First BlackBerry 10 smartphones available in February -- report
Research in Motion looks to move quickly after a late January debut, according to Bloomberg.
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After several delays, Research in Motion wants to move quickly in the final stretch before the launch of BlackBerry 10.
RIM said yesterday that it plans to unveil the phones at global launch events on January 30. The company is aiming to make the phones available by February, according to Bloomberg.
RIM doesn't expect the phones to hit the various carriers simultaneously, but the launches should occur within 30 days of the unveiling, Bloomberg reported based on an interview with Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear.
RIM has long delayed the release of BlackBerry 10, which has been talked about for a while, but finally appears ready for the limelight. The company has been laying low over the past year; its last major product announcement, the BlackBerry 7 lineup, came out in late 2011.
BlackBerry 10 represents RIM's best, and likely last, shot at a turnaround. Once a leader in the smartphone market, the company has long since ceded its position to Apple and smartphones running on Google's Android operating system.
The company, however, does still have a growing customer base overseas and a few corporate and government customers that prefer its higher-security devices and software. It hopes to get these customers to upgrade to BlackBerry 10 quickly, and then build upon that base.
A RIM representative declined to comment beyond Tear's comments to Bloomberg.