Photographs of new Blackberry smartphone surface

Washington, Apr 30(ANI): Photographs of a new Blackberry device have emerged on the Crackberry forum, ahead of the Blackberry world event in the United States.

Blackberry maker Research In Motion is believed to be giving out ten of these prototype devices, which are believed to run the soon-to-be-announced BlackBerry 10 OS, to developers attending the event.

The new Blackberry's bottom front of the device has no control buttons and many have speculated that like the Android's Ice Cream Sandwich OS, Blackberry OS 10, it will make use of on-screen controls, stuff.co.nz reports.

The device resembles the Samsung Galaxy SII, with a decidedly un-Blackberry-like curved rectangular shape featuring a matte plastic backing.

The appearance of this new smartphone has sparked debate about how the next generation of Blackberry 10 OS powered hardware will look.

Fresh hardware and new a OS will be strategically vital to RIM if they are to halt market-share erosion, as competitors such as Android and Apple continue to record a surge in sales. (ANI)