RIM's BlackBerry Tablet and Smartphones Lineup Leaked
Research in Motion's game plan for the rest of the year has been leaked online. The roadmap for the next 15 months reveals that RIM will launch new products later in the year culminating in the first BlackBerry device running the new operating system.
According to Boy Genius Report, the BlackBerry maker will release new devices including the first BlackBerry 10 device. The first BlackBerry 10 device won't have the signature RIM QWERTY keyboard but will instead have a touchscreen. Codenamed BlackBerry London, the BlackBerry 10 smartphone will have a September release.
RIM will follow up the London smartphone with a hybrid touch screen and keyboard device in October. A new BlackBerry Bold smartphone is set to be released in December with a touch screen display and a QWERTY keyboard but running BlackBerry 10. There are also rumors about a BlackBerry 10 device with a QWERTY slide handset for a 2013 release. RIM will ship out new BlackBerry 7 devices before the BlackBerry 10 devices debut. RIM will introduce two new Curve smartphones: the Curve 9230, and EDGE only smartphone and the HSPA Curve 9320.
RIM will also have another go at the tablet market with a revamped BlackBerry PlayBook. The new PlayBook is reported to have a 1.5 Ghz processor, built-in HSPA+ 42 Mbps cellular data support and NFC. The new PlayBook is expected to hit the market around May or June. Whether or not this new PlayBook will fare better than the original remains to be seen.
While news about the BlackBerry 10 smartphones isn't exactly surprising, the roadmap does reflect RIM's new marketing approach. Instead of releasing a lot of devices in the same time period this staggered schedule will give the devices room to breathe before a new model is released. Of course none of it will matter if consumers aren't blown away by the new operating system. BlackBerry 10 might not be enough to staunch the bleeding for the beleaguered BlackBerry maker.