BlackBerry 10 OS review

While iOS and (most) Android devices rely on swipes and a liberal use of the home button to negotiate, navigating the BB10 requires a mix of left, right, up and down gestures, which take a little while to get your head around.

A swipe up from the bottom of the screen unlocks the device, while a downward flick reveals at-a-glance information about Wi-Fi connections, upcoming alarms and enable access to the sound settings.

A swipe from right to left reveals the app tile screen, while the reverse action takes users to the BlackBerry Hub.

Handily, the company has included a tutorial that plays through the first time you turn the Z10 on, but - after a bit of playing around with the device - the gestures soon become second nature.

The homescreen is consistently changing as it displays the last eight apps you had open. BlackBerry claims that the majority of users use only a handful of apps and this will help them gain access to them.

Caroline Donnelly is the news and analysis editor of IT Pro and its sister site Cloud Pro, and covers general news, as well as the storage, security, public sector, cloud and Microsoft beats. Caroline has been a member of the IT Pro/Cloud Pro team since March 2012, and has previously worked as a reporter at several B2B publications, including UK channel magazine CRN, and as features writer for local weekly newspaper, The Slough and Windsor Observer. She studied Medical Biochemistry at the University of Leicester and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism at PMA Training in 2006.