The STL100-1 BlackBerry Z10 - What makes it so special?

The lone duck. The device no one wants. All common sayings for those who own the BlackBerry Z10 model STL100-1. Where did all the hatred and discontent with a device come from? 

While it may not matter to a bunch of you, there are certainly STL100-1 owners who feel a bit left out or cheated but having this device, but what makes it so special that it stands alone?

Let's dive right in and say this out right. This all started because of leaked software not being compatible with the STL100-1. It became a commonly asked question which has turned into a long standing joke here amongst the Crackberry forums. While it is the normal now to ask "is this leak for X device", it also comes with the biggest misunderstanding that the STL100-1 is weaker or less important than it's North American counterparts.

Well, I'm here to break that misconception.

First, the STL100-1 was built in mind with countries that, at the time, did not support 4GLTE (and to this day some still don't). This was also at request of the carriers at the time of building the device specifications. In order to build a device with no LTE they needed a different chipset. That chipset was the TI OMAP 4470. It is a 45nm ARMv7 chip which runs at 1.3-1.5 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9. That same chip also has two 266 MHz ARM Cortex-M3 microcontrollers. 

Now with certain CPU's, they can only run certain GPU's. In this case the STL100-1 runs the PowerVR SGX544. Which in hind sight, statistic wise, is a better chip than the Adreno 225 on the other BlackBerry Z10 models. 

To summarize, the BlackBerry Z10 STL100-1 is no less of a phone than any of its Z10 counterparts. It is still clocked at 1.5Ghz dual-core CPU and it actually has a better onboard GPU. Just because a "leak" isn't for your device doesn't mean BlackBerry has forgotten or abandoned said device.

If most of you can recall, even BlackBerry Z10 STL100-1 owners got the 10.1MR update before customers in the United States did. This will also hold true when the official BlackBerry 10.2 OS rolls out (most likely). When the OS starts to roll out, every BlackBerry Z10, Q10, and Q5 will see a update for their phones. Of course, don't forget your carrier is responsible for the rollout.

So hopefully that clears things up a bit. If you're a STL100-1 owner you shouldn't feel left out - your BlackBerry loves you just the same!