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RIM’s first step in bringing Blackberry 10 to market is to
bring carriers on board, after all a potentially impressive smartphone is of
negligible utility value should no major carrier support it.
To get carriers on board, RIM’s chief executive Thorsten
Heins held a closed door meeting in New York to give carriers a taste of a beta
version of Blackberry 10.
When finally launched, Blackberry 10 will be a year late: it
was first scheduled for early 2012, but is now expected by early 2013.
According to The Wall Street Journal, RIM’s CEO said that
the company is “nearing the finishing line” with Blackberry 10.
“BlackBerry 10 is for real, the hardware is there and the
software is there,” he said during the briefing.
Mr. Heins also confirmed to the Journal that RIM will be
launching a Blackberry 10 phone with a physical keyboard — a favourite amongst
the business folk who are RIM’s core users — as well as an all touch screen
model.
Blackberry 10 phones will also have user-replaceable
batteries, another much-loved feature of the Blackberry.
Currently, RIM is planning six Blackberry 10 devices: three with
a physical keyboard and three with a touch screen.
Reportedly, representatives from carriers who have seen the
phone view it as a “marked improvement” over previous Blackberry devices.
“We value our relationship with RIM and look forward to
working with them on existing and new products,” said Mark Siegel an AT&T
spokesperson to the Journal.
