BlackBerry 10 first impression: Nifty features

• New BlackBerry models offer choice of hard keyboard or virtual one
• Cool features include intuitive auto-correct
• Final hardware design still taking shape

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a quick, first look at the forthcoming BlackBerry 10, following a quick demo in the San Francisco bureau on Dec. 5. Our official review, by Edward C. Baig, will run at the time of the product's launch in late January.)

SAN FRANCISCO — It's boxy, unlike its curved predecessor, and it will come in two versions: a hard keyboard and a touch screen.

The new BlackBerry 10, which debuts on Jan. 30 in a five-city launch worldwide, is Research In Motion's last great stab at remaining relevant in a smartphone market dominated by Android and iPhone.

If it doesn't sell — and fast — it could be RIP, RIM.

A prototype of the touch screen version of the BlackBerry 10, demonstrated late Wednesday at the USA TODAY bureau here, resembled an iPhone in shape. (The final version may be more rounded, though a RIM rep declined comment.)

Our first impression: There are some nifty features, such as a more intuitive auto correct; different colors and tones for messages, denoting who is trying to reach you; and virtual tools that strike a "balance" between your work and personal stuff.

Should the BB 10 catch on with consumers, it could establish itself as a secondary, viable alternative to iPhone and Android, says Carl Howe, a Yankee Group analyst who says the embattled RIM still has life left in it.

Howe predicts the new BlackBerrys will appeal strongly to a significant slice of the smartphone audience -- up to 10% -- that favors a hard keyboard and an easy-to-use productivity tool for calls, email and texting.

That meshes with RIM's plan to offer consumers and corporations an alternative to iPhone and Android. RIM executives have criss-crossed the glob for three months, meeting with carriers, developers and analysts to promote BlackBerry 10, says Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben. "The response has been very encouraging," he says.

This week the company announced the "BlackBerry 10 Ready" program aimed at encouraging businesses to adopt the new platform.

RIM shares have been in motion. The stock is now trading at around $12. It's up nearly 80% since late September.