Sprint Blackberry Q10 Release Date: Leaked Internal Memo Says Late August

Sprint subscribers have been waiting the longest to get their hands on a Blackberry Q10, but now a leaked internal memo is giving them hope. It's slated for a late August release.

T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon have all released the Blackberry Q10, leaving Sprint the only major carrier not currently making the device available for its customers. But, according to a leaked internal memo, that's about to change. If they can hold on until Aug. 30, fans of the new Blackberry smartphone with a full, physical, qwerty keyboard will be getting their due.

A screenshot of the electronic memo, given to Engadget by an anonymous tipster, shows "Upcoming Launches Updated" at the top of a big list of devices - including the LG Optimus F3, purple Samsung Galaxy S4, the Samsung ATIV S Neo, and the Lenovo Thinkpad - with what is assumed to be their subsequent release dates.

Way towards the bottom of that list is Blackberry Q10, with a release date of Aug. 30, 2013 for "direct ship only." It looks like it may not be hitting store shelves until Sept. 13.

Still "Coming Soon"

Right now, Sprint hasn't acknowledged the release date. The company's webpage is still splashed with a big "coming soon" sign, and a place to pre-register to be notified, officially, when the Blackberry Q10 is finally available.

Blackberry is expected to further expand their lineup of smartphones, but when they relaunched the company (formerly known as Research in Motion), the Q10 and Z10 were the two heavy hitters that Blackberry Inc. was betting customers would want.

While the Z10 was the most talked about phone, because it was the company's first foray into an all-touchscreen slate style smartphone, the Q10 has been the flag bearer of the traditional Blackberry crowd.

The Q10 comes with a 3.1-inch touchscreen (at the top), and a full physical qwerty keyboard underneath. Its display resolution is 720x720p and packs 330 pixels per inch on the relatively tiny screen. It has 16GB storage, 2GB RAM, and an 8-megapixel shooter, along with a 2-megapixel front facing camera. The Blackberry Q10 comes with the BB10 operating system, Blackberry's majorly overhauled touchscreen OS for the relaunch.  

Stay with us for more updates - especially for when Sprint officially acknowledges the release date for the Blackberry Q10.