RIM has announced today that it will be holding a launch event for BlackBerry 10 on January 30, 2013. This will take place simultaneously at multiple locations around the world, and will include the unveiling of its first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones, along with details of their availability. Those devices, as has been previously reported, will include one touchscreen handset and one with a hardware keyboard.

We recently got a chance to test out BB10 in its latest iteration in Toronto ahead of the TechCrunch meetups, and it’s definitely looking like a mobile OS that’s nearing final release candidate status. With this announcement, we don’t know exactly when it’s coming, however. Previous reports suggest it might be until March before we actually see devices hit store shelves, but we’ll know more as of January 30.

Lately, RIM has been showing off BlackBerry 10 at a number of venues around the world, including its own developer conferences, press events, third-party conferences and more. The company has also been pretty transparent about other steps in the process towards bringing BB10 to market, including when it announced that devices based on the OS were undergoing lab testing with 50 carriers. The company also recently announced that its latest OS has achieved FIPS 140-2 certification ahead of deployment, making devices using it the first from BlackBerry that will be able to be deployed in government agencies without post-launch testing.

Even with a firm date set on an official platform launch, the timeline of release is all-important here. RIM has been criticized in the past for showing and promising too much early, only to encounter delays bringing things to market later on. At this point, we’re very familiar with what BB10 offers in terms of software; all eyes will be on release date and pricing of the two launch devices come the end of January.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

So, I’ve just recuperated from our VA mini meet-up tour, during which John and I visited DC, Norfolk, and Richmond in an attempt to find startup gems in unexpected corners of the country. This time we’re bringing things a little bit closer to home.

That’s right New Yawkers: get your pitch in order, your demo up to snuff, and throw on your schmoozing hat! We’re having a meet-up in the Big Apple, and if you aren’t there, you’re probably shaped like a box.

This isn’t a seminar, panel, a conference, or really anything that requires people to sit down at a desk and look through a PowerPoint. Instead, John and I simply want to look upon your beautiful faces and hear about how you plan on disrupting the world through technology. Over beers.

So this is the plan:

We’ll meet on May 8 (that’s a Tuesday) at a location TBA. The meet-up will begin promptly at 6pm and will end around 10pm, at which point we can all caravan to a bar for an after party.

There’s just one little piece of business we need to attend to, before you go out and buy a brand new outfit.

We’re also looking for sponsors. The more the merrier (since that means more beer). If you’re interested in a sponsorship, please send an email to john (at) techcrunch dot com with the subject: NY Meetup Sponsorship.

To RSVP to the event, head over to our PlanCast page.

Finally, if you’d like to connect with us pre-show time, you can follow me on Twitter at @jordanrcrook or John at @johnbiggs.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch