RIM will launch six BB10 handsets in 2013

RIM will release six smartphones running its new BlackBerry 10 operating system in 2013, the company’s chief marketing officer Frank Boulben revealed.

Speaking at CES 2013, Boulben confirmed RIM wouldn’t settle with just the two premium models expected to appear with the launch of BB10 in around three weeks time, stating the company would also produce devices for mid-level and low-cost brackets of the market.

We’d expect this will mean two phones for each category, one touch-only smartphone for each alongside one traditional Qwerty keyboard-toting model.

RIM needs to ensure its presence in the lower-end market as this is currently dominated by affordable Android handsets. Microsoft’s Windows Phone has so far struggled to break into this sector while rumours suggest Apple is preparing a budget iPhone model for later this year.

In related news, RIM’s vice president of business development Martyn Mallick and vice president of developer relations Alec Saunders, told the Verge in an interview that the company has acquired all the apps it needs to give BlackBerry 10 a successful launch.

Saunders said RIM has hit its goals in terms of the number of apps it has secured and in gaining the support of developers creating, popular high-profile apps which are most important to consumers.