RIM explains why BlackBerry 10 had to be delayed till Q1 2013

Research In Motion today announced it expects the first BlackBerry 10 smartphones to be launched only in the first quarter of 2013. Initially, BlackBerry 10 was supposed to launch towards early-2012 but has faced repeated setbacks. However, as recently as a month ago, RIM had maintained that the first devices will be launched later this year and even distributed alpha-stage devices to developers at its annual developer summit. So what happened within a month that RIM had to delay the launch? Read on.
BlackBerry 10 is based on a completely new platform called QNX, which RIM had earlier acquired. However, integrating core BlackBerry services, especially email and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) has proved more challenging than what was expected. Remember how the PlayBook did not have an email client at launch and still does not have BBM integration?
“Over the past several weeks, RIM’s software development teams have made major progress in the  development of key features for the BlackBerry 10 platform;  however, the integration of these features and the associated large volume of code into the platform has proven to be more time consuming than anticipated.  As a result, the Company now expects to launch the first BlackBerry 10 smartphones in market in Q1 of calendar 2013,” RIM said in a statement today.
RIM’s development teams are relentlessly focussed on ensuring the quality and reliability of the platform and I will not compromise the product by delivering it before it is ready.  I am confident that the first BlackBerry 10 smartphones will provide a ground-breaking next generation smartphone user experience.
- Thorsten Heins, President and CEO, RIM