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BlackBerry lifts the lid on its BlackBerry 10 Z10 and Q10 handsets

RIM no more

BlackBerry lifts the lid on its BlackBerry 10 Z10 and Q10 handsets
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Research In Motion - henceforth to be known as 'BlackBerry' - has unveiled its first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones: the Blackberry Z10 and the Blackberry Q10.

Though the Q10's QWERTY keyboard makes it easily identifiable as a BlackBerry product, the touchscreen Z10 is indicative of the company's desire to challenge the likes of Apple and Samsung for control of the smartphone market.

Z10

The BlackBerry Z10 boasts a 4.2-inch 1280x768 display. This means it displays 356 pixels per inch (ppi), compared to the iPhone 5's 326 ppi rating.

Lift up the Z10's hood, and you'll find a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 2GB of RAM. The Z10 also has 16GB of internal storage, with the option to increase that figure by up to 64GB via a microSD card.

Furthermore, the handset boasts an 8-megapixel rear camera, NFC support, and works on both 4G LTE and HSPA+ networks.

Q10

If the BlackBerry Z10 marks the Canadian tech firm's first real step into the world of full-touchscreen phones, the BlackBerry Q10 is a shout-out to the keyboard-loving faithful.

Offering old skool RIM - sorry, BlackBerry - fans the QWERTY keyboard they know and love, the Q10 is equipped with a 3.1-inch touchscreen screen, which boasts a resolution of 330 ppi.

Though BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins wasn't quite as forthcoming about the Q10's innards as he was the Z10's, we do know the Q10 has a dual-core processor and the largest battery ever in a BlackBerry smartphone.

Heins was particularly proud of the device's glass weave backing, which - allegedly - you won't find on any other smartphone.

The BlackBerry Z10 will be available to buy in the UK from tomorrow. You'll be able to pick one up from EE, O2, Vodafone, Phones 4u, BT, Three, and the Carphone Warehouse.

Next stop on the Z10 world tour is Canada. Residents of BlackBerry's homeland will be able to buy a Z10 from February 10th.

US punters, meanwhile, will have to wait until March to gets their hands on a Z10. It'll retail for $199 on contract (it's supported by all four major carriers), and $599 unlocked.

The BlackBerry Q10, meanwhile, is expected to debut around April. A pricing scheme has yet to be confirmed for the Q10.

James Gilmour
James Gilmour
James pivoted to video so hard that he permanently damaged his spine, which now doubles as a Cronenbergian mic stand. If the pictures are moving, he's the one to blame.