The company is expected to launch two new smartphones, the Z10 and N10

Jan 30, 2013 15:05 GMT  ·  By

Blackberry 10

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry 10 launch event is about to begin and we expect the Canadian company to also unveil two new smartphones powered by its new platform, the Z10 and the N10.

So, we’re certain that RIM will put the BlackBerry Z10 on sale immediately after the announcement, but we don’t have any details on N10’s release.

Quite a slew of operators around the world have already confirmed that they will carry one or more BlackBerry 10 devices, and some authorized retailers let it slip that they would sell the Z10 starting later today.

RIM’s new flagship BlackBerry smartphone, the Z10, is expected to come with a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory.

The device is also said to sport a 4.2-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (768 x 1280 pixels) resolution, as well as an enhanced 8-megapixel rear camera with autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording.

It will be interesting to see how much of the leaked info is accurate, so stay tuned for our live coverage of RIM’s BlackBerry 10 launch event.

It's happening! Alec Saunders, VP of Developer Relations is now on the stage and offers his insight on RIM's developer campaign over the past couple of months.

Giveaway

Thorsten Heins, President and CEO takes to the stage. BlackBerry 10 is here! According to him, BlackBerry 10 will keep moving; this is just the beginning.

Giveaway

He says the company had a difficult choice to make two years ago: either go with an existing platform or build a brand new one from the ground-up. Even though it was risky, RIM decided to create BlackBerry 10.

"From this day forward RIM becomes BlackBerry!" (That was unexpected). It looks like the Canadian company will be known as BlackBerry everywhere in the world.

There you go, it's the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10! Giveaway

BlackBerry Z10 is the first full-touch Blackberry 10 smartphone. It features a textured back hood to feel more comfortable in hand.

Giveaway

The Q10 is the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone to feature a physical keyboard. This is the best QWERTY keyboard embedded onto a mobile phone, Heins claims.

Giveaway

Vivek Bhardwaj, RIM's head of software is now on the stage and is showing BlackBerry 10's hub. Giveaway

At first glance, it looks amazing. True multi-tasking and one-thumb handling. Giveaway

Check out RIM's new BlackBerry virtual keyboard. It can learn words as you type so you only need to use one thumb. You can also use gestures to delete one or more words. Gestures can also be used to change between languages while typing!

Giveaway

BlackBerry 10 allows users to change from Personal to Enterprise mode with a single touch. However, that is integrated in a way that offers a single user experience, which is called "BlackBerry Balance." Basically, applications coexist in both modes. Giveaway

Next up is BlackBerry Messenger for 10 OS. BlackBerry introduces BBM Screen Share! It works like the share feature between two computers!

Giveaway

Demo time! Vivek demos an application called BlackBerry Remember. It integrates Outlook, Evernote, and more into a single platform. It lets you flag important emails, photos, notes, memos by accessing a single hub.

Giveaway

Vivek is now showing some of BlackBerry Z10's camera capabilities. It can do Time Shift and users will be able to edit newly captured pictures with the embedded photo editor. Did I mention it can be entirely controlled with gestures?

Giveaway

Heins says BlackBerry managed to secure agreements with eight major music labels and studios to provide content in the BlackBerry World at launch.

Martin Mallick, VP of Business Development is now speaking on the stage. He says BlackBerry World has more than 70,000 apps available for download (no news here).

Giveaway

Skype, Amazon Kindle, Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, ooVoo, Twitter, WhatsApp, TuneIn, JetPack Joyride, Angry Birds are among the most important apps and games for BlackBerry 10.

Giveaway

Heins announces BlackBerry Z10's availability. Sadly, nothing on the Q10 for now. According to him, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile will announce availability starting today. The Z10 is expected to hit shelves in the US in March.

Canada will get BlackBerry Z10 on February 5 from various carriers and major retailers.

In the UAE, the Z10 will arrive on February 10, while in the UK the smartphone will go on sale tomorrow, January 31, at O2, Orange, Vodafone, Three UK, Phones4U, Carphone Warehouse and other retailers.

Price may vary depending on location and carrier. Heins says it will be available for a subsidized price of $150/€110, or $650/€480 on no-term.

BOOM! Alicia Keys is a new member of BlackBerry's board of directors! Yes, that super-hot Alicia Keys will be the Canadian company's Global Creative Director!

Giveaway

Thorsten Heins leaves the stage and thanks everyone attending the event. That's about it, folks!

Giveaway