RIM opens BlackBerry 10 door for pre-release enterprise testing
With just over a month until BlackBerry maker Research in Motion unveils the latest BlackBerry 10 smartphones and enterprise offerings, the Canadian smartphone maker has opened the door to dozens of enterprise and government customers for pre-release platform testing.
More than 120 enterprise and government customers -- including 64 companies in the Fortune 500 -- have been invited to access the pre-release software and devices as part of RIM's "technical review program."
The company said in a press release that they are working with customers to test the firm's BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10 (BES 10) and a limited number of pre-production BlackBerry 10 smartphones.
The move allows RIM to gather feedback from the front-line of how its trusted enterprise customers are using the latest software, smartphones and platform in order to make adjustments before the wider market gets their hands on the devices. It will also be a valued indicator of how popular the devices and platform is ahead of the full launch early next year.
BlackBerry 10 is set to be unveiled on January 30, after a delay of four months since the company's first missed milestone.
The smartphone maker recently finalized the BlackBerry 10 developer software, and last week announced a gold version of its software development kit (SDK). The company has also been teasing with new promotional marketing in order to drum up attention and excitement for the next-generation platform with a series of advertisements.
That said, not much is left to the imagination after the supposed device set for next month's launch leaked onto the Web.