Those of us who've used a BlackBerry PlayBook will be familiar with the inevitable first-boot tutorials showing how to navigate the swipe-driven interface before we're let loose. Thanks to a series of demonstration videos leaked by BlackBerryItalia, it's apparent that we won't escape that educational process on BlackBerry 10 devices, either. The four clips show the basics of what we know the gesture experience will be like on full-touch L-series phones, including the signature BlackBerry Peek to check notifications and the unified inbox. Anyone looking for a direct clue as to what production BlackBerry 10 hardware will entail might be frustrated, mind you -- the rendered phone appears to be a placeholder rather than the L-series or a Dev Alpha B, and the device name is censored in an attempt to protect the source. That said, the clips provide a very straightforward explanation of the new interface concept and give us one more indication that RIM is closer to launch.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry

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Via: CrackBerry

Source: BlackBerryItalia (translated)

RIM's Q2 earnings details have had a common theme of a silver lining to darker clouds, and that edge may have grown a bit brighter with hints of the company's longer-term BlackBerry 10 roadmap. When asked about the release strategy, CEO Thorsten Heins said that the first BB10 devices would focus on both the mid-range and high-end of the market, a bit wider than the chiefly high-end approach that has been rumored so far. While shy on details, he confirmed that the full-touch smartphone would have a screen with an HD resolution -- that's higher than on the iPhone 5, the executive was eager to point out. More intriguingly, Heins teased the prospect of an entry-level BB10 device arriving as soon as 2013. Although development was in the early stages, the new starter phone just might be ready next year if all goes well. There's a lot of questions left to answer about RIM's strategy, so we won't get too excited yet; even so, the statements are signs that the BlackBerry designer doesn't want to leave any product gaps open for very long.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry

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It was scarcely a day ago that we got a first peek at what could be the first BlackBerry 10 devices -- and now we're looking at what may be BlackBerry 10's cornerstone app, a reworked BlackBerry Messenger. As long as N4BB's details prove legitimate, the centerpiece of the app will be its theming: owners can customize the chat bubbles and backdrops to fit their finicky ways. Of course, this being an efficiency-obsessed RIM, the theming should also be integral to keeping power consumption to a minimum: the darker the colors, the less energy a BBM conversation demands from a future BlackBerry's big OLED screen. We don't know whether any changes will prove more than skin deep, although the switch to the QNX-based OS might prove enough at first. We'll know everything soon enough should of a September release for the first phone be more than just a feverish dream.

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The launch of BlackBerry 10 and its debut devices is slowly creeping up on us, and some details about the handsets are finally starting to emerge. According to N4BB, RIM has two models up its sleeve -- the all touchscreen L-Series and the QWERTY keyboard-sporting N-Series. The L branded models will be very similar to the dev devices we've already seen, with a 1280 x 768 OLED display (a first for a BlackBerry) that crams an impressive 356 pixels into every inch. The N-Series is more for the BlackBerry purists who cling desperately to their physical keyboards. Originally leaked with the codename Nevada, the N-Series shrinks the display to 720 x 720, but still keeps the pixel density impressive at 330ppi. N4BB's sources say that the L will hit shelves first in September, with the N to follow in Q1 of 2013.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: N4BB