All you need to know about BlackBerry 10

So the worlds worst kept secret is to be unveiled soon as the - you guessed it - BlackBerry 10.

After a few years in freefall, RIM are hoping that the move from 'traditional' BlackBerry - i.e removal of the QUERTY keyboard and roll-ball - will change the fortunes of the company. The BlackBerry Z10 is certainly a good effort at doing so. The phone is simply beautiful and follows as similar look to the Sony Xperia series. If you are a fan of old-school BlackBerry however, don't worry - you haven't been forgotten about. RIM will be releasing a traditional phone (the BlackBerry Q10) soon after the launch that will also run BlackBerry 10 on a smaller screen.

Features and Spec

A few of notable features (BlackBerry Z10):

BlackBerry 'Hub' - where EVERYTHING feeds in to. Be it email, texts or social media - they'll all be here. Simple, but problematic in my view as I like to keep everything separate.

Active tiles - RIM have devised an equivalent to Windows Live Tiles and Android widgets with an intriguing combination of the two. 4 tiles can fit on each screen and these are flicked between easily. They give you a snapshot of the app at that moment.

Peek mode - Another nice feature which allows a peak at your home screen without unlocking your device. It is like running your finger over steamed glass which returns to translucent when your finger leaves that area.

Work and personal - RIM have put two modes on the 10 and have gone further than Android's 'scenes'. 'Work' mode can be accessed, controlled etc by the office if you want - however - when you switch to 'personal' your information is encrypted so the office cannot see what you''re doing. Clever eh!

Time shift camera - RIM have made a lot of noise over the camera on the Z10 particularly. With an 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera it is competitive but not spectacular, however, they've got a trick up their sleeves. The 'time shift' feature allows the photographer to rewind areas of the photo to correct a smile, or open someones eyes etc. This is a really great addition.

The overall spec matches up well against the competition. The 4.2" screen is a good size in today's market. There is plenty of power behind it with 2GB memory and a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. All this fits in nicely with 16GB of storage.

The problem

The problem for RIM is that the company has fallen too far behind, and their image has been tarnished badly. The people who still buy BlackBerry do it because it is cheap. With the BlackBerry Z10 SIM-free price being leaked at £479, it is cheaper than the iPhone 5 (then again, what isn't!!), but more importantly it is more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy SIII. Given the option, will consumers stick with the cheaper, highly-regarded Android flagship phone, or experiment with a new BlackBerry? I think the former.
      Apple and Android have moved so far ahead, it is impossible to see the BlackBerry 10 dragging RIM back into contention - despite the product actually being quite impressive. RIM will be looking to follow a similar recovery line to Nokia but the path is even more treacherous. Nokia have the might of Microsoft with them, plus a far larger share of the market which gives them a bit of staying power. The question lingering over RIM is can they last that long? I doubt it.

As regular readers will know, I like an underdog - especially when the product is a high-quality product. I do like the BlackBerry 10 - it has some innovative and interesting features, but, I can only liken it to flogging a dead horse - even if the horse is good quality meat...

Thanks for reading, all debate is welcomed. Will you consider buying with BlackBerry 10? Give me a follow in the top right if you want!