Apps won't be optimised for Qwerty BlackBerry X10 on launch
RIM is planning to distribute Qwerty BB 10 Dev handsets but only after the platform has launched, suggesting keyboard handsets will be disadvantaged at first
The 70,000 apps RIM is launching BlackBerry 10 with at the end of January might not be optimised for its Qwerty keyboard equipped X10 model straight out of the gate.
RIM has been circulating developer handsets for BlackBerry 10 for some time now, but apparently these have only been for the touch-only Z10 model and the company will only distribute the developer Qwerty-equipped X10 model after the platform launches on January 30.
The news comes via Canadian tech site mobilesyrup, which cites RIM spokesperson Victoria Berry who explained the SDK for the traditional, Qwerty keyboard toting BlackBerry 10 devices will be available once BlackBerry 10 launches.
Allegedly apps and content will need re-working to be optimised for the smaller screen size. The touch-only Z10 will have a 16:9 display with a 1280x768 pixel resolution, quite different from the X10's 1:1 display at 720x720 pixels.
It's quite surprising that this move is coming so late in the company's schedule, considering RIM is expected to launch BlackBerry 10 with both the Z10 and X10 handsets. It's looking highly likely that those X10 early adopters aren't going to have optimised app content from the supposed 70,000 apps RIM promises on launch, at least for a little while.
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