In a statement on Monday, RIM said that the BBX launch event will happen simultaneously in multiple countries around the world, and will also be used to unveil the first two smartphones to run the new mobile operating system.

RIM said details of when its devices are to be released in stores will be announced at the event. The company is pinning the success of its new operating system on what it calls several “key features”.

Two such features, BlackBerry Flow and BlackBerry Hub, were demonstrated by RIM CEO Thorsten Heins at the BlackBerry Jam developer conference in September, when he said that RIM had “taken what people know and love about BlackBerry to expand beyond traditional mobile communication”. 

According to RIM, BlackBerry Flow will allow smooth navigation across open applications and the BlackBerry Hub, which provides access to all messages, notifications, feeds and calendar events using a thumb swipe.

In addition, RIM, which has been known for the strength of its keyboard offerings on previous mobile devices, says its new BlackBerry touch-screen keyboard will learn how users write in order to help them write faster and more accurately. A new feature called BlackBerry Balance will also help to keep encrypted apps and data for work-related purposes separate from personal apps on the handset, RIM said.

Last week, the company announced that its BBX platform had achieved FIPS 140 security certification, the first time BlackBerry products have been certified ahead of launch, allowing US government agencies to adopt the operating system upon release.

“In building BlackBerry 10, we set out to create a truly unique mobile computing experience that constantly adapts to your needs,” said Heins.

“Our team has been working tirelessly to bring our customers innovative features combined with a best-in-class browser, a rich application ecosystem and cutting-edge multimedia capabilities.  All of this will be integrated into a user experience – the BlackBerry Flow – that is unlike any smartphone on the market today,” he added.

“Thanks to our strong partnerships with global carriers and a growing ecosystem of developers, we believe our customers will have the best experience possible with BlackBerry 10. We are looking forward to getting BlackBerry 10 in the hands of our customers around the world.”

RIM’s shares on technology stock exchange NASDAQ were up 3.2% to $8.82 in late trading on Monday.