So far, BlackBerry has debuted one touchscreen phone and one keyboard phone in its line of devices running BlackBerry 10 software, both high-end smartphones.
Now it looks like BlackBerry's plans for the next wave of devices have leaked, and it's aiming a little lower.
Images and specs of the so-called BlackBerry R10 were posted on a Chinese website over the weekend. The images have since been removed, although they were reposted elsewhere. The photos and information point to a low-budget BlackBerry 10 phone with a QWERTY keyboard — essentially a successor to the popular BlackBerry Curve phones that sip both data and battery life.
Like the BlackBerry Q10, the R10's keyboard is straight, although it loses the metallic trim between the rows of keys — likely a budget-saving move. The screen is the same square 3.1-inch, 720 x 720 display, but it's unclear if it's also an AMOLED screen like the Q10's or regular LCD.
According to the leak, there's a 5-megapixel camera in back (the Q10's is 8MP). Storage is just 8GB, or half the Q10's, but RAM is said to be the same 2GB as in the Q10. No data on the CPU, though.
The battery holds 1,800 milliamp-hours of energy, the site says, a step down from the 2,100 mAh battery in the Q10. Notably, the R10's battery isn't removable like the Q10 and Z10.
BlackBerry reps didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The R10 would satisfy a significant market for BlackBerry, and it could be revealed as early as next week's BlackBerry Live conference in Orlando.
