Leaked RIM roadmap shows BlackBerry 10, PlayBook update plans

RIM recently announced that BlackBerry 10 and new hardware — the L-series and N-series — would be pushed back until early 2013.

 Now, a leaked slide has appeared that sheds additional light on what RIM has in their product pipeline — and when you can expect to see it on store shelves.

 First up is the long-absent 4G BlackBerry PlayBook.

 Spotted in the wild as far back as April, RIM confirmed in May that it would arrive “by the end of the year.

 Based on its listing in the Q4 2012 block, they’re waiting until the holiday season to get the updated model to carriers.

 It’s another delay that isn’t going to help RIM gain ground, and at this point you’ve got to wonder if anyone is really waiting for the 4G PlayBook.

 Quarterly sales of the original models have slowed to a crawl — just 200,000 moved in Q2 2012. The previously-leaked L and N-series devices lead off 2013.

 It’s expected that they’ll launch first in Europe due to a more receptive (and slightly less critical) market and then make their way to North America about three weeks later.

 RIM is likely hoping that the staggered launch will help build excitement before what surely must be their most critical U.S. product launch ever.

 There’s also some good news for owners of the first-generation PlayBook: you’re slated to receive the upgrade to BlackBerry 10 early in 2013, too.

 Toward the end of 2013, RIM plans on releasing a follow-up to the PlayBook. Codenamed Blackforest, it looks like the new model will be larger (perhaps 9 or 10 inches) and may feature up to 128GB of internal storage.

 Two other devices are noted: Nashville and Naples, which would seem to indicate that they’re N-series phones.

 With Nashville pinned between Q2 and Q3, that means the high-end Nevada will be the only QWERTY BlackBerry 10 device available until summertime.

 For folks interested in a low-end or mid-range BlackBerry Curve running the new OS, it’ll be almost a year before you can buy the device you’re waiting for.

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