It has been revealed that there will be three or four new BlackBerry 10 handset released by the end of the year, according to the BlackBerry CEO.
Thorsten Heins confirmed that there would be three to four new BB10 devices launched by BlackBerry this fiscal year, potentially including a new flagship handset by Christmas.
The BlackBerry CEO revealed he was “very excited about” the next BlackBerry flagship, which could replace the BlackBerry Z10 that was released in January as the current BB10 handset.
“There’s one new product I’m really excited about, but I can’t really share it,” said Heins to CNET. “It takes BlackBerry 10 to another level in terms of the user experience.”
BlackBerry will also have a mid-tier device ready to launch later this year alongside the next flagship, which Heins was careful to say he wasn’t 100 per cent certain would launch by December.
Planning to expand its portfolio of BB10 products, BlackBerry’s ultimate goal is to be able to offer three tiers of smartphones with the BB10 OS. Within each of these low-, mid- and high-range tiers would be two handsets, one full touchscreen and the other with the traditional BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard, something that Heins calls a “one-two punch” strategy.
“We’re building that portfolio. We need to get into that depth and into those tiers,” he said.
Any new handsets would retain the same screen size as the BlackBerry Z10, which sports a 4.2-inch 768 x 1,280p resolution display, or the BlackBerry Q10’s 3.1-inch 720 x 720p touchscreen. This would keep the full range of BB10 handsets looking and feeling the same, despite their different price bracket entries.
The BlackBerry Q10 is due to launch in the UK in June, whilst the BlackBerry Z10 was released in January, filling the upper tier of BlackBerry’s BB10 range.
Do you think the BlackBerry Q10 will be more popular with consumers than the BlackBerry Z10? Would a mid- or low-range handset draw you to buy into the BB10 OS? Let us know via the TrustedReviews Facebook and Twitter feed or the comments below.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
