is a good, semi-affordable option for businesses users eager to upgrade their existing work BlackBerry, we can't see it having any real mass market appeal.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/01/2013
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: T3 Archive.org version
With two high-end devices already out it makes sense that BlackBerry would return to its established emerging markets and make a phone that would be deemed ‘affordable’. What will be most interesting however is seeing just how affordable it really is, sporting many of the same specs as the Q10 many users could be in for a shock when BlackBerry does finally release pricing information.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 05/15/2013
Foreign Reviews
Source: Stiftung Warentest - Heft 2/2014
Single Review, , Length Unknown, Date: 01/01/2014
Rating: Total score: 84%
Source: Stiftung Warentest - Heft 1/2014
Single Review, , Length Unknown, Date: 12/01/2013
Rating: Total score: 84% mobility: 87%
Source: Connect - Heft 10/2013
Single Review, , Length Unknown, Date: 09/01/2013
Rating: Total score: 82%
Source: Notebookinfo DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/07/2013
Rating: performance: 83% display: 100% mobility: 95% ergonomy: 100% emissions: 90%
Source: Connect - Heft 2/2014
Single Review, , Length Unknown, Date: 01/01/2013
Rating: Total score: 82%
Source: Netzwelt DE→EN Archive.org version
Positive: up-to-date keyboard smartphone; good package
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/02/2013
Comment
Qualcomm Adreno 225: Integrated OpenGL ES 2.0 and Direct3D 9_3 capable graphics card.
These graphics cards are not suited for Windows 3D games. Office and Internet surfing however is possible.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
S4 Plus MSM8960: High end dual core Soc (Krait cores) including a Adreno 225 GPU.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
3.10":
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
71.58%: This rating is poor. More than three quarters of the models are rated better. That is rather not a purchase recommendation. Even if verbal ratings in this area do not sound that bad ("sufficient" or "satisfactory"), they are usually euphemisms that disguise a classification as a below-average laptop.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.