Meet Harp Dhonsi – One of the first people in Canada to own a BlackBerry Z10

From splash to flash, Harp Dhonsi’s history with BlackBerry has given him a number of firsts.

It started in 2005 when Harp accidentally dropped the BlackBerry 7700 in a lake while on a camping trip. Despite the accident, his work gave him another BlackBerry, this time a 7500. After he left that company, the Whitby, Ont., resident continued to buy his own BlackBerrys.

“I have since avoided keeping them in my pockets when I’m near large bodies of water,” Harp admits.

Amidst a flurry of media activity, Harp was one of the first Rogers customers to reserve his BlackBerry Z10 on the Rogers Reservation System in December. He was also part of our event at Rogers headquarters on Feb. 5, when he became one of the first people in Canada to receive his Z10.

We caught up with Harp to see how he likes his new BlackBerry, what he thinks about the Z10 and why being a BlackBerry fan is sometimes like being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.

Q: It’s been more than a week since receiving your Z10, what do you think about the device so far?

A: So far, I’m enjoying the device.  I like the new user interface, the responsiveness when navigating the phone and the general “freshness” of the operating system .

Q: You were one of the first Rogers customers to reserve the Z10, why were you so excited about BlackBerry 10?

A: For me, remaining with Blackberry is a lot like being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.  Just because they aren’t doing well, doesn’t mean you jump ship and start being a fan of the Montreal Canadiens, even though times may be tough.  I guess I have been rooting for them to make a comeback since they are a Canadian company.

Q: What’s the one new feature that you like best?

A: Multitasking.  It’s handy and convenient to be able to swipe into the BlackBerry Hub to check any incoming messages, while the application I was in remains active.

Q: How has the transition over to BlackBerry 10 been for you? Was it easy to pick up?

A: For the most part it was pretty easy.  Since all of my previous devices had a physical keyboard, it did take a few days to get used to typing on the virtual keyboard.

Q: Tell us what it was like to be a part of the event at the Rogers event on launch day.

A: It was great, although I wasn’t expecting it to be such a big event and to be in the media like that!

Q:  What kind of people would you recommend the Z10 to? Why?

A: I guess everyone!  Current BlackBerry users who are looking to upgrade will enjoy the new operating system simply because the older platform had become quite stale.

Q: This is the first LTE powered BlackBerry. What impresses you most about the Rogers LTE network?

A: The speed while browsing or downloading apps or streaming video is very impressive.  It’s great that it’s available in the major geographical areas across Canada.