BlackBerry has officially announced the long-rumored BlackBerry Z30. A 5-inch Super AMOLED display and quad-core processor make it the largest and fastest BlackBerry smartphone ever released.

Even through all its current troubles, BlackBerry is still keeping itself in the game and is hoping that consumers will flock to its latest smartphone. The company has decided to follow the current trends seen in flagship Android smartphones and use a large 5-inch Super AMOLED display, a quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and more.

"The new BlackBerry Z30 smartphone builds on the solid foundation and engaging user experience of the BlackBerry 10 platform with features like the powerful BlackBerry Hub, its exceptional touchscreen keyboard and industry leading browser," said Carlo Chiarello, Executive Vice President for Products at BlackBerry. "The smartphone rounds out the BlackBerry 10 portfolio and is designed for people looking for a smartphone that excels at communications, messaging and productivity. Having apps like the full Documents To Go suite that comes preinstalled, together with its 5" touch display, the BlackBerry Z30 smartphone gives you a best in class productivity experience on the go."

Some key features of the BlackBerry Z30 include:

• BlackBerry® Priority Hub - BlackBerry® Hub is the one place to manage all your conversations and notifications. The new BlackBerry Priority Hub can now learn what conversations and what people are important to you making it fast and easy to find the messages and information you need. It collects priority messages across your email, social networking and other accounts and gives you instant access to the conversations most important to you to help you stay organized and focused on the most important tasks. 

• BBM^TM Now in Any App and Message Previews Everywhere - BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2 continues to refine the unique communications experience of the platform. You can now get a preview of any message as it arrives in whatever app you're using, and immediately dismiss it or tap it to read the full content and respond. If a BBM message arrives, you can instantly reply to the message without even leaving the app you're in. In addition, if your phone is locked, you can tap the various icons on the Lock Screen to see an instant preview of your most recent messages and notifications.

• 5" Super AMOLED Display - The BlackBerry Z30 smartphone features the latest in display technology with a 5" Super AMOLED display that makes whatever you're running larger, clearer and more vivid. The smartphone also houses many top of the line components, including a 1.7 GHz processor with quadcore graphics that makes browsing web pages faster and games more detailed.
• Stereo Audio and BlackBerry® Natural Sound - The BlackBerry Z30 smartphone comes with stereo speakers that immerse you in your music, videos, apps and games, and makes conversations sound like you're face-to-face. BlackBerry Natural Sound is new technology exclusive to BlackBerry and part of BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2 that makes BBM Voice and BBM Video chats sound more natural and realistic. BlackBerry Natural Sound lets you hear nuances and variations in tone, making conversations sound like you're in the same room.  

• New Antenna Technology - The BlackBerry Z30 smartphone features BlackBerry's new generation antenna technology that dynamically tunes reception to give you better connectivity in low signal areas. BlackBerry® Paratek Antenna can give you faster data transfers and fewer dropped calls in low signal areas, keeping you connected in more places.

• Longer Battery Life - The BlackBerry Z30 smartphone includes a 2880 mAh battery, the largest battery ever built into a BlackBerry smartphone. Combined with the battery enhancements in BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2, you can get up to 25 hours of mixed use* to keep you moving from dawn 'til dawn.

The BlackBerry Z30 features a 5-inch Super AMOLED 1280 x 720 display with a pixel density of 295 pixels per inch (ppi). It runs BlackBerry 10.2 OS, powered by a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with quad-core Adreno 320 graphics processing unit (GPU), and packs in 2GB of RAM.

The Z30 includes 16GB of internal storage and features a microSD expansion slot to allow users to add more memory. The smartphone also has an 8-megapixel rear camera with Auto-Focus, Back Side Illumination, 5 element F2.2 lens, Flash, continuous & touch to focus, image stabilization, Proprietary Enhanced Super, Resolution Digital Zoom (5x), 1080p HD video recording. It also uses a 2-megapixel front facing camera. In terms of wireless connectivity it features a 4G LTE radio, Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS, and NFC. The smartphone is powered by a large 2,880 mAh battery.

The BlackBerry Z30 will go on sale in the UK and Middle East next week. Other carriers will offer the Z30 in time for the holidays.  AT&T and Verizon are both rumored to add the Z30 to their BB10 lineup.