RIM Announces 4G LTE PlayBook Tablet
RIM is launching a 4G LTE version of its 7-inch BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.
Despite all the uncertainty regarding Research In Motion and its immediate future, the BlackBerry company seems intent on proving that it's business as usual. While anxious customers are waiting for the release of BlackBerry 10 devices in 1Q13, RIM in the meantime is releasing a 4G LTE version of its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The updated gadget is launching in Canada first on August 9 on Bell, Rogers and TELUS networks.
According to RIM, the new tablet sports the latest BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2 software, a 7-inch screen, a 1.5 GHz dual-core SoC, 1 GB of RAM, 6-axis motion sensing, 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity, and a microHDMI output port. Other features include a microUSB port, Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, 32 GB of internal storage, a 3MP front-facing camera and a 5MP rear-facing camera.
"The 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet gives customers access to high speed mobile networks around the world (LTE and HSPA+) and offers an exceptional, high-fidelity, fast web experience that supports more HTML5 functionality than any other native tablet browser on the market," RIM said on Thursday.
Out of the box, the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet comes preloaded with tools and entertainment apps like the recently launched BlackBerry Video Store which offers a catalog of thousands of movies and TV shows. A powerful unified inbox allows users to easily manage multiple personal and work email accounts, as well as messages from Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, all in one place.
The tablet is also enterprise ready, making it easily managed with BlackBerry Mobile Fusion. The tablet also comes preloaded with BlackBerry Balance technology, which allows a user to use a BlackBerry PlayBook for both work and personal purposes by keeping business information highly secure and separate from personal information.
"We're excited to bring customers the first BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with support for 4G LTE networks," said David J. Smith, Executive Vice President, Mobile Computing at Research In Motion. "The new 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook offers a broad range of premium features, including a stunning 7 inch display, front and rear facing HD video cameras, HDMI out and stereo speakers, and it also offers premium performance on high speed cellular networks, helping customers to be more productive than ever and to make the most of their time on the go."
Additional variants of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet supporting various high speed cellular networks are expected to be available in the coming months from carriers in the US, Europe, South Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. For more information about the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, head here.
Trust!
Last time I checked, Android is so far anything else than irrelevant. Although, I am also concerned on the application portfolio for this tablet.
@Budocity : LOL Funny! Android is perhaps more relevant than Windows.
Seems like RIM didn't learned that lesson.
Android irrelevant? ROFL, what have you been smoking? If anything, now that everyone else is finally giving Android their A game in the smart phone market, the iPhone is kinda becoming irrelevant. I see 3-5 ads for Android based phones a week. I haven't seen a single iPhone ad in months... It's hardly a "magical" experience worth advertising when every other manufacturer has learned to do it better. (e.g. Samsung)
LOL MS is the only thing irrelevant now. at least RIM has a promising phone and OS that will eventually released unlike MS
RIM is a sinking ship. They fell asleep at the wheel and didn't adapt to changing markets quick enough. And their ace in the hole (Blackberry Enterprise Server) will be a thing of the past eventually as well.
The big reason to buy this tablet would primarily to adopt Blackberry 10, since RIM has announced that the Playbooks will receive Blackberry 10. BB10, from the looks of it, uses the same OS (QNX), so this has me somewhat interested. Also, if you are a blackberry user, the ability to tether and use the data connection on the tablet is a nice plus.
However, as of right now, the Nexus 7 would be a much better buy. I still have hope for Blackberry though, as I do miss the days when having a Blackberry had a cool factor to it. I do miss the keyboard from time to time too (iPhone user as the moment).
I agree with you to some point.
Yea, they should give away phones, but not to the poor, to the corporate, that's how they make money, they're good with security.
On the other hand, Apple should only advertise to those uneducated and/or just plain dumb. Their iOS is cater to this group. Anyone who has ever use PC before can use Android, those who haven't used one before can go to iPhone aka dumbPhone
The market is already flooded with 1 cent 3gs and the wannabe $100 iPhone 4.
There is about 1.2 billion PCs in the world and about 90% run Windows
...
Android is not that popular yet, just cos it's cool to own a Jellybean phone does not make it the biggest thing since Elvis in Vegas
The world today is different than 10 years ago. Other than MSOffice, Adobe CS, Intuit software... as long as you have a browser... who really needs Windows?
@BUDOCITY: I read your comment wrong... sorry, dis-regard.
SHouldn't RIM be working on getting out a modern phone than a slightly updated tablet? RIM is dead... they are spending 3 years to re-work QNX into a phone OS?! That is lame! If RIM wants to live, they need to go Android. They can customize the hell out of Android into their own system. Look at the various Kindle / Fire / Nook tablets out there.