RIP: the physical BlackBerry keyboard, 1999-2012.

Struggling BlackBerry maker RIM unveiled the new all-touchscreen BlackBerry 10 operating system this morning, putting an end to the era of physical QWERTY buttons. The new model uses a slick virtual keyboard and plenty of gestures instead.

BB10 also brings better tools for developers, a new camera app, and support for the kinds of "console-quality" games that have been big hits on iOS and Android devices.

It remains to be seen whether the new OS will help RIM recapture some of the smartphone market share it's been losing to Apple and Google over the past five years, but it seems like a good start.

[dvice.]