While RIM’s newest version of the BlackBerry won’t be ready until sometime later this year, they have confirmed that BlackBerry 10 won’t actually have a physical keyboard.

While versions of the BlackBerry 10 operating systems will be available on devices with a physical keyboard at a later date, RIM spokesperson Rebecca Freiburger verified it is not part of the design right now.

Actual details about the device itself are in short supply, there are many articles floating around by people who got a chance to sample the BlackBerry 10 software, and there is a consensus that it’s pretty nice.

Take a look:

There is a rumor floating around that RIM may release the first BlackBerry 10 devices sometime in October, but it has not been confirmed. It certainly seems like sooner would be better than later, at least for RIM.

Just yesterday, we reported that RIM is downsizing departments by the dozen. The company is hoping to lean out their operations and reorganize in order to continue to compete in the consumer market.

In April, after some substantial loses reported in their quarterly earnings, they experienced even more bad news as several top executives abandoned their positions at the company.

Hopefully BlackBerry 10 will make it to the market before the company experiences any more major set back. Even then, it’s hard to say if RIM’s latest offering will be enough for them to stay competitive against the Androids and iOS’s of the world. We’ll keep you posted on any further BlackBerry 10 updates.