Let's look beyond RIM's financial woes for a second.

The next big thing coming from the company is a new smartphone operating system called BlackBerry 10. It's supposed to be the platform that saves RIM's flailing smartphone business. 

We still don't know too much about BlackBerry 10 other than it'll be based on the same OS running the PlayBook tablet right now. That means access to better apps designed for touchscreen devices, including a whole bunch that were originally made for Android.

Supposedly, BlackBerry 10 will be a major overhaul of the BlackBerry platform you're used to, finally bringing it on par with Apple's iOS, Google's Android, and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7. (At least that's what RIM says.) BlackBerry 10 is slated to launch this fall along with at least one new smartphone, assuming RIM doesn't sell the company before then, of course.

But there's a problem for BlackBerry fans who own one right now.

Your phone will not be able to upgrade to BlackBerry 10. Instead, you're stuck with the current OS, called BlackBerry 7. And you'll be stuck on BlackBerry 7 forever unless you buy a new phone that ships with BlackBerry 10 this fall.

That means your BlackBerry is going to miss out on the latest and greatest features from RIM. RIM will of course still support the old BlackBerrys from a technical standpoint, but all the good stuff will be on BlackBerry 10 from this fall on.

This probably isn't so bad if you've had your BlackBerry for a year or two. You'll likely be ready for an upgrade by the time BlackBerry 10 drops. But RIM is still selling and marketing BlackBerry 7 phones. If you buy one of those today, it'll be a dud by this fall. 

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