RIM reached a major milestone in the process of getting BlackBerry 10 to consumers today, as the company confirmed that it's achieved the Lab Entry phase of its trek to launch. This means that BlackBerry 10 is now in testing with carriers to ensure that it plays nicely with their network. In a statement sent to Crackberry, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins says that BlackBerry 10 has reached Lab Entry status with more than 50 different carriers. The exec didn't namedrop any specific operators. Heins also reiterated that carrier response to BlackBerry 10 "has been tremendous" and that the companies that he's met with are excited to launch the new platform.

Heins said last month that BlackBerry 10 was on track to enter carrier testing sometime in October, and it appears that RIM managed to meet that goal as the month was winding down. Of course, BlackBerry 10 still has a bit of a journey ahead of it before it lands on store shelves and in consumers' pockets, which is still expected to happen in the first quarter of 2013. BlackBerry 10 is making progress, though, and clearly Heins and RIM are excited to be entering the final months of the platform's trek to retail. Heins's full statement is available below.

"I'm very pleased to confirm that we have passed a critical milestone in the development of our brand new mobile computing platform, BlackBerry 10. In the last week, BlackBerry 10 achieved Lab Entry with more than 50 carriers - a key step in our preparedness for the launch of BlackBerry 10 in the first quarter of 2013. We made this commitment during our recent results conference call and we have delivered. This process will continue in the coming months as more carriers around the world formally evaluate the devices and our brand new software.

I have spent the last several weeks on the road visiting with carrier partners around the world to show them the BlackBerry 10 platform and to share with them our plans for launch. Their response has been tremendous. They are excited about the prospect of launching BlackBerry 10 in their markets. Our respective teams are now engaged on the technical and commercial preparation of the launch of BlackBerry 10 and the lab entry is an important milestone in that context.

The hard work will not stop here as we build towards launch. Our developer teams are continuing to generate momentum to bring a wealth of applications to BlackBerry 10, our enterprise teams have started to present BlackBerry 10 devices and services to our business customers, and our engineers are fully mobilized to ensure that BlackBerry 10 launches flawlessly in the first quarter of 2013."

Via CrackBerry