It looks like CrackBerry has received enough information from its sources to piece together what could be Research In Motion’s 2012 roadmap for BBX-powered smartphones. A total of five devices are identified, four being smartphones and another potentially being a new PlayBook tablet.
First up is the recently leaked BlackBerry London. It could launch as early as March but this appears uncertain. Earlier rumours suggested a June release.
Around the same time or perhaps a bit later, RIM is expected to launch the BlackBerry Milan. With the codename R071 (London is R072), it could be that the two devices are but variants for different carriers. London could be a model for Verizon and Milan for AT&T (and perhaps Rogers).
Little is known about the third device, the BlackBerry Lisbon. One possibility is that it could be a BBX slider (a BBX-powered Torch?).
The BlackBerry Nevada appears to be a full QWERTY BBX smartphone. Given RIM’s assurance that it remained committed to devices with keyboards, it makes sense that it is developing a QWERTY keyboard-packing BBX smartphone. The launch date is set for late 2012, perhaps in the November time frame.
The last device is the Black Forest. It is rumoured to be a 10-inch PlayBook tablet. It appears that this will be a new design rather than the cancelled larger version of the 7-inch PlayBook. This model promises sharp angles similar to the rumoured BlackBerry London.
While many details are not known yet, it is encouraging to see RIM looking to bounce back from recent misfortunes with what could be a very exciting device line up in 2012.