This is really cool. I use a Blackberry and as useful as it is I still hate the corporate look and feel and the lack of fun that my Blackberry has. Research in Motion has been coming out with better models like the Bold but now they are taking it to Apple by unveiling the Blackberry Playbook. This device will compete head to head with the Apple Ipad.
Blackberry Playbook Unveiled
Research in Motion showed off the tablet for the first time Monday and is set to launch it early 2011, with an international rollout later in the year. With it RIM is betting on a smaller, lighter device than Apple Inc.’s iPad, which kicked-started the tablet market when it launched in April.
The PlayBook will have a 17.8-centimetre screen, making it half the size of the iPad. It has a weight close to the iPad’s. Unlike the iPad, it will have two cameras, front and back, both capable of high definition.
The PlayBook will be able to act as a second, larger screen for a BlackBerry phone, through a secure short-range wireless link. When the connection is severed — perhaps because the user walks away with the phone — no sensitive data like company emails are left on the tablet. Outside of Wi-Fi range, it will be able to pick up cellular service to access the web by linking to a BlackBerry.
No Rim App Store Needed?
But the tablet will also work as a standalone device. RIM co-chief Executive Jim Balsillie said its goal is to present the full web experience of a computer, including the ability to display Flash, Adobe Systems Inc.’s format for video and interactive material on the web. That means the tablet will be less dependent on third-party applications or “apps,” Balsillie said.
“I don’t need to download a YouTube app if I’ve got YouTube on the web,” said Balsillie, who leads the company along with co-CEO Mike Lazaridis.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has resisted allowing Flash on any of the company’s mobile gadgets, arguing the software has too many bugs and sucks too much battery life.
“Much of the market has been defined in terms of how you fit the Web to mobility,” Balsillie said. “What we’re launching is really the first mobile product that is designed to give full web fidelity.”
In part, the PlayBook is a move by RIM to protect its position as the top provider of mobile gadgets for the business set. Balsillie says he has had briefings with company chief information officers and “this is hands-down, slam-dunk what they’re looking for.”
Analysts agree that RIM’s close relationship with its corporate clients could help the company establish a comfortable niche in the tablet market despite Apple’s early lead.
The question is though that I have to winder about things like baterry life and apps. This new Blackberry Playbook could be very cool if it comes in at a good price point.
