If you haven't heard, BlackBerry is in a spot of bother. Massive delays to BlackBerry 10 and a muted response to its last batch of handsets have meant that many have fallen out of favor with the company.
And while the announcement that the Canadian firm is being sold for $4.7 billion has probably steadied a few hands, considering Google paid a whopping $12.5 billion in May 2012 in order to acquire Motorola it's not massive money.
Couple this with the recent haphazard rollout of BBM on iOS and Android, which was pulled to address a few teething problems, and what you have is a brand that's got issues.
With so much going on, the BlackBerry Z30 launch could be one of the most important in the firm's history.
In this highly volatile tech world, we love to see comebacks. So, while fighting out against the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5S is going to prove difficult, we reckon the Z30 could be BlackBerry's saviour, and be a precursor for things to come.
Here's why...
The BlackBerry Z30 is ideal for business
Smartphones used to be devices that were the preserve of the business elite. This was great for BlackBerry as it was a world that it could dominate. The QWERTY keyboards and emphasis on email and messaging meant that IT departments fell in love with the company as it was ideal for the mobile worker.
We can credit, or blame, the iPhone for the wounds to the BlackBerry brand. Indeed it was the iPhone that made smartphones cool, and created the face of the mobile market that we see today.
Put simply, BlackBerry failed to keep up with the changes. BlackBerry had made many inroads into the consumer market, but with the rise of the App store and "theres an app for that" coming with iPhone OS 2, RIM was in trouble.
The lack of apps and the lack of a truly decent touchscreen device made BlackBerry devices uncool - kids simply didn't want them anymore.
BlackBerry's new Z30 addresses these issues and takes the firm back to its business heart, aiming to create "enterprise and prosumer-centric targeted devices".
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said at the announcement of the Z30, "Going forward, we plan to refocus our offering on our end-to-end solution of hardware, software and services for enterprises and the productive, professional end user".
Aimed at the business sector, the BlackBerry Z30 comes fitted with dual profiles (one for home and one for work), a micro HDMI port for easy connection to TVs and projectors, as well as the BlackBerry Priority Hub which curates your messages and call data and shows you what is most relevant to you.
The BlackBerry Z30 is, then, a device that is well suited for business users. BlackBerry Enterprise backs up the BB Z30, providing a more than capable service to challenge the Samsung Knox software as it can manage both Android and iOS devices as well.
High Security functions are also available, so enterprises can remotely manage camera, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi functions, and manage the use of social media feeds and applications.
The BlackBerry Z30 is well connected
Being 4G enabled might not seem like a big deal, global markets have had 4G LTE support for a while now, but it is still one of the hot topics in the UK as leading networks O2 and Vodafone have both just joined the fray.
They both now compete with the more established EE, as well as Three, who are due to start 4G broadcasting before 2013 is out.
Being famed for having decent signal reception, continuing this legacy is vital for BlackBerry. 4G is the future of the mobile web as it allows for faster internet browsing speeds and faster downloads, both of which are vital to stay connected to the office while out and about, and to stream videos while commuting.
