Timeline: RIM's very bad year
You get the feeling that executives in Research in Motion will especially relish singing "Should old acquaintance be forgot" this year.
PlayBook - News, Features, and Slideshows
News about PlayBook
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BlackBerry PlayBook getting the TouchPad deep discount treatment
It seems the only way to beat Apple in the tablet market these days is to knock down your prices to the point of unprofitability.
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PlayBook security: How RIM aims to keep work and play separate
One of Research in Motion's biggest challenges in a world of the iPhone and Android has been how to keep its products fun and fresh while maintaining the high level of security its corporate users have come to rely on.
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RIM launches 7-inch 'PlayBook' tablet
Research in Motion (RIM) unveiled an "enterprise-ready" 7-in. touchscreen BlackBerry Playbook tablet on Monday that features front and rear high-definition cameras, a dual-core 1 GHz processor and a new BlackBerry Tablet OS.
The PlayBook, due out early next year in the US, is less than half an inch thick and weighs less than a pound. It runs a new operating system developed by QNX Software that supports symmetric multiprocessing with use of the QNX Neutrino microkernel architecture. QNX builds software that powers computing for core internet routers and even vehicles, including those from GM, Nissan and Land Rover, officials said.
RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, announced today, has a 7-inch display, is 9.7mm thick, supports WebKit, HTML5 and Flash for browsing, offers hardware-accelerated video, and will output 1080p video via HDMI.
RIM officials at the BlackBerry DevCon 2010 in San Francisco unveiled the device for developers on hand for the event. The announcement was also Webcast live.
Some reports before the announcement had speculated that the device would be called BlackPad and provide competition for the 9.7-in touchscreen iPad released by Apple in April.
More likely, it will compete with the Cisco Cius device, which is focused on enterprises.
RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazarides said the PlayBook is "enterprise ready" because it is compatible with 250,000 BlackBerry Enterprise Servers deployed mainly in larger corporations to provide IT shops with more control and security. It will be available in the US with a software development kit for third-party developers that is expected to be released in the next few weeks. Developers can register at www.blackberry.com/developers/tabletos.
The PlayBook supports wi-fi and Bluetooth and RIM "intends" to offer cellular-capable versions in the future, the company said in a statement.
The Bluetooth feature might offer another enterprise-ready capability, since it will allow a user to pair a BlackBerry smartphone with the PlayBook, using the larger tablet display to securely view any e-mail or document stored on the smartphone. When connected over Bluetooth, the smartphone content is viewable on the tablet, but the data remains on the phone and is only temporarily cached on the tablet, subject to what an IT shop decides.
Multimedia support is rich, including a 1024-by-600-pixel touchscreen and high-definition video playback in 1080p. Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and HTML 5 are both supported for web browsing.