Blackberry 10 Release Date Jan. 30; RIM Launches New Z10, Q10 Devices [Features, Specs]
Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM) unveiled two new devices in the BlackBerry 10 smartphone lineup this morning after more than a year of delays.
The company announced the touch-screen BlackBerry Z10 and the hardware keyboard enabled BlackBerry Q10 at events around the world including London and Dubai.
Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins took the stage at an event in New York to introduce a touch-screen phone and a model with a conventional QWERTY-keyboard, both of which will run the new BlackBerry 10 software.
The new Z10 comes with a 4.2-inch display with 356 pixels-per-inch (ppi), along with a textured backing that makes it comfortable to hold.
The Q10 comes with a fully-fledged mobile QWERTY-keyboard from a slightly smaller portrait display. It comes with a glass-weave cover, making it thinner and lighter, but also stronger than plastic.
The touch model will go on sale soon, with the keyboard model debuting later, according to Bloomberg.
Currently AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have stated that they will carry both devices.
RIM's Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben told ABC that the Blackberry maker has worked with 150 cell phone carriers around the world in what he claimed was the biggest phone launch from any company yet.
"This makes it the most comprehensive launch in mobile history. There has never been a platform launching with that many carriers," Boulben said.
The launch of the new platform and devices comes at a crucial time for the Ontario, Canada-based smartphone maker.
BlackBerry has been under pressure to release the next wave of BlackBerry smartphone in order to reclaim a considerable loss in mobile market share due to competitors like Apple and Samsung.
BlackBerry 10 was also delayed by a whole fiscal quarter following poor first quarter sales, put the company's cash flow situation in the spotlight, according to ZDNET. The company also cut 5,000 jobs as part of a major restructuring effort to refocus the company's efforts on the BlackBerry 10 platform.
