BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has begun sending out invitations to media outlets for the unveiling of its latest handset running the newest version of its mobile operating system, BlackBerry 10. The all-touchscreen phone will be revealed at a media event in New York City and other cities around the world on January 30. Meanwhile, Canadian wireless carrier Rogers has announced that it will be carrying the new BlackBerry on its LTE network next year, and Rogers has begun accepting reservations for future BlackBerry customers even though the device has yet to be revealed.
The January 30 event will likely see the official unveiling of the L-Series BlackBerry 10 handset, an all-touchscreen model around which RIM has essentially restructured its entire mobile operating system. BlackBerry 10 now has a much more touch-centric focus, even though the manufacturer will be rolling out a BlackBerry 10 device with a QWERTY keyboard. That hardware QWERTY device is expected to come some time after the launch of the touchscreen L-Series device.
RIM is also said to be working on another device, a high-powered touchscreen phone, dubbed "Aristo." It is uncertain whether that model will debut at the January 30 event, though.
In related news, Canadian wireless carrier Rogers Communications announced that BlackBerry 10 devices would be available on its LTE network in early 2013. Rogers says its customers will be among the first in the world to be able to reserve BlackBerry 10 devices in advance of retail availability. Current Rogers wireless customers can reserve devices by going to their account settings on the carrier's site.