The new BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system from RIM is still on course to launch in the first quarter of 2013, according to a recent announcement from the company. New BlackBerry devices will also be announced alongside the OS.
BB10 was originally planned for a 2012 release.
Thorsten Heins, President and CEO of Research In Motion, said “I’m very pleased to confirm that we have passed a critical milestone in the development of our brand new mobile computing platform, BlackBerry 10. In the last week, BlackBerry 10 achieved Lab Entry with more than 50 carriers - a key step in our preparedness for the launch of BlackBerry 10 in the first quarter of 2013. We made this commitment during our recent results conference call and we have delivered. This process will continue in the coming months as more carriers around the world formally evaluate the devices and our brand new software.”
Around 80 million people currently use BlackBerry devices worldwide, although existing devices can’t be upgraded to the new BB10 platform.