RIM will announce its quarterly earnings Thursday afternoon and many analysts say the company will meet expectations. 

But what's really important is BlackBerry 10, the new mobile operating system from RIM that will launch Jan. 30. Carriers are currently testing BlackBerry 10 and their initial reaction has been pretty good so far. 

In a research note, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu says it's more important for consumers and developers to like BB10, otherwise it doesn't stand a chance.

Here's Wu:

Need for Broader BB10 Support. Optimism for BB10 has been growing in recent weeks helping RIMM shares more than double off the 52-week low. For carriers, the rationale is simple where many are increasingly leery of the growing dominance of iOS and Android and have been looking for a viable third or potentially fourth platform with the hope that either BB10 and/or Windows 8 takes off. But does the world really need a third or fourth mobile OS touchscreen platform? And what makes it different? So far, developer support and customer adoption have been lukewarm so it remains to be seen if carrier hope wins out. To us, it's not just the number of apps, but the quality of apps, and whether developers are making money and customers are using them.

We think Wu is right. Based on what we've seen, BB10 finally brings BlackBerrys up to speed with the iPhone and Android, but chances are pretty slim that consumers and developers will care this late in the game.

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