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.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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Blackberry is becoming even more irrelevant than Android. Blackberry needs to start giving free phones away to poor people on boost mobile or cricket to get marketshare back before it taints its image as the pone for poor people like Android has done.Reply
Trust! -
mcvf BUDOCITYBlackberry is becoming even more irrelevant than Android. Blackberry needs to start giving free phones away to poor people on boost mobile or cricket to get marketshare back before it taints its image as the pone for poor people like Android has done.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.Reply -
InvalidError With almost every new non-Apple mobile device and display with embedded platform running Android, reports of Android's demise are greatly exaggerated. Windows Mobile and BB and others are the ones struggling with market shares.Reply -
Belardo @mcvf : It is not necessary to quote a whole message from someone, especially when you are responding right below them. You can also edit the quoted text too. For example: mcvfLast time I checked,Reply
@Budocity : LOL Funny! Android is perhaps more relevant than Windows. -
Vorador2 "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me"Reply
Seems like RIM didn't learned that lesson. -
dark_knight33 Thought RIM did away with the playbook tablet?Reply
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) -
captaincharisma BUDOCITYBlackberry is becoming even more irrelevant than Android. Blackberry needs to start giving free phones away to poor people on boost mobile or cricket to get marketshare back before it taints its image as the pone for poor people like Android has done.Trust!Reply
LOL MS is the only thing irrelevant now. at least RIM has a promising phone and OS that will eventually released unlike MS
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zak_mckraken If they can get the pricing right, they may be able to at least keep their actual user base until BBX comes out. Then, they could launch a tablet and a phone based on it and hope for the best. If it doesn't work, I don't need to tell you what will happen...Reply -
stevelord Playbook was a flop. This won't be any different.Reply
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.