BlackBerry Z10 phone rumored ahead of RIM's Jan. 30 event

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) is reportedly planning to unveil the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone during its Jan. 30 press event, according to reports, and the company is also working to educate its carrier partners of the device's capabilities.

According to various media reports, RIM's Z10 smartphone is powered by Texas Instruments' OMAP 4470 dual-core chipset and features 2 GB of RAM, a 4.2-inch screen with a 1280x768 display and 16 GB of storage. The rumored specifications would put the device in the middle of the market's current crop of smartphones. Thus, it appears RIM is hoping to entice customers with the new features of its BlackBerry 10 operating system rather than high-end hardware capabilities.

According to reports, the device maker is also supplying its carrier partners with training materials in order to help them sell BlackBerry 10 devices. Specifically, RIM is reportedly boasting of "best in class HTML5 compatibility and performance" with its Web browser and support for around 70,000 BlackBerry 10 apps at launch.

RIM is hoping to revive its flagging fortunes with the launch of its BlackBerry 10 operating system early this year. The company plans to begin selling two BlackBerry 10 phones shortly after its Jan. 30 press event, a touchscreen phone and a phone with a Qwerty keyboard. The Z10 could be the touchscreen phone. This year RIM eventually plans to offer around a half-dozen BlackBerry 10 devices, hitting the high, mid and low ends of the market.

As for carrier support in the United States, AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T), Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) have all said they are committed to supporting BlackBerry 10, although it's unclear exactly when each of those carriers will begin selling RIM's new phones.

RIM captured 5.3 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter of 2012, according to research firm Gartner, down from 11 percent in the year-ago period.

For more:
- see this Pocket-lint article
- see this CrackBerry.com article
- see this Ars Technica article

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