BlackBerry Q10 Release Date: Pre-Registration Opens for AT&T and T-Mobile Orders

Pre-registration pages are now up for the BlackBerry Q10 from both AT&T and T-Mobile.

No word yet on an exact release date, but T-Mobile says it will have the Q10 sometime next month. The pre-registration allows interested customers to signup for an email alert when pre-orders open, likely in the next few weeks.

While AT&T doesn't mention any pricing information, T-Mobile is following its usual unsubsidized scheme, charging $99.99 upfront and $20 per month for $24 months. The entire $579.99 balance can be paid off upfront or early without penalty.

The BlackBerry Q10 is the company's first offering that combines the old school QWERTY keyboard ubiquitous on BlackBerrys of yore with the new BlackBerry 10 operating system.

Until now, the new OS has only been available on the BlackBerry Z10, an all-touch smartphone that has revitalized the company's prospects and helped it break back into the mobile phone market it once dominated. Despite initial skepticism from analysts, the Z10 has sold briskly worldwide.

BlackBerry had expected to sell fewer Q10s than Z10s, but the unexpected popularity of the Z10 has buoyed the company's hopes. Rather than simply position the Q10 as a required offering to loyalists who want their physical keyboards, BlackBerry is placing the phone centerstage.

If the Q10 can replicate, or even approach the success of the Z10, it willpave the way for three or four more BlackBerry phones due out later this year.

The BlackBerry Q10 features a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 plus processor, 2GB of RAM, a 3.1-inch 720x720 touchscreen display, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video, 16GB of internal storage, an SD card slot for up to another 64GB of storage, a full physical QWERTY keyboard and runs the newly revamped BlackBerry 10 operating system.

Check back for the latest information on the BlackBerry Q10 as it becomes available.