As we predicted earlier in the day RIM CEO Thorsten Heins took the stage and gave us a sneak preview of BlackBerry OS 10 at BlackBerry World in Orlando. The device itself looks like shrunk version of the BlackBerry PlayBook, and it features a 4.2-inch display with a resolution of 1280×768 pixels, NFC, and a micro-SIM tray. The company also showed some features of the new OS.

The main focus around the OS is on glance and go information much like Windows Phone and Android. A new home screen menu was showed which basically had four widgets offering information at a glance. Besides this, the UI included a new feeds system and incorporation of gestures which enable the user to quickly move in and out of apps. RIM calls it the Cascading UI.

RIM also emphasized the fact that the new OS was build for a touch only device from the ground up and the idea was to provide a BlackBerry like typing experience in an all touch environment. Looks wise, the keyboard was reminiscent of a hardware keyboard which included even the frets separating rows that one has come accustomed with in the higher-end Bold series of BlackBerry smartphones.

RIM says that it has immensely reduced the latency between a touch interaction for a flawless typing experience. In the keyboard demo the company showed off intelligent features like word prediction, gestures and input mapping. All these features are very similar to the third party SwiftKey keyboard available for Android. For instance, the input mapping feature basically detects where the user normally hits the key and then the keyboard adapts to the user. The same can be achieved on a BB 10 keyboard.  Gestures in the keyboard include swipe to delete text, swipe to unveil symbols and numbers and word prediction would help eliminate keystrokes and predict words in a sentence stream.

Perhaps the most unique feature was the camera app. The new BlackBerry camera app allows the user to just tap on the screen to take a snap. But the cool stuff is hidden in a timeline tool which allows the user to select the moment before or after the snapshot, to get a perfect shot. This will be particularly handy for getting rid of closed eyes and missed moments. In all likelihood, the camera would take a shot as soon as the user has focused on the subject but before hitting the shutter and another shot after pressing the trigger.

RIM has not given any specific timeline for the launch of the first BB 10 smartphone but it is expected towards the end of this year. In the meanwhile checkout the sneak preview video that RIM has just posted.

The boys from N4BB.Com are reporting that Research in Motion (RIM) is going to pull all the stops in 2012 to revive is struggling BlackBerry brand. RIM is planning multiple device launches in 2012 including a 10-inch PlayBook in December, a new 7-inch PlayBook in April, a new BlackBerry 10 smartphone in September, and two new models in its budget Curve series, according to a product roadmap the site has accessed. Apart from these devices RIM will launch the next generation PlayBook 2.0 software in late February, its Mobile Fusion in April and a PlayBook Admin service in the summer of 2012. Additionally the new 10-inch PlayBook will also boast of an LTE chipset, alongside the new BlackBerry 10 smartphone. The new 7-inch PlayBook, however, will not have LTE connectivity.

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Vodafone will organize smartphone service camps in association with RIM (Research in Motion) in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh from January 4 to 10 as an extension of their “Happy to Help” ideology. The BlackBerry service camps will be held throughout this period at select Vodafone Stores in cities such as Bangalore, Mangalore, Manipal, Hubli, Belgaum, Tumkur, Hyderabad, Vijaywada and Vizag between 11 AM to 8 PM. Besides this customers will be able to avail various offers and purchase new handsets in exchange of the old ones. Additionally, BlackBerry users will also get trackball changes, back panel replacements, upgrade software’s and get free applications from BlackBerry App World.

One of the most eagerly awaited tablets of the year, the BlackBerry PlayBook has been officially launched in India. The seven-inch tablet is being seen by many as the perfect enterprise tablet for those wanting a good deal of processing power (it has a 1 GHz dual core processor and a gig of RAM as well), a decent OS (QNX with a touch of BlackBerry and rechristened BlackBerry Tablet OS), and enterprise apps blended with the traditional BlackBerry security. The PlayBook has been attracting attention for its ability to pair with BlackBerry handsets over BlackBerry Bridge to use the handset’s 3G connectivity and also give users access to information on a larger screen in a secure manner, as well as for possessing some pretty hefty browsing ability (proper Flash and HTML 5 supported – you can play FarmVille proper on this) and multi-tasking muscle. Critics have pounced on its relative absence of apps but if you are the enterprise types and already tote a BlackBerry handset, you can now go out an grab one from your nearby electronic store. The prices are Rs 27,990 (16 GB), Rs 32,990 (32 GB) and Rs 37,990 (64 GB). We will be letting you know what we think of it shortly when we get our mitts on one.

We have been speculating on the date of its arrival for a while now, but now we have the absolute clincher. RIM will be launching the BlackBerry PlayBook in India on June 22, as per an advertisement in a leading daily. Booking for the tablet is now open, although it is a bit on the tedious side – you need to SMS “PLAYBOOK” along with your pin code to 56070 to get the address of the nearest store where you can “initiate advance booking.” Those who do so will get a couple of PlayBook accessories as a bonus – a leather case and an HDMI cable. There is no direct reference of the PlayBook being launched on June 22, but the BlackBerry PlayBook web page does refer to purchasing the tablet between June 23 and June 30 to get the free accessories, after advance booking. That is good enough for us, really. No indication of price yet, alas.

We brought you the first hands-on with the BlackBerry Bold Touch yesterday, and now the devices’s full specs have reportedly been leaked. BGR exclusively revealed the device’s key specs back in January, but now N4BB has obtained a full specs for the phone, which show that it features a Qualcomm 8655 Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.2GHz, 8GB of on-board storage, a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video, and a 2.8-inch 640 x 480-pixel touchscreen display. The documents also reaffirm the Bold Touch’s 3G mobile hotspot feature we scooped, which will allow you to share its 3G connection via Wi-Fi. We’ve been told that RIM will announce the BlackBerry Bold Touch during BlackBerry World early next month and that the device will hit the market around June or July. Hit the jump for the full spec sheets.

Thanks, John

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This post originally appeared on BGR.com