What is RIM thinking?

Discussing RIM’s new operating system, BlackBerry 10, Hugo Miller of Bloomberg writes…

The BlackBerry Jam event, which runs May 1-3 alongside the larger BlackBerry World Conference in Orlando, is designed to bring together developers and RIM’s top software executives, including Saunders, to rekindle that interest. Every BlackBerry Jam participant will get a prototype up to the event’s limit of 2,000. “This is a tool the developer can use to get a jumpstart to build applications that will be great on a BlackBerry 10 device in the future,” [VP of Developer Relations Alec] Saunders said.

Sounds like a great idea, and quite frankly, something they should have been doing for years. But Saunders is later quoted as saying…

Saunders said the design of the test model and the screen’s look and navigation will be very different from what eventually goes on sale to consumers. “The experience on this device from a consumer’s perspective is not in any way indicative of what the final experience on BlackBerry 10 will be like,” he said. “We are holding that back to create the interest around that at launch time.”

So let me get this straight: You’re giving developers a prototype so they can experience the look and feel of your new operating system and start developing for it, but this prototype will in no way reflect the actual look and experience of the finished product?

What’s the point?