BlackBerry promises more devices in 2013 and touts BYOD buyer desire

AMSTERDAM: BlackBerry has confirmed it will launch more devices running its BlackBerry 10 operating system during 2013, in an effort to broaden its portfolio.

The firm announced the plans at its BlackBerry Jam developer conference, attended by V3, and also said that its second handset, the Qwerty keyboard BlackBerry Q10, is set to hit the markets globally in April.

An update to BlackBerry's new platform, dubbed Blackberry OS 10.1 is also on the cards, although the firm declined to name a date when this will ship. Those already using handsets will be able to download this, BlackBerry confirmed.

However, there are further devices coming in the pipeline, as the firm looks to cover as many market segments as possible, which is likely to include a PlayBook tablet update as well as additional smartphone models.

"There will be additional BlackBerry 10 devices over the next 12 months which will help us to target additional price tiers," Martyn Mallick, BlackBerry's vice president of business development told V3.

Mallick was responding to suggestions from some industry observers that the Z10 smartphone, now shipping in the UK, has been set at too high a price point to compete against rival devices such as the Apple iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy models.

However, the firm is "pretty much focused on just getting the device into people's hands" at the moment, he added.

Any new devices will be consistent with the screen resolutions of the Z10 and Q10, according to Mallick, a key feature which means that developers can be assured that any apps they create now will run on the upcoming devices.