BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha hands on review

We also spotted a front-facing camera and  a large speaker at the bottom, as well as connectors that suggest a dedicated dock is on the way.

Like RIM's current batch of smartphones, BB10 also supports NFC. Interestingly you can opt to use NFC even when the phone is switched off – which means you can still take advantage of this future-proof tech when your phone has completely run out of juice.

Performance-wise, the Dev Alpha throws up an impressive screen res and a pretty speedy user experience. It's obvious that touchscreen use is going to play a major part in the new BB10 OS, but this doesn't mean you should rule out physical keyboards. Perhaps we'll see a BB10 slider a la the BlackBerry Torch?