First BlackBerry 10 handset to make mid-August appearance

It is not news that BlackBerry is lagging behind as far as their operating system is concerned compared to the likes of Android and iOS who have completely dominated the smartphone sphere in recent years. To amend this situation, BlackBerry announced the BlackBerry 10 OS which would put them in contention as a top smartphone manufacturer. Late last year, former Research in Motion CEO stated that the first device running this upcoming operating system would make its first appearance by the end of 2012. However, for those who are eagerly awaiting the BlackBerry 10 OS, it seems that a report by N4BB has some good news as their sources claim that the first handset using this OS will be unveiled by mid-August 2012. This pushes the release date up quite a bit from what was previously believed.

As per the report, the author states, “One of our sources has revealed to us that RIM intends to announce the first BlackBerry 10 device by mid-August. The first BlackBerry 10 device will be touch only and we’re told has a projected market release for first half of October. As expected, RIM plans to pump a lot of marketing dollars into BlackBerry 10.”

It does not come as a surprise that the first handset will be a touch only handset as there have been leaks in the past showing off a sleek looking full touchscreen handset running on what appears to be their next operating system. The device had been codenamed BlackBerry London and at the time there were some specifications revealed.

Here is a look at the rumoured specification list of the BlackBerry London

BlackBerry 10 OS

3.7-inch touchscreen1.5

GHz TI OMAP dual-core CPU

1GB RAM

16GB internal memory

8 Megapixel rear camera

2 Megapixel front camera

 

 

For those who love BlackBerry handsets because of their physical keypad, the report also details when the first handset running BlackBerry 10 OS with this feature will debut. The report states that by the first quarter of 2013, the first handset running on BlackBerry 10 using a physical QWERTY keypad is expected to be released.

Digital music revenue overtakes physical formats in U.K. for first time

Digital music downloads and streaming revenues for the first time ever have surpassed those of physical CDs in the United Kingdom, according to the British Phonographic Industry. Digital music accounted for 55.5% of U.K. music revenue between January and April of this year compared to 31% of worldwide industry revenue in 2011, with industry revenues growing by 2.7% to £155.8 million. Digital music revenue, including subscription and ad-supported services, grew by 23.6% year-over-year to £86.5 million, while revenue from physical formats fell by 15.1% to £69.3 million. Sales of digital albums increased by 22.7% to £35.9 million. Paid-for subscription services revenue almost doubled over the same month a year ago, increasing 93% to nearly £9 million, while revenue from ad-supported services such as Spotify increased by 20% to £3.4 million. The continued increase of digital revenues highlights the switch millions of users continue to make from physical music formats to digital downloads and streaming services. The British Phonographic Industry’s press release follows below.