Verizon BlackBerry Z10 Release Date: Leaked Photos Show Verizon's Variant

The first substantive photos of a Verizon branded BlackBerry Z10 have leaked.

In photos posted on CrackBerry, it's easy to see the Verizon check mark logo on the upper left of the front of the phone, above the earpiece speaker and the front-facing camera.

On the back, the Verizon logo is arranged vertically, with the check mark above the company name, in the center of the bottom quarter of the battery cover. Below the logo is the 4G LTE moniker.

The embossed BlackBerry logo is situated in the center of the cover, and a sticker above that reads:

PROPERTY OF
RESEARCH IN
MOTION LIMITED

ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

EVALUATION UNIT

NOT FOR SALE OR
LEASE

Additionally, the Verizon version of the Z10 was spotted at the Federal Communications Commission. The AT&T version seems farther along in the approval process, and there is no sign of the Sprint version.

While there's no word on the T-Mobile version, the carrier has stated several times that it wants to be the first to offer the Z10 in the United States. Rumors say mid-March for a T-Mobile release, with business customers getting the phone perhaps a week earlier than that.

Speculation so far has been that Verizon gets the Z10 after T-Mobile, but not by much, perhaps late March or early April.

But if there's no T-Mobile phone at the FCC, has it already passed through the regulatory process? Or have AT&T and Verizon leapfrogged the smaller carrier?

From the FCC photos, it appears that Verizon may be ready for a mid-March launch as well, which would mean either simultaneous launches on Verizon and AT&T, or a much earlier T-Mobile launch, perhaps early March as intended for business customers.

That or T-Mobile has dropped the ball, which Verizon would certainly be happy about. Check back for the latest updates as they come in.