BlackBerry 10 approved for release on all major UK networks, including EE’s 4GEE, as launch event draws near

All major UK carriers have announced they will be selling BlackBerry 10 phones from early 2013, including EE, where the phones will be compatible with its 4G LTE network.

Research in Motion’s CEO Thorsten Heins said during BlackBerry Jam Americas he had enjoyed a world tour showing off BlackBerry 10 to networks, and that the response had been tremendous. It’s certainly beginning to sound like this wasn’t an exaggeration, as all four of the major UK networks have confirmed they’ll be offering BlackBerry 10 handsets for sale next year.

EE certainly caused the biggest stir by confirming BlackBerry 10 devices will be compatible with its recently launched 4G LTE network, tweeting, “Great news BlackBerry fans, BlackBerry 10 will be on our superfast 4GEE network from launch,” saying there will be more details along soon. BlackBerry UK’s Managing Director Rob Orr replied, “Thanks for the support – we’re excited to be bringing BlackBerry 10 to EE customers.”

With Orange and T-Mobile taken care of under the EE name, O2 also took to Twitter to talk BlackBerry 10, tweeting, “Really happy to say we’ll be selling BlackBerry 10 in 2013,” before telling followers to “Watch out for more information soon.” Completing the list is Vodafone, which has sent a brief note to several sources, saying its, “planning to offer the new BlackBerry 10 devices when they launch on January 30 2013. We’ll release more details on pricing and availability after launch.”

Vodafone’s wording seems to indicate BlackBerry 10 phones will be up for pre-order quite soon after the January 30 launch event, although the devices aren’t expected to go on sale until the end of February to early March. On the subject of the launch event, invitations have begun to circulate, confirming six cities where an event will take place – New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Johannesburg and Dubai.

Finally, BlackBerry 10 continues to attract the musically inclined to celebrate its impending release, but this time it’s not a band consisting of RIM staff, but a rapper named Lil E who has posted the ditty you can hear below, named No Sleep Till BlackBerry 10. Just to prove RIM still has some work to do in the PR stakes, the top comment on YouTube is simply “No sleep till dead on arrival.” Oscar Wilde would be proud.