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This may actually be the time when users can finally stop griping about the inadequate cameras in BlackBerry devices

BlackBerry OS 10.3 now includes an Android store (Amazon’s), pre-installed, so you don’t have to sideload Android apps. It’s not as rich in choices as Google Play, but it’s adequate.

We can expect a few OS patches to be pushed out in the near future, to correct some glitchy behaviour that’s annoying, not catastrophic. These include things like when you customize the auto signature in email, if you’ve included several spaces (if, for example, you type your name, a bunch of spaces, then your email address), it looks fine in Settings, but strips the spaces when it generates the sig in an email. And sometimes the soft keyboard doesn’t expand on cue.

Other things work as designed, but I’m not crazy about them. High on that list: a change in the way you select multiple items in the Hub for deletion.

What I do like are the option to Undo deletions in the Hub, the ability to download all attachments at once, the ability to remove the original text when you’re responding to a message, the access to the dial pad from the Calls Hub, and the Instant Actions. Instant Actions is a customizable additional menu of functions that drops down in the Hub and lets you delete or file messages on the fly. It’s made possible by the wider screen; it would not be practical on the Z-series.

It wouldn’t be a BlackBerry without security, and the 10.3 collection of features is known as BlackBerry Safeguard. It includes the option to encrypt the device, including microSD card, with 256-bit AES, the ability to set permissions on an application by application basis, and an interesting twist on password protection. There’s the usual device password, but you can also choose to use the combination of a picture and a number. You select one of several pictures, pick a number from 0 – 9, and choose a spot on the picture. Then you can unlock the device by dragging a grid of random numbers overlaying the picture so that the number you chose is on the spot you selected. There’s also BlackBerry Protect, which helps you find your phone if it’s lost or stolen, and will let you remotely lock or wipe the device if it’s unrecoverable. And, of course, BlackBerry Balance is still available to enterprise customers using BES10.