How RIM Used The Past To Inspire New Hardware On BB10

True inspiration is hard to come by and when it comes to creativity and design, the tasks that manufacturing companies have to innovate hardware is definitely not an easy one.

We all know, Research In Motion will be introducing two new BlackBerry devices when it launches its BlackBerry 10 operating system in 2013. We kind of have a pretty good idea of what the all touch device will be like; the Dev Alpha reportedly looks and feels ridiculously close to what the final product will be, so at least we have that as reference.

However, the look of the full QWERTY BlackBerry 10 device has remained a real big question mark. There's no Dev Alpha for that device, so it's more shrouded in mystery. Many, myself included, have wondered how RIM is going to be able to pull off a device with a square 720x720 resolution screen, with no trackpad, trackball or menu buttons, without it looking awkward. It turns out they've already done something similar to that in the past.

The BlackBerry 5790, who some argue was the first device to have the name "BlackBerry," had a square screen, no trackpad (had a trackwheel), and no menu button or calling keys (didn't make calls). If you look up old reviews online from 2000-2001, you'll see this device being described as having a "160x160 high resolution" and it being a great replacement for a business user's laptop.

About.com gave it 4.5 stars in its review and safe to say that, for that time, RIM had innovated big with this device.

Now, from talking to people that have seen the full QWERTY device up close, it's clear that RIM has drawn inspiration from the 5790 and combined those ideals with the Bold's amazing keyboard, look and feel.

Why are we sharing these little tidbits now instead of waiting to actually see the devices at BlackBerry 10 Jam? Well odds are when we do actually see them and play with them, we'll be asked to sign an NDA which will impede us from writing about it, talking about it or even taking pictures of it. So before that happens, we figured we'd share what we do know about it.

We want to know what you think. Is a modernized, Bold style-injected, slim, 5790-like BlackBerry 10 sexy or not? Sound off in the comments!