Business Insider has scored another set of leaked images revealing RIM's upcoming BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. The source that provided the two new images claims to be testing two variants of the Z10 phone: one for AT&T and one for Verizon. In one shot that shows both models – which towers over an iPhone 4S on each side as seen above – the one on the left clearly reads Verizon Wireless. Both look rather slick honestly: an all-black phone with an apparent front-facing camera at the top and the BlackBerry logo at the bottom.
According to the source, the build quality of RIM's BlackBerry Z10 is "really nice". The back cover feels somewhat rubbery and snaps on similar to Samsung's Galaxy S III. The web browser is also reportedly "very quick" – just as fast as a PC browser – despite supporting Adobe Flash. The new AppWorld also resembles Google Play on Android phones, the source said.
The BlackBerry Z10 reportedly takes around one minute to boot, and allows the user to create separate profiles for personal and work use. This should come in handy for both owners and IT administrators as the phones begin to saturate to corporate environment. The source also backs up previous reports that Evernote is integrated into the BlackBerry 10 OS.
RIM is slated to introduce BlackBerry 10 and several smartphones at a special event on January 30. It's no big secret that this launch is a make-it-or-break-it scenario for the BlackBerry company struggling to make headway in a market dominated by Google and Apple. Recently RIM revealed falling unit sales and revenue for its third fiscal quarter, saying that it only sold 6.9 million BlackBerry phones, down from 7.4 million in the previous quarter. A meager 255,000 units of its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet were sold in that quarter as well.
"Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 was $2.7 billion, down 5-percent from $2.9 billion in the previous quarter and down 47-percent from $5.2 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2012," the company stated. "The revenue breakdown for the quarter was approximately 60-percent for hardware, 36-percent for service and 4% for software and other revenue."
That said, all bets are seemingly placed on the BlackBerry 10 OS. Ten handsets are expected to arrive in 1Q13 including the Z10, and a second keyboard-equipped version called the BlackBerry X10. Marketing material was first "leaked" before Christmas showing white and black models of the BlackBerry Z10, as seen here.
