Research in Motion held an event in Ontario, Canada yesterday where they gave a group of software developers and wireless networks a glimpse on their upcoming BlackBerry 10 smartphones.

RIM showed their devices to Canada’s top wireless networks, Rogers Communications, Bell, and Telus.  The company is also soon to make their rounds in Europe, Africa and Asia.

Andrew McLeod, managing director of RIM’s Canadian operations, stated that they’ve received positive feedback from wireless carriers regarding their upcoming devices and will soon start discussing marketing strategies and other business matters with the carriers.

The BlackBerry 10 smartphones are expected to launch during the early half of 2013.  The launch was supposed to happen this year, but several delays have kept RIM out of the loop, dwindling consumer interest all the while. The sneak peek for the upcoming devices came just as BlackBerry fans are ready to abandon their devices for more feature-rich gadgets from Apple and Samsung.

As for the BlackBerry 10 operating system,they’re still not ready for release as they’re still working on the final touches before they can begin rolling out the new software.

“We’re in the process of finalizing the software,” McLeod said. “It was at a point where we had a confidence level that we could really demonstrate the validity of the products and software. Obviously you don’t want to show something that is not going to wow folks. People were excited with what they saw.”

Top competitors, Apple and Samsung, clearly have the lead in the mobile market.  Samsung unveiled the Galaxy SIII just a few months ago and Apple is expected to wow consumers with the iPhone 5 come September 12th.  RIM, on the other hand, will release their devices several months after everyone has already purchased either a  new iPhone, a Galaxy SIII, or other Android smartphones.  That’s clearly the downside.  The only way they can get people to drop their non-BlackBerry smartphones is if their new line of BBs has better features.  The upside of delaying their launch is that they’d get to see what competitors have to offer.  Based on that, they can tinker their device, improve specs, add more features, etc.