Was the BlackBerry 10 Launch a Success?

After the BlackBerry 10 launch party last week in Toronto, I hung around and spoke to other media outlets as well as invited guests.  Through a consensus a lot of the people expected there to be more.  Many of them complimented on the event, how well it was setup, and how seamless the 6 events worldwide seemed to go off.

One of the main concerns was that when they re-branded Research in Motion to BlackBerry, they didn’t go more in depth on the future of the company.  Thinking that this step was a huge leap forward as a corporation, it left many wondering on what the future will hold.  Was it just a move signalling a new era, or just making it simpler for the consumer audience that often doesn’t distinguish between Research in Motion (RIM) and BlackBerry.

A few reporters I spoke to seemed to be expecting more in terms of QNX, how this operating system is supposed to be a saving grace. Not only is it utilized in the next generation operating system that we call BlackBerry 10, but it also runs countless other systems used world wide.  So in appearance if BlackBerry 10 was to not help them regain the competitive marketshare they have lost, what could QNX bring to the table.

Now one I was personally expecting to see mentioned  was the evolution of the PlayBook and how BlackBerry 10 will be moved towards the tablet.  It was rumoured that even though BlackBerry 10 was not going to be released today on to the PlayBook, that an incremental OS update to OS2.2 was going to be available.  It runs off the coat tails of the BlackBerry Bridge update last night, because history serves us with PlayBook OS updates the day after.

All that being said, a lot of the attendees were very anxious to give the Z10 a try. Their expressions and sentiment really showed with hands on demos.  In my opinion BlackBerry could have gone in to more detail on the future, but maybe that is what BlackBerry Live will be for in 3 months.  If you watched the webcast, please chime in with your opinions, and let us know how you feel about the new BlackBerry!