RIM Launches ''PlayBook'' Tablet to Battle the iPad
Waterloo-based Research in Motion has finally revealed its much talked about tablet. Dubbed the PlayBook, the device was launched today at the BlackBerry developer event in with a launch date of 'early next year.'
RIM is taking aim at Apple's iPad with the PlayBook. Though co-CEO Mike Lazaridis described it as 'the first professional tablet,' the company is also promising full-featured browsing as well as high performance multimedia.
Specswise we're looking at a 7-inch (1024 x 600) WSVGA multitouch display, which makes the device a little more compact than the iPad with its 9.7-inch display; a 1GHz dual-core CPU; 1GB of RAM; 1080p video playback; support for Flash 10.1, HTML5; WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR; HDMI out; and two webcams, one 5-megapixel camera on the back and one 3-megapixel camera on the front for video conferencing.
Though the specifications are pretty exciting, the most interesting part of the announcement is probably the fact that RIM is using a brand new OS for the PlayBook. Despite the fact that the latest iteration of its BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 6, was only just released, rumors that the company would go with a new OS from the recently acquired QNX have proved true. Built upon the QNX Neutrino microkernel architecture, which RIM calls "most reliable, secure and robust operating system architectures in the world," BlackBerry Tablet OS is fully POSIX compliant, supports Open GL for 2D and 3D graphics intensive applications, and will run applications built in Adobe Mobile AIR and the company's newly announced BlackBerry WebWorks app platform.
No word on pricing or a specific release date. RIM has said it will be available in the first quarter of 2011, with international markets to follow in Q2.
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lashabane My typography teacher tried telling us that the iPad is as revolutionary as the Gutenberg Press. I was so shocked, I was only able to sit there and wonder if he was going to share what he was smoking.Reply -
AndrewMD Ok... Hope it does well. But lately RIM has not been doing good in product releases.Reply
Guess we will find out -
SneakySnake surprised no one's said this yet, but I think the name sucks.Reply
I think playbook is a worse name then iPad. It just sounds completely kiddy and juvenile. Blackbook woulda been a sweet name -
dedhorse I'm kind of confused by that video. Are they trying to tell us it can act as a projector too? Why don't they just show people using it instead of projecting the screen up on walls, benches, and windows? Kind of giving the wrong idea.Reply -
SneakySnake I do love how it looks so far, looks like it'll rape my iPad in the features departmentReply -
orionantares This actually sounds like a tablet worth giving consideration too. This sounds better than an oversized iTouch.Reply