The long-awaited overhaul to the BlackBerry platform, BlackBerry 10, will be officially launched on 30 January.
Research In Motion (RIM) says the event will happen simultaneously in multiple countries around the world, and details on the first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones will also be announced.
While it has not been confirmed if SA will be included in the official launch, RIM has indicated in the past that both SA and Nigeria are "priority one" markets for the BlackBerry maker and will be among the first to receive the new devices.
RIM also recently announced its BlackBerry 10 smartphones are undergoing testing in over 50 carrier labs around the world. Carrier testing allows for service providers to test the performance of the new devices on their networks.
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins says: "Our team has been working tirelessly to bring our customers innovative features combined with a best in class browser, a rich application ecosystem, and cutting-edge multimedia capabilities. All of this will be integrated into a user experience - the BlackBerry Flow - that is unlike any smartphone on the market today."
In September, RIM unveiled some of the features of the new operating system and user interface. Key features included BlackBerry Flow, which allows for easy transition across open applications (users can have up to eight applications running at any time), and BlackBerry Hub, which functions as a unified inbox for all messages, notifications and calendar events as decided by the user.
BlackBerry 10 also features upgraded touch keyboard functionality. RIM says the on-screen keyboard is capable of learning and adapting to how the user types in order to ensure accuracy.
Fighting chance
Heins has said he believes BlackBerry 10 stands a good chance to beat the Windows Phone 8 platform to be the third most popular platform after Google's Android and Apple's iOS. BlackBerry 10 was initially due to launch in the second half of 2012.
The success of BlackBerry 10 will be crucial for the company, as its aging line of smartphones failed to keep up with the level of innovation from other industry players, leading to a major loss in smartphone market share over the last few years.
According to Heins, there is "new energy and a new fighting spirit" in RIM, and BlackBerry 10 will be the company's most important launch to date.
Further details about BlackBerry 10 can be found at www.blackberry.com/blackberry10.
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