A new rendering of what could be the first smartphone from Research In Motion to run the BlackBerry 10 platform was published by CrackBerry.com. The picture of the device, codenamed 'London', is altogether different from earlier images that have been spied of the unreleased, unannounced smartphone from RIM.

The image, which comes from what looks like a leaked slide, shows a slab-style smartphone with a large display and nary a keyboard in site.

"The BlackBerry London ... looks much more like a phonified BlackBerry PlayBook," opined the fellas at CrackBerry.com, "featuring the rounded corners and all-black look of RIM's first tablet. And while we heard the first photo of London was a legit RIM hardware concept, we've been hearing for an even longer time now that the first QNX-based phone hardware was more like a downsized PlayBook. The plot thickens."

[ The BB 10 will face tough competition. Read iPhone 5 Could Be Game-Changer For Mobile Payments. ]

The slide has a number of bullet points, claiming the device is "all about changing the game." Some of the benefits touted by the slide include an integrated hardware and software experience, a dramatic shift in the user experience, exceptional power and efficiency, and a quality content and apps story.

RIM has said that the first BB10 devices won't ship until close to the end of 2012. That leaves plenty of time for the design of the handset itself to change. While the leaked phone is nice to look at, it's highly likely the final shipping product will look different.

In other RIM news, the BlackBerry maker today announced that devices running its Blackberry 7 and BlackBerry 7.1 operating systems have been awarded FIPS 140-2 certification by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC). The 140-2 certification is recognized by the U.S. and Canadian governments and is required under the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 for devices to be used by government employees.

RIM has long produced extremely secure smartphones, which is why it has been the platform of choice financial and government workers for a decade. RIM's PlayBook scored also government clearance last summer.

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