We know you’ve been waiting for it – just a short while ago, some carriers around the globe announced that the BlackBerry Q10 was available for pre-order. Now we’re starting to see availability dates role out, starting with Canada.

If you’ve been reading along on the Inside BlackBerry blog, you’ll know that the BlackBerry Q10 combines the power of the BlackBerry 10 platform with a physical keyboard and stunning touchscreen display. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now and I can say that it is awesome. I’ve taken my typing to the next level on this keyboard.  I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I’m a bit of a phenom when it comes to typing on the BlackBerry Q10. Don’t get me wrong, my typing skills on the BlackBerry Z10 are out of this world too. I’m just saying that you folks who love your physical keyboards are probably going to love your life.

Availability Information for U.S. announced at BlackBerry Live

UPDATE: Today onstage at BlackBerry Live 2013, Thorsten Heins confirmed that

“In early June
carriers here in the US will start selling the BlackBerry Q10 QWERTY device.”

Pricing and Availability Information for Canada:

The BlackBerry Q10 smartphone will be available in Canada starting May 1 on Rogers, Bell Mobility and TELUS starting at $199 with a 3 year contract. It will also be available on Virgin Mobile Canada, Fido, Koodo Mobile, and Sasktel, and available in select retail locations, including Best Buy, Future Shop, TBooth Wireless, The Source, Walmart Canada and WIRELESSWAVE with more details to come.

Pricing and Availability Information for the U.K.

This just in! The BlackBerry Q10 will be available in the United Kingdom from retailer Selfridges. It’s available to pre-order now and you can get your hands on it starting from April 26 in stores. Full details here.

Heard the news? The #BlackBerryQ10 will be available to buy at @selfridges in-store and online THIS FRI/SAT/SUN! bbry.lv/11NGeWh

— BlackBerry UK (@UK_BlackBerry) April 24, 2013

We know there are so many of you on Team BlackBerry that live outside of Canada, so don’t fret and be sure to stay tuned! Similar to the availability tracker for the BlackBerry Z10, we’ll have more details and we’ll update this post with availability information in other markets as we roll out the new BlackBerry Q10 globally.

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.

One of my favorite things about working as a community and blog manager for BlackBerry ® is getting to talk to you and provide updates on our products. Each day on our social channels fans, followers and readers ask, when will BlackBerry ® 10 launch? It is clear you’re excited to get your hands on it, and we definitely can’t wait to get it to you.

Today, I’m happy to report that Thorsten Heins, in a press release, announced that the BlackBerry 10 Launch event is to be held on January 30, 2013. The event will happen simultaneously in multiple countries around the world, where details of the smartphones and their availability will be announced. Here’s the message that Thorsten passed along in the release.

“In building BlackBerry 10, we set out to create a truly unique mobile computing experience that constantly adapts to your needs. Our team has been working tirelessly to bring our customers innovative features combined with a best in class browser, a rich application ecosystem, and cutting-edge multimedia capabilities. All of this will be integrated into a user experience – the BlackBerry Flow – that is unlike any smartphone on the market today,” said Thorsten Heins, President and CEO of Research In Motion. “Thanks to our strong partnerships with global carriers and a growing ecosystem of developers, we believe our customers will have the best experience possible with BlackBerry 10. We are looking forward to getting BlackBerry 10 in the hands of our customers around the world.”

As we’ve covered at events like BlackBerry World ™ and BlackBerry Jam Americas, BlackBerry 10 promises to offer exciting features like BlackBerry Flow, BlackBerry ® Hub, BlackBerry ® Balance ™, and the iconic and innovative BlackBerry Keyboard. Thanks to the diligent work from the dedicated BlackBerry developer community, it also will feature a large catalog of the leading applications from across the globe.

So what do you say, Team BlackBerry? Are you excited for BlackBerry 10? Keep it locked to the Inside BlackBerry blogs for the latest BlackBerry 10 updates and let us know what you’re most excited about in the comments below.

by Warren Noronha via Flickr creative commons
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/wnorrix/68905075/sizes/m/in/photostream/)

We all find ourselves somewhat attached to our BlackBerry® devices. Just think about the feeling you get the instant you realize you’ve left it in a cab, at home, or in the office. No email, no BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™), no calls, updates or check-ins – no contact with the outside world as you know it!

How did you communicate before your BlackBerry smartphone made it so easy to do so? Can you imagine having to remember somebody’s phone number? Oh, the humanity! Well, maybe it isn’t so apocalyptic, but it’s not a great feeling, as we can all attest. Your BlackBerry smartphone goes everywhere you do, which brings us to the following “Be Bold, Vote” poll:

Cast your vote, and if you have any additional thoughts, feel free to share them in the comments below!

So you’re using a feature phone as your daily wireless device. It’s familiar, comfortable, it works for you. Sure, you use it to make a call here and there, or to send the odd SMS (text) message. But when do you decide it’s time to make the most of your mobile life by switching to a BlackBerry ® smartphone?

The benefits of a smartphone far exceed that of a feature phone. A smartphone is a mini computer – a portable office that keeps you organized and always connected. BlackBerry smartphones with QWERTY keyboards offer a quicker way to communicate by text message, email and chat via BlackBerry Messenger® (BBM™). Smartphones also have the ability to transfer larger volumes of data than a regular cell phone, ensuring that you are never out of touch. Many smartphones also offer high-resolution touch screen displays to make navigating a smartphone simple.

A smartphone does much more than messaging. You can surf the web, engage in social media and play games on your BlackBerry smartphone. You can even head over to the BlackBerry App World™ storefront to find new BlackBerry apps in order to get the full smartphone experience.

Have you recently transitioned from a feature phone to a smartphone? Share your experience in the comments below.

If you’re addicted to Twitter®, like me, today is your day. I’m happy to announce Twitter for BlackBerry ® smartphones has been updated to v3.2 and now makes it easier to discover friends and content, with great feature enhancements including:

• Expanded Tweet Details
• Find Friends
• Quick Follow

Excited? Let’s take a closer look:

Quickly get the gist with Expanded Tweet Details

The tweet details screen has been enhanced to allow you to see a preview of a tweet link or photo. Available previews may contain a summary including a preview of the headline, a quick snippet, as well as the publisher and author. The information you need presented to you for quick on-the-go reading.

Easily see who else is on Twitter with Find Friends

It’s now easier for you to find friends on Twitter via your BlackBerry address book. New to Twitter? You’ll be able to quickly find friends when they first join Twitter using the new “Find Friends” button located on the Welcome Screen.

For you experienced users, you’ll see which of your BlackBerry contacts have recently joined Twitter by using the “Find Friends” button located on their Profile Page. I love this feature, because friends of mine are constantly joining Twitter – and this lets me find them effortlessly.

Quick Follow Button

This is a great feature for me, since a lot of my friends have similar tastes. See an interesting user that you want to follow from a friend’s follower list? Now you can follow them in one tap; just tap the follow button next to their name. You no longer need to click on their profile first. Simple.

Whether you’re already a Twitter pro, or just thinking about joining, make sure to update to v3.2. And while you’re there, swing by @BlackBerry and follow us for all things BlackBerry. Have you checked out the update? Be sure to share your thoughts below.

*App may take up to 24 hours to appear in BlackBerry App World

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Do you remember when you bought your first BlackBerry® smartphone, or which device it was?

Remember how it changed everything you knew about the cellular phone? They were now called “smart” and you could do much more than just make a call with it. You felt connected, and you were.

It was no longer just a phone anymore. It was a BlackBerry smartphone, it was yours and you loved it.

What was your first BlackBerry smartphone? Tell us in the comments below!

1. Browser: Surfing the web on your BlackBerry smartphone has never been faster with this snappy OS. With BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones, pages load faster — and when you’re on the go, speed matters. Check out this video comparing previous BlackBerry® Curve™ smartphones with the slick BlackBerry Curve 9350 smartphone running BlackBerry 7 OS:

[YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

2. Fast Fluid Graphics: The graphics behind the BlackBerry smartphone OS have been improved with BlackBerry 7 OS. You’ll get new visually appealing icons along with fluid transitions. Combine that with more powerful hardware and higher-resolution screens and you’re in for a rich smartphone experience. So, your photos are brighter onscreen, your game experience is faster, smoother and crisper, and your ability to swipe, scroll and launch is more intuitive, quicker, and satisfying. Take a look at this video comparing the all-touch BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 smartphone with the BlackBerry® Storm™ 9550 smartphone running a previous generation BlackBerry OS:

[YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

3. Touch Screens: Of course, not all BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones have touch screens, but a number of them do, and I love how much quicker you can navigate around your device. For me, when I’m looking at messages, I can simply tap the one I want to read rather than scroll through them all. Or when I want to open an app from the home screen, again, I can simply tap the one I want. You can also pinch-to-zoom on things like photos and websites. See for yourself — watch this video to see a side-by-side comparison of the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700 smartphone and BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone:

[YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

There you have our top 3 reasons to upgrade to a BlackBerry 7 OS smartphone! Hopefully this was helpful for those of you using older BlackBerry smartphones and thinking of upgrading. Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments, and if you’re currently rocking a BlackBerry 7 OS smartphone, tell us what you like the most about it!

Hey #TeamBlackBerry, we’ve got someone we want you to meet –- the newest member of the BlackBerry® Curve™ family of smartphones! We’re very proud to present the BlackBerry® Curve™ 9320, a stylish new smartphone for the socially-connected. I’ve got my hands on one of these smartphones right now, and I wanted to give you the heads up on three things you should know about this new BlackBerry Curve smartphone:

Style meets practicality

The first thing I noticed was just how well the BlackBerry Curve 9320 smartphone fit in my hand, and how good it looks at the same time. If you’re someone who’s really into messaging and social networking this BlackBerry smartphone is a wise choice. You get the best in class QWERTY keyboard for easy typing, a dedicated button for BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) — !!! — and it’s available in multiple colors so you can express your personal style. (Note: Please check with your carrier for color availability.)

Next Generation BlackBerry 7.1 OS

After you turn the BlackBerry Curve 9320 smartphone on and start it up, you’ll notice that it’s running BlackBerry® 7.1 OS. It gives you a smooth and fast BlackBerry smartphone experience, which I noticed most while I was browsing the web. The new OS adds features like Mobile Hotspot (Wi-Fi® sharing), which allows you to connect up to five additional devices*. It also has FM radio so you can tune into your favorite local radio stations.

Peace of mind at your fingertips with Parental Controls

For you parents out there considering the purchase of a smartphone to stay in touch, rest assured that your child or teen can safely use their BlackBerry Curve 9320 smartphone to have fun while giving you peace of mind thanks to new parental controls. With Parental Controls, you have the ability to limit or restrict certain phone numbers, and various social networking apps.

Well, there you have it: three things you should know about the BlackBerry Curve 9320. It’s designed to make messaging and accessing social networks incredibly easy, it’s running the latest BlackBerry OS, and it features handy parental controls for peace of mind. I think this may just be one of the best BlackBerry Curve smartphones for someone who is considering their first smartphone.

Pricing and availability of the BlackBerry Curve 9320 will be announced in conjunction with RIM’s distribution partners. For more information please check here.

Let us know what you think of it in the comments below!

* Mobile hotspot feature may require an additional data plan. Please check with your service provider.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]