It's been a long time coming.
Research In Motion officially announced its next-generation mobile platform back in October 2011, proudly stating that 'BBX' would "combine the best of the BlackBerry platform and the best of the QNX platform to connect people, devices, content and services". Just a few weeks later, RIM was forced to rename its new OS due to a copyright dispute, and BBX became BlackBerry 10.
It had been hoped that the first BlackBerry 10 handsets would launch in August of last year, but in June 2012, RIM admitted that it would be unable to launch BB10 in 2012 as planned, stating that "the integration of [key] features and the associated large volume of code into the platform has proven to be more time consuming that anticipated". Despite the delay, the company insisted that it was on track for a launch in the first quarter of 2013.
Since then, the company has been upbeat about its new operating system, and there seems to be a significant amount of enthusiasm among carriers across the globe for the OS. In early November, we reported that 50 operators were already testing BB10 devices; last month, all of the major UK operators confirmed that they would be offering BlackBerry 10 handsets too.
With the official launch now almost upon us, RIM has confirmed that it will be streaming the event live online via its website, with local events taking place around the world in New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Dubai, Johannesburg, Jakarta and Delhi. The event will begin at 1500 GMT / 0700 PST / 1000 ET / 1600 CET / 1900 GST / 2030 IST / 0000 (31 Jan) JST / 0200 (31 Jan) EDT.
Will you be tuning in to watch the webcast? Have you been looking forward to the BlackBerry 10 launch? Are you planning to buy a BB10 handset? Or do you think that RIM has had its day? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: RIM pre-announcement / webcast | image via iHelpLounge
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