RIM Becomes Blackberry, New OS Blackberry 10 Launched, Z10 and Q10 Smartphones Announced

Today is a big day at Blackberry, which is now a company than just a smartphone brand. RIM today announced that it has renamed and rebranded itself to become Blackberry company – the name it has been using for its smartphones since the beginning.

The much anticipated Blackberry 10 Launch event is going to serve as a last hope for the company to revive back. Its a make or break situation. Apparently the chances are minimal but, there’s a hope.

Best chances the Blackberry has is with its newly launched OS, the Blackberry 10, which is already getting positive reviews. It is an entirely revamped OS with wonderful features. However, both newly announced phones – the Z10 and Q10 – aren’t the stunners.

Stock quotes for Blackberry are flying low and it is feared that it could hit the USD 6 mark, the lowest in the history. Analyst say that Blackberry’s strange decision of delaying the availability of Z10 and Q10 in US market is going to play rough with the market trend for the firm.

Blackberry has said that Z10 and Q10 will hit US market in March only while they are launching both the devices in UK tomorrow.

More details about the Blackberry 10 OS are covered in a separate post. Here we will rundown the specification for both the Z10 and Q10 devices.

Blackberry Z10

Z10 – the flagship smartphone from Blackberry – is a high-end device to run on Blackberry 10.

Available in Black and White colours, the Z10 is a compact and solid built smartphone. Running on a 1.5 Ghz dual core processor – backed with 2GB RAM –  the Z10 boosts a 4.2″ LCD touchscreen with a resolution of 768 x 1280 pixels, which puts it in HD category.

There is a 8MP camera on the rear supported by enhanced native app with filters and stabilization. Font facing 2MB camera can be used for MMB videos.

Early testers said that battery life for Z10 is disappointing, which is a shame.

Here are other specs for Blackberry Z10:

• OS: BlackBerry 10 OS
• Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon
• CPU: Dual-core 1.5 GHz Krait
• GPU: Adreno 225
• Design:
  • Dimensions: 130 x 65.6 x 9 mm
  • Weight: 135 g
• Display:
  • Type: Capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
  • Size: 768 x 1280 pixels, 4.2 inches (~355 ppi pixel density)
• Memory:
  • Card slot: microSD, up to 32 GB
  • Internal: 16 GB storage, 2 GB RAM
• Connectivity: GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual band, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, NFC, USB
• Camera:
  • Primary: 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
  • Secondary: 2 MP, 720p@30fps
• Battery: Li-Ion 1800 mAh battery

Blackberry said that Z10 will start shipping tomorrow but will hit various markets in phases. About pricing the company said that it may depend on the operator that customers are contracting with.

The Z10 is said to hit UAE on February 10 and will be available for an unsubsidized price of AED2,599 or Rs. 70,000.

Blackberry Q10

Blackberry Q10 comes with physical QWERTY keyboard, a relief for many avid Blackberry users.

Q10 looks like typical Blackberry devices that will now run on Blackberry 10 OS, the Q10 on a 3.1 inch Super AMOLED display. There is a 2GM RAM support with more room with expandable MicroSD card.

Here are further specs for the Q10:

• OS: BlackBerry 10 OS
• Chipset: TI OMAP 4470
• CPU: Dual-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A9
• GPU: PowerVR SGX544
• Design:
  • Weight: 139 g
• Display:
  • Type: Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
  • Size: 720 x 720 pixels, 3.1 inches (~328 ppi pixel density)
• Memory:
  • Card slot: microSD, up to 32 GB
  • Internal: 2 GB RAM
• Connectivity: GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HUSPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual band, WiFi Hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, NFC, USB
• Camera:
  • Primary and Front Facing Camera
• Battery: Li-Ion 1800 mAh battery

Pricing and availability for Blackberry Q10 is similar to that of Z10. It will be available in different markets starting April. Price will depend on network operator as well.