BlackBerry-Maker RIM unveils early BB10 – sort of

**yardmon** · 05-01-2012, 10:03 AM

ORLANDO, FLA.—So what’s the new BlackBerry using the long-awaited BB10 operating system going to look like?

The Star got a sneak peek at the early version being handed out to developers this week.

The sleek-looking phone, officially called “BB10 Dev Alpha” (rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?) has a bigger screen than previous Research In Motion BlackBerry smart phones. In fact, virtually the entire front of the phone is a touch screen, with no physical keyboard. We got to play around with it, via swiping, but weren’t allowed to type on it. Well actually, we weren’t even shown the virtual keyboard, some details of which are being unveiled Tuesday morning by RIM CEO Thorsten Heins.

For the number-hungry folks out there, it’s got a 4.2 inch screen, with 1280x768 resolution.

(A phone which is all screen and has a virtual keyboard? Hey, that kind of sounds like an iPho…, er, never mind, you get the picture. Actually,)

That squares with rumours circulating last week that the first phone using BB10 won’t have the BlackBerry’s traditional physical keyboard when it’s revealed later this year. The second BB10 phone, suggested one rumour, will have a physical keyboard when it’s released during the first quarter of 2013.

While the company has been careful to say that the first official phone won’t be exactly like the “Dev Alpha,” RIM’s Tim Neil admits that it’s going to be in the ballpark.

“There will be tweaks,” said Neil, RIM’s director of Application Platform and Tools.

BlackBerry-Maker RIM unveils early BB10

**ekafara** · 05-01-2012, 10:11 AM

sounds like an iphone? what? doesnt the iphone have a tiny 3.5in screen? even the all touch torch has a bigger screen then that. if they are talking dpi if the screen, yeah its 300 which i guess makes it that "magical" "retina display". or maybe he meant that apple invented the touchscreen phone with an onscreen keyboard...

I'm sure there are going to be more interesting reports then this. the comments on the verge are sure interesting, but they never have anything good to say about BlackBerry phones.