Image of keyboard of upcoming BlackBerry 10 N-Series handset leaked

Over the past few days, there have been a few leaks pertaining to the upcoming BlackBerry 10 smartphones expected to be launched in February 2013. A leaked image that surfaced recently showed an L-Series handset. The latest leak comes courtesy of CrackBerry.com, which acquired an image of the keyboard of the upcoming N-Series BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

From the image we can see that the biggest change here is that frets, which separate the rows, are straight as opposed to the curved frets found on BlackBerry smartphones of previous generations such as the Bold series.

Blurrycam image of the upcoming keyboard

A few images that had recently surfaced online show a BlackBerry L-Series handset, giving us a glimpse of what we can expect to see once the first wave of BlackBerry 10 handsets arrives. According to a post by CrackBerry.com, one of its readers had posted images on its site of an evaluation unit of an L-Series BlackBerry 10 smartphone. This handset is placed alongside a BlackBerry Bold 9700. From the images we can see that this is a sleek device. It is a lot thinner than the Bold 9700. This is a good direction Research in Motion is going in, and hopefully for the brand, this handset, along with the new OS, these new smartphone succeed in a market dominated by Android and iOS.

Research In Motion (RIM) had announced that it will hold its BlackBerry 10 launch event on January 30, 2013. The event will happen simultaneously in multiple countries around the world.  This day will mark the official launch of its new platform, BlackBerry 10, as well as the unveiling of the first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones. Details on the smartphones and their availability will be announced at the event.

BlackBerry 10 will offer a large catalogue of the leading applications from across the globe and across all categories, including Games, Productivity, Social, Lifestyle and Leisure, Multimedia and Published Content, as well as applications designed for business and enterprise use.

The BlackBerry 10 platform has recently achieved FIPS 140-2 certification, which means that government agencies will be able to deploy BlackBerry 10 smartphones and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 as soon as it is available.  The company claims that this marks the first time BlackBerry products have been certified ahead of their launch.  In addition, RIM recently announced that BlackBerry 10 smartphones have now entered more than 50 carrier labs with many more entries expected in the coming weeks. 

Some key features of the new BlackBerry 10 devices already unveiled recently are:
BlackBerry Flow and BlackBerry Hub: BlackBerry Flow is a new user experience that allows seamless navigation across open applications and the BlackBerry Hub. All messages, notifications, feeds, and calendar events come into the BlackBerry Hub and no matter what the user is doing with the device, with a simple gesture, they can peek into the Hub at any time.

BlackBerry Keyboard: The BlackBerry Keyboard learns how you write and adapts to how you type so you can write faster and more accurately, giving you the kind of typing experience that BlackBerry devices, which are known for can deliver.

BlackBerry Balance: BlackBerry Balance offers the most elegant way to satisfy both customer and corporate needs without compromising on either. With BlackBerry Balance, personal apps and information are kept separate from work data, and the customer can switch from their personal to work profile with a simple gesture. The work profile is fully encrypted and secure, enabling organizations to protect their content and applications, while at the same time letting customers get the most out of their smartphone for their personal use.