By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
BlackBerry watchers should earmark January 30, 2013 as the red letter day when BB10 OS and new handsets will finally be launched.
BlackBerry dropped a subtle bombshell early Monday by announcing a launch date for the much awaited refresh to RIM’s smartphone products. The announcement of the launch event comes during the week when Microsoft is expected to start shipping its Windows Phone 8 devices including Nokia’s flagship Lumia 920 smartphone which comes to stores today.
The BlackBerry 10 launch event will happen on January 30th, 2013. The announcement from RIM stated that, “the event will happen simultaneously in multiple countries around the world. This day will mark the official launch of its new platform – BlackBerry 10, as well as the unveiling of the first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones. Details on the smartphones and their availability will be announced at the event.”
At this point, it seems that RIM wants to remind loyal fans and users that they’re still around and that the waiting is about to pay off. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 is expected to compete with RIM’s new devices for the third place in the smartphone industry behind Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android OS-powered devices.
The onus is on RIM to deliver a sexy new mobile OS, exciting and competitive devices as well as an ecosystem with a sizeable library of apps on launch date. The company seems geared to deliver on expectations.
“In building BlackBerry 10, we set out to create a truly unique mobile computing experience that constantly adapts to your needs. Our team has been working tirelessly to bring our customers innovative features combined with a best in class browser, a rich application ecosystem, and cutting-edge multimedia capabilities. All of this will be integrated into a user experience – the BlackBerry Flow – that is unlike any smartphone on the market today,” said Thorsten Heins, President and CEO of Research In Motion. The BlackBerry 10 release will be the biggest one under Heins’ stewardship of the pioneering smartphone company.
“Thanks to our strong partnerships with global carriers and a growing ecosystem of developers, we believe our customers will have the best experience possible with BlackBerry 10. We are looking forward to getting BlackBerry 10 in the hands of our customers around the world.” Various carriers are already testing prototype BlackBerry devices which also recently received coveted Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) certification which gives them security clearance for US Government use.
BlackBerry 10 will offer a large catalog of the leading applications from across the globe and across all categories, including Games, Productivity, Social, Lifestyle and Leisure, Multimedia and Published Content, as well as applications designed for business and enterprise use.
Will BlackBerry 10 really be worth the wait? Will it truly be a competitive platform with desirable devices? We will have to reserve judgement until January. Until then, here are some of the features that users have to look forward to.
BlackBerry Flow and BlackBerry Hub
BlackBerry Flow is a new user experience that allows seamless navigation across open applications and the BlackBerry Hub. All messages, notifications, feeds, and calendar events come into the BlackBerry Hub and no matter what the user is doing with the device, with a simple gesture, they can peek into the Hub at any time.
BlackBerry Keyboard
The BlackBerry Keyboard learns how you write and adapts to how you type so you can write faster and more accurately, giving you the kind of legendary typing experience that only BlackBerry can deliver.
BlackBerry Balance
BlackBerry Balance offers the most elegant way to satisfy both customer and corporate needs without compromising on either. With BlackBerry Balance, personal apps and information are kept separate from work data, and the customer can switch from their personal to work profile with a simple gesture. The work profile is fully encrypted and secure, enabling organizations to protect their content and applications, while at the same time letting customers get the most out of their smartphone for their personal use.
Details about BlackBerry 10 can be found at: www.blackberry.com/blackberry10
