BlackBerry 10 OS and Devices Announced. Malaysia Debut February 20

It has been a long, long wait but it is a wait that’s well, well worth it. BlackBerry (the company formerly known as RIM) has finally taken the wraps off its new BlackBerry 10 operating system and two all-new devices developed to run the platfom — the full touchscreen Z10 and the QWERTY-touch hydrid Q10.

First up, let’s talk about the new operating system. What can we say BlackBerry has delivered the good with the BlackBerry 10 with its innovative use of gestures and seamless real-time multitasking as well as the deep integration of core apps like Twitter, Facebook and Evernote. And the virtual keyboard is unlike anything we’ve seen on a smartphone combining the best features from al of the best virtual keyboards out available into one neatly designed interface. In a nutshell, there is a lot to like and to look forward to with the BlackBerry 10 but frankly most new operating systems start with great optimism and positive response. That however will not be the measure of BlackBerry’s latest platform. BlackBerry 10’s success lie in the development of its ecosystem.

Yes, we know that a robust and thriving app ecosystem is important but it is easier said than done. Having said that, BlackBerry is taking all the right steps towards cultivating a rich app and content ecosystem for BlackBerry 10, what remains to be seen now is how fast can the company grow the ecosystem and the quality of content that it can attract. If BlackBerry gets past this hurdle, it could very well take a spot in the top three list of mobile operating systems.

Moving on to the devices.

Available in black or white, the Z10 features a 4.2-inch 1280×768 (356ppi) LCD display and an unspecified 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 2GB of RAM along with 16GB of internal storage that’s expandable using microSD card up 48GB in capacity. The device has an 8MP rear camera capable of shooting 1080p videos and a 2MP front that shoots 720p videos.

Despite the strong demand for full touchscreen devices, in the Q10, BlackBerry has not forgotten a market segment that was once critical to its survival — the physical QWERTY-keyboard lovers. The BlackBerry Q10 is an oddity in today’s mobile landscape with its full QWERTY keyboard but with a look and feel that’s reminiscent of the BlackBerry Bolds of before, hardcore BlackBerry users will feel right at home using the device. However, not much is known about the Q10 specs.

No information on availability or pricing has been released for Malaysia but BlackBerry Malaysia will be making an announcement about BlackBerry 10 and hopefully the Z10 on February 20. We’ll be on hand to provide you with the latest updates.

In the meantime, head over to after the jump to check out a collection of videos highlighting some of the interesting features of the BlackBerry 10.