RIM Teases With Image of BlackBerry 10 Smartphone

Ahead of the release of the BlackBerry 10 operating system debuting on newly minted BlackBerry smartphone hardware in 2013, Research in Motion has begun teasing images of what the new phone would look like. At launch, there would be a touchscreen model, and from what we’ve been hearing, that model is said to resemble a shrunken BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Keyboarded models are also on deck to arrive in 2013.

The image posted on RIM’s global page depicts the smartphone’s rear, showing what appears to be a perforated textured surface. It’s unclear if it will be the same soft-touch perforations that we’ve seen on Google’s Nexus 7 tablet, which does aid in gripping the device and adds to the ergonomics, or if it will be a faux leather material. RIM has experimented with faux leather in the past with the release of the original BlackBerry Bold 9000, giving the device a premium feel, and a perforated leather may give the new BlackBerry 10 touchscreen smartphone a race car feel that rival HTC is trying to evoke with the Droid DNA and Butterfly smartphone designs with the metal side grills.

Thus far, RIM has delivered early prototypes of the BlackBerry 10 hardware to developers for testing apps with.

RIM has stated in the past that BlackBerry 10 will launch simultaneously in multiple countries by the end of January.