RIM’s PlayBook Joins The Tablet Fray

RIM's PlayBook Tablet

With BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. finally joining the tablet war—unveiling the RIM PlayBook last week—the battlefield is more crowded than ever. Roughly five months after Apple began selling its iPad, the computer maker is fending off a scrum of tablets, including HP Slate, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Dell’s latest entry: a 7-inch tablet set to launch in a few weeks.

Unveiling PlayBook to a conference of BlackBerry developers in San Francisco, RIM’s co-chief executive Mike Lazardis described the device as a “professional tablet,” adding that the impetus came from corporate technology execs “asking us to amplify the BlackBerry.” While RIM is clearly targeting its core audience of business users, the demonstration of the 7-inch tablet showed consumer-friendly e-reading, video and photograph functions. Lazardis kept mum on price details.

Notably, the tablet runs on the new QNX operating system, designed specifically for PlayBook. That sets it apart from Android-powered tablets (Samsung and Dell) and the iPad, which each use an OS originally designed for a smartphone. The distinction may give PlayBook greater technical abilities—leaving tablet-war watchers eager to see if RIM’s device can burnish the brand and keep subscribers loyal.
 
Here’s more:
 
Ultimate Tablet Showdown: iPad vs. PlayBook vs. Galaxy Tab vs. Slate (Gizmodo)
 
RIM PlayBook QNX OS Headed to BlackBerry Smartphones: Report (eWeek)
 
BlackBerry Maker RIM Enters Tablet Scrum (WSJ)

-compiled by Lucinda Hahn

Posted By: Digital Trends Team