It’s been a device that has seen more leaks than arguably any other smartphone, but it is now official. The Z10 ditches the traditional QWERTY keypad that has become a hallmark of RIM BlackBerry in favour of a full touchscreen device. Featuring a 4.2-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 1280 x 768, the Z10 has a pixel density of 356ppi – a touch higher than the iPhone 5′s.

Inside, there is some confusion with regards to the Z10′s processor. BlackBerry only revealed that the Z10 is powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, with no mention of the company producing it. The Verge and Ars Technica state that the processor is a Texas Instruments OMAP 4470, but others, like CNET and CrackBerry, states that the processor is a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus. Otherwise, there is also a generous 2GB of RAM, as well as 16GB of flash storage. There’s also a microSD card slot that supports up to 32GB memory cards.

Round the back, the Z10 has the industry-standard 8MP camera which is capable of shooting 1080p videos. The camera’s software also has a nifty feature called Time Shift, which snaps several shots at quick intervals, and users can then select the best shot – similar to Samsung’s Best Face and Nokia’s Smart Shoot features. In front, the Z10 also sports a 2MP camera capable of 720p video recording. Connectivity wise, there’s the usual set of radios such as WiFi, Bluetooth and also NFC. The Z10 is also an LTE device, but we cannot as yet confirm whether the Z10 will be compatible with Malaysia’s LTE spectrum. Also, there’s also a micro HDMI port, in addition to micro USB.

The BlackBerry Z10 will be available in two colours: black and white. As for availability, Malaysia is listed as one of many countries that will be getting the Z10 during the first wave of launches. However, launch dates vary by market, and we’ve not yet received confirmation of the local launch for BB10 and its devices. Interestingly, we did receive a “save the date” invite from BlackBerry’s local PR for an event on February 20 – although that could mean anything at this point in time. Naturally, given the fact that we’ve yet to hear of a local launch, local prices for the Z10 is still unknown.

(Image credit: bgr.com)