Image courtesy of rapidberry.net
The long wait is almost over for BlackBerry fans. CMO Frank Boulben confirmed at CES 2013 that Research in Motion will be launching at least six new BlackBerry handsets with a new OS on January 30 on simultaneous worldwide events.
BlackBerry has actually been confirming the launch date since last year, but given previous delays, many had been skeptical of a timely release at the end of this month.
Two new BlackBerry 10 phones will be leading the list of BlackBerry launches. Known currently as the Z10 and the X10, the former is a full touch mobile while the latter is expected to sport a QWERTY keyboard.
By now, fans must have had their fill of the BlackBerry Z10, whose photos have sent the press buzzing these past few days. The device is BlackBerry’s all-touch BB10 phone, looking powerful in either black or white. It comes with 16GB internal memory, micro SD card slot, and 2GB RAM. You can expect a decent 8-megapixel rear shooter with LED flash, 5X digital zoom, and Full HD recording capabilities. The phone also has a 2-MP camera for VoIP video calls and a 4.2-inch HD display at 1,280 X 768 pixels. BlackBerry rounds up the list of impressive features with a hefty 1,800 mAh battery, GPS, and 4G LTE.
Simultaneous events in Paris, Johannesburg, London, Paris, Dubai, and Toronto will make up the worldwide launch that will hopefully breathe new life into RIM. The Canadian company saw its’ market share drop in the previous years as both Apple and Samsung dominated the smartphone market. RIM also got hit hard when several government agencies announced that they were ditching BlackBerry phones for iPhones. After RIM announced a specific debut date, investors’ faith in the company seemed to have revived and RIM saw a slight jump in stocks. The company received more good news later on when the BlackBerry 10 OS got its FIPS 140-2 certification. This is the first time that the company got FIPS-certified before the launch. The milestone reestablished BlackBerry as a secure and reliable platform for business and government use.
One of the more exciting features of the new OS is its flow UI, which will allow users to simultaneously use apps without the need to switch from one app to another. This allows users to “flow” between tasks, giving them a smoother user experience.
RIM also plans to make available more than 70,000 apps for the new OS. In a recent Port-a-Thon event that aimed to encourage the development of BB10, the company saw 15, 000 new apps submitted to its App World within a 48 hour period. Each successfully submitted app snagged developers $100. Two hundred Dev Alpha phones, exchangeable for the first BB10 handhelds when they go on sale, were also given away during the event.
In the US, it is expected that T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon will be carrying the new handsets with BlackBerry 10. Rumors say that it might be retailing at around USD 800.
