Topping tech headlines on Tuesday, Research in Motion (RIM) CEO Thorsten Heins kicked off the company's BlackBerry World conference by unveiling the long-awaited BlackBerry 10 operating system. Though much of the new OS hasn't yet been revealed, a few key features were demonstrated. The first, and perhaps most shocking, is the touch-based keyboard. That's right—the first BB10 devices will be touch screen-only.
For more on BlackBerry World, see Hands On With the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha and Hands On With Porsche's $1,800 BlackBerry.
In other RIM news, the company confirmed that it was behind the "Wake Up" protest held at a Sydney, Australia Apple Store.
Meanwhile, Facebook announced a new option that allows users to add their organ donor status to their accounts. The organ donation option is primarily a way to spread awareness among your Facebook friends, and to inform family members of your intentions should they ever need to provide consent. For more, see Facebook Organ Donation: How Does It Work?
In other Facebook news, the social network is reportedly planning to launch its "roadshow" this coming Monday, with an IPO set for May 18.
Finally, Apple is feeling pressure from overseas regulators, who are investigating complaints about the "4G" capabilities of the new iPad. The latest organization to investigate is a U.K. advertising group. For more, see Apple Discovers 4G Nonsense Stops at U.S. Border.
Also topping headlines on Tuesday:
- Unboxing the HTC One X for AT&T: The HTC One X, HTC's flagship Android smartphone running Ice Cream Sandwich, has arrived on AT&T. We unbox it.
- Barnes & Noble to Add NFC Technology to Nook: B&N plans to ask publishers to embed NFC chips inside hardback books, turning the Nook into a sort of "second screen" for the bookstore.
- Motorola Phone Shipments Slip as Loss Widens: Motorola Mobility reported a net loss for the first quarter of 2012 that widened compared to a quarter ago, and the number of mobile devices the company sold shrank.
- Google Rolling Out Automatic Message Translation for Gmail: Now, when you receive a message in a language other than your own, Gmail will translate it into a language you can understand — with a single click.
- Twitter Rolls Out Social News Feed: Twitter launched a new version of its "Discover" tab, which will attempt to present relevant news stories to users, based on tweets from people followed by the primary account holder.
- Skyrim for Kinect Released, Adds Voice Controls: The update means that you can use the Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360 to utilize voice commands throughout the game.
- B&N Offers $20 Nook Discounts for Mother's Day: B&N's offer is only available through May 12. (Mother's Day is May 13, in case you've forgotten.)
- Samsung Grabs Smartphone Lead From Apple: Two separate reports indicated that Samsung has grabbed the lead from Apple as the world's top smartphone maker.
For more from Angela, follow her on Twitter @amoscaritolo.
