The BlackBerry Q10 is just making its way to select markets, but another QWERTY handset with a lower price is reportedly en route as the BlackBerry R10.

BlackBerry, the company formerly known as Research in Motion (RIM), currently has only two smartphones running on its latest BlackBerry 10 (BB10) operating system. The Canadian company previously confirmed it will be launching a number of new devices this year, including entry-level and mid-range smartphones, to cater to the more budget-conscious.

The purported BlackBerry R10 started leaking recently as another BlackBerry smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard, but with a more affordable price tag compared to the new BlackBerry Q10. While various rumors made the rounds, a new image along with some specs surfaced for the BlackBerry R10.

After a red BlackBerry R10 made an appearance a couple of days ago, following the leak of a white version, the budget smartphone now appears in black as well, courtesy of Chinese site DGtle.

According to the publication, the BlackBerry R10 may be a cheap BlackBerry Q10 knock-off, but apparently it doesn't sacrifice as much as expected. The handset will reportedly sport a 3.1-inch display with a decent resolution of 720 x 720, 2GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera capable of taking 2,560 x 1,920 resolution photos, as well as a front-facing camera for video chats. The purported budget handset also packs a 1,800 mAh non-removable battery and runs on the new BB10 OS. The report also notes 8GB of internal storage, with no mention of a micro SD card slot.

Based on the leaks so far, the BlackBerry R10 will be available in white, red and black options once it hits the market. BlackBerry may release the lower-cost handset sometime during the third quarter of this year, but the company has yet to make it official. The BlackBerry R10 is expected to cost roughly $300 - $400 outright.

While this is still in the rumor state, the BlackBerry Live conference scheduled for May 14 - 16 in Orlando, Fla. seems like a great opportunity to unveil new products, and the BlackBerry R10 may just take center stage. Stay tuned for more details as they emerge.