RIM unveils 7-inch BlackBerry tablet, the PlayBook

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Following months of rumors, RIM has finally unveiled its new slate called the PlayBook. Much like its BlackBerry smartphones, the company's tablet is largely aimed at enterprise users, but the average gadget enthusiast is also encouraged to pick one up, of course. The 7-inch device carries a 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor, 1GB of RAM, and webOS-like multitasking.

Hardware specs are completed with dual HD cameras with support for 1080p recording (3MP in front, 5MP in back), 1080p video playback support with HDMI output, 802.11a/b/g/n, USB, and Bluetooth connectivity with other BlackBerry handsets. The PlayBook measures less than an inch thick and weighs under a pound (or 5.1 x 7.6 x 0.4 inches and 0.9lbs, if you want the raw numbers).

RIM's new device runs an OS built on the QNX Neutrino microkernel architecture, and software highlights include support for Flash 10.1, HTML5, and OpenGL. Both 3G and 4G models are coming, but exact details weren't provided. The PlayBook should hit retail outfits in the US sometime early next year, with international rollouts beginning in the second quarter of 2011. Devs can register for an SDK here.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/40418-rim-unveils-7-inch-blackberry-tablet-the-playbook.html

 

[poundsmack]

QNX is the god of the OS world. Also, the specs on this thing are fantastic. i'll take 5!

 

[Kibaruk]

I'll take none... it sounds really neat dont think I'm not exited, but tablets are not my thing and probably wont be for a long time. For that usage I just go for my phone and if I ever need something else it means notebook (Or netbook) time and for no reason will try something without a keyboard, even when you do get used to on screen keys or stylus type of writting still is slower.

 

[matrix86]

Hm...at first I wasn't too sure about RIM's tablet, but after looking at the specs here, it doesn't seem too bad. I still don't plan on getting one because everything I do needs Windows, so no RIM tablet for me. But either way, I can't wait to see some in depth video reviews for it and see how it really performs.

 

[Guest]

This looks pretty dang cool... specs look good. I didn't see an SD card slot though, maybe I missed it. My only criticism just from seeing the videos floating around on youtube is the display doesn't seem that bright and the viewing angle could be better. Get a higher quality display in there please!!!

I'm a huge Windows user at home and work... I know they won't put Windows on one of their devices, but if they had a virtual machine software that could use onboard hardware so I could run a Windows 7 VM that can use the wifi and USB ports, i'd be in heaven. Dual core 1GHz I would think could handle it fairly well....

That being said i'm following all of these tablets closely, the HP, the Asus, Samsung, and now that Dell is making a larger Streak... I'm pretty sure i'm going to buy one of them, just not sure which at this point. But this BB certainly shifted my pie chart around.