BlackBerry Z10 Release Date: U.S. Will Receive It In A 'Few Short Weeks'

BlackBerry is teasing the American release of its BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 smartphones.

In a tweet on Wednesday, the company said the phones running the new BlackBerry 10 operating system will be available "in a few short weeks."

From East Coast to West, #BlackBerry10 will be available across the U.S. in a few short weeks: blck.by/XYKi3A

— BlackBerry (@BlackBerry) February 27, 2013

BlackBerry didn't release any specifics about which phones will hit which carriers, or when exactly "a few short weeks" actually is. But here's what we know so far.

T-Mobile has said it wants to be the first carrier to release the Z10 in the United States. Execs at the company have said they're shooting for a mid-March release date, with business customers able to get the phone perhaps a week earlier than that.

However, recent photos from the FCC show a Verizon branded Z10, which means it's almost ready for release. An AT&T version was also spotted previously, so that may be ready to go soon, as well.

But there's haven't been any pics of a T-Mobile version. Of course, that doesn't mean they don't exist. Maybe the T-Mobile model is already finished with the FCC and is closer to production?

Or maybe AT&T and Verizon have leapfrogged the smaller company in bringing the BlackBerrys to the U.S. market.

Most speculation has been about the Z10, the all-touchscreen BB10 phone. But some rumors suggest Verizon is hoping to release the Q10 -- the qwerty keyboard BB10 phone -- at the same time. Whether that will delay a Z10 launch or speed up a Q10 launch remains unclear.

In any case, it's all happening soon. No matter what carrier has the phone first, it looks like the general timeline for the Z10's release so far has been accurate. BlackBerry says it's a few weeks off. Semantically, that should mean more than a week and less than a month.

But the "mid-March" date hits in two weeks. Check back for the latest updates as they becomes available.