So… you’ve been hearing all of this talk about the new BlackBerry Z10, and even though it’s designed to deliver the best touchscreen typing experience, you’re a physical keyboard enthusiast at heart. You’ve been holding out, waiting to get your hands on a shiny new BlackBerry 10 smartphone – and you know the BlackBerry Q10 is just right for you.

You’re not alone! The anticipation is mounting around the world for this highly-anticipated smartphone, and we’re getting one step closer to getting it in your hands.

Today, the BlackBerry Q10 is available to pre-order from both Carphone Warehouse and Phones4u across a range of networks, including O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Three, EE, Vodafone and TalkMobile. Plus the handset will be available for purchase from both retailers at the end of April. For those of you in other markets, we’ll have details on availability to follow soon. In the mean time head by our global availability tracker for BlackBerry 10 to see where you can pick up a BlackBerry Z10 today!

UPDATE: The BlackBerry Q10 is now available from select carriers in Canada, as well. Details:

Live in Canada? U may be able to pre-order your #BlackBerryQ10 today! Details from your mobile carrier, right here: blck.by/ZLfKTK

— BlackBerry (@BlackBerry) April 9, 2013

We showed it off originally on January 30th when we officially launched the BlackBerry 10 platform. There, we showed you some of the amazing capabilities built in to BlackBerry 10, like messaging in the BlackBerry Hub, BlackBerry Balance and BlackBerry Remember. In case you need a refresher – watch this video and prepare to start drooling.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Are you a BlackBerry physical keyboard fanatic? Is this the BlackBerry 10 device you’ve been waiting for – let us know in the comments below.

In the meantime, this is the perfect opportunity for you to catch up on some of the cool posts you may have missed throughout the year. To get you started, I pulled some of my personal favorites:

6 of the best BBM-Connected Apps to share with your friends
My buddy Alex highlighted his top 6 picks for BBM™ Connected apps. Have you tested out any of these apps yet? If so, let us know your favorite!

BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930: 5 things you should know
A great last minute gift idea for your loved ones – the new BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and 9930 smartphones. Get the scoop on why these devices should be on the top of your wish list – read reviews from fans and check out some awesome videos highlighting the coolest features of these smartphones.

Inside BlackBerry Interview: Andy Toy, the (foursquare) Mayor of Waterloo
This interview with Research In Motion® (RIM®) employee Andy Toy is pretty awesome. Not going to lie, the only mayorship I can brag about is the coffee shop near my house, so I give props to Andy who basically owns all of Kitchener-Waterloo, based on his foursquare rankings.

Top 5 Travel Apps from #TeamBlackBerry
We love nothing more than to hear from you, #TeamBlackBerry, and this post is all about your favorite travel apps. For those of you who are travelling over the holidays – consider downloading these apps and travel safe!

15 BlackBerry PlayBook Reviews From #TeamBlackBerry
I have to admit the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet launch was one of the highlights of my year. I got the chance to meet #TeamBlackBerry in person and travel to some really cool places. Check out some of the initial reactions and reviews from fans across North America.

To continue the celebration while we’re away, don’t forget to check out the free holiday wallpapers for your mobile device by visiting mobile.blackberry.com on your BlackBerry® Browser. And finally, if you haven’t already downloaded the new ugly holiday sweater expansion pack for Avatar Builder – you should really check it out. I change my sweater every day and this is my latest look:

Our friends at @BlackBerryHelp will be available if you have any questions and we will be back in action on January 3rd, 2012.

Have a safe and happy holiday.

See you in 2012!

Do you know what London and Toronto have in common? Yesterday, both cities hosted BlackBerry® 7 OS launch events, welcoming the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810, 9850 and 9860 smartphones to the BlackBerry® family! Among the guests of honor were the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and 9930 smartphones, both of which are BlackBerry 7 OS devices that had previously been announced at BlackBerry World™. Of course, the Social Media team at Research In Motion® (RIM®) was on hand at these launch events to demo the smartphones and speak with attendees.

While the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are not yet in stores, we’re eager to share these early hands-on impressions from the press, everyday shoppers and BlackBerry smartphone users. We may have provided the BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones, but these opinions are 100% their own. Once you have an opportunity to use the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 or 9930 smartphone, feel free to post a comment of your own and let us know what you think about them.

The new BB Bold 7 browser is 40% faster than before. My Bold 5 just shudder with envy. So did I. #BB7FanNight http://lockerz.com/s/126330103—
katie (@motherbumper) August 04, 2011

Very impressed with new Bold – very thin and sleek and new OS7 is super smooth on it #BB7FanNight—
Jehan Watson (@JehanWatson) August 04, 2011

#bb7fannight The 9900 defines what Blackberry is all about. The physical keyboard and touchscreen is a winning combination. @BlackBerry—
Max Fireman (@brava27) August 04, 2011

Thinnest blackberry every made also touch screen! Love the new bold 9900! #BB7FanNight http://twitpic.com/60k1tk—
Jordana Stein (@jordanastein) August 03, 2011

BlackBerry Bold 9900 impression: 4.5\5! Great response! Very very snappy! #BB7FanNight—
Michael Lam (@FindMike) August 03, 2011

#BB7FanNight. Ultra sexy my heart is beating like a disco drum for the new Blackberry BOLD baby!!—
Desiree_Todd_313 (@DesireeTodd_313) August 04, 2011

Website: TheCellularGuru

“The Browser: is now up to 40% faster than the WebKit browser found in OS6, and 100% faster than the original browser found in BlackBerry 5 devices. The new browser has the most compliant HTML5 implementation of any device on the market; we actually pitted my Rogers Nexus S browser head to head with a BlackBerry Bold 9900 at HTML5test.com – the Nexus scored a 184, while the BlackBerry Bold 9900 scored a staggering 277.”

Read more: Interview with Annu Dawar the Product Manager for BlackBerry 7 at #BB7FanNight

Website: NerdBerry

August 4 – “Following in the footsteps of the Bold 9000 the 9900 has what is probably the best BlackBerry keyboard I have used. …. The touch screen responsiveness is top notch, and can be compared to other platforms and manufacturers … The one feature that I hadn’t really thought about going into the event, but which surprised and amazed me the most, is the Wikitude browser. The Wikitude browser takes advantage of the augmented reality and is surprising cool. As you can see in the video the augmented reality can be used for several social media functions, and the integration of BBM is off the hook.”

Read more: (VIDEO) Hands On With The BlackBerry Bold 9900 At #BB7FanNight In Toronto

August 3 – “The night has been full of hands on with the new BB7 devices, like the highly anticipated Bold 9900, and I have never been more a fan. When the Torch 9800 launched I thought I had seen the pinnacle of Blackberry, but tonight I stand corrected.”

Read more: BB7FanNight In Toronto Delivers Results!

Website: CrackBerry

“I love the look and feel of the new Bold, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE KEYBOARD, and I love that there’s finally a touchscreen on a front-facing qwerty BlackBerry. The new Bold is FAST, rich looking and is just the absolute best of the traditional BlackBerry experience.”

Read more: (VIDEO) BlackBerry Bold 9900 / 9930 Hands On and First Impressions (part deux)

However, my experience since has shown that shortcuts are often unknown to many users. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’d be demonstrating something to a customer at a tradeshow, only to be asked “How did you do that?” as I whisked my way through the message list and emails.

Now, many people will find that the keyboard shortcuts on a full QWERTY smartphone, like the BlackBerry® Bold™, to be fairly intuitive. “N” for the next message, “P” for the previous message, “R” to reply, and so forth. But when confronted with a SureType® keyboard, like those found on the BlackBerry® Pearl™ series , many customers assume there simply aren’t shortcuts on the SureType devices. The truth is though, they’ve just moved around a little. Not all of the shortcuts made it over from the full QWERTY keyboard, but the important ones that let you navigate your message list like a pro are still there.

The “key” (ha ha) to navigational shortcuts on SureType is to think of the number keys like a directional pad. Numbers on the top row are generally for moving up, and numbers on the bottom row are for moving down; functions are paired top to bottom and left to right as well. Here’s how it works:

1 – Move to the top of the open message, or the top of the message list (newest message)
7 – Move to the bottom of the open message, or bottom of the message list (oldest message)
3 – Move one screen up in the open message / message list
9 – Move one screen down in the open message / message list
4 – Open the previous message, or go to the previous day in the message list
6 – Open the next message, or go to the next day in the message list

Now, for the actual message functions, you’re just going to have to employ a bit of memorization. 

! – Reply to the current message
? – Reply to all to the current message
. – Forward the current message
, – Compose a new message

It might not seem like a big deal, but keyboard shortcuts make managing your messages easier, whether you’re running through an airport clutching your carry-on, or killing time waiting for your friends at the coffee shop. To get a full list of the shortcuts for your smartphone, you can either check your user guide or surf over to the website and look at the online documentation.

-Mark

EDIT: to include the full 4 / 6 shortcut list. Thanks James!