RIM's surprisingly impressive BlackBerry 10 preview: 4 takeaways

Are a new touch-oriented interface and a predictive keyboard enough to win back users who long ago traded in their BlackBerries for iPhones?

BlackBerry 10 drops the signature physical keyboard and features a touchscreen with big graphical tabs, similar to Windows' colorful tiles.
(Image credit: YouTube)

On Tuesday, floundering gadgetmaker Research in Motion (RIM) offered a preview of its new operating system, BlackBerry 10 (BB10), for its signature line of smartphones. Somewhat surprisingly, the video demo revealed "an elegant, fluid, feature-filled touch experience," says Kevin C. Tofel at GigaOm. (Watch the clip below.) In recent years, the Canadian manufacturer has struggled to keep pace with flashier devices from Apple and Android, with many critics predicting a bleak end for the erstwhile king of smartphones. Could BB10, set to ship in October, help resurrect RIM? Here, four things critics are buzzing about:

1. Touch is in

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