RIM introduces 7 inch PlayBook tablet

As expected, RIM has introduced its BlackBerry tablet, a device named the PlayBook. RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis, keeping with the BlackBerry's heavy usage in the business world, called it the first "professional tablet". The specs are hot enough to interest both consumers and business users. The PlayBook features a 7 inch capacitive LCD display with resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. Instead of the new BlackBerry 6 OS, a new tablet version of the BlackBerry software devised by the recently acquired QNX is running the show.

QNX are producing the in-car multimedia and navigation user interfaces in our Porsches, Audis and BMWs, so we are assuming that BlackBerry is aiming for a classy experience with the PlayBook. The QNX operating system has actually been around since the 80s, and is now used in Canadian nuclear plants, so we'd dare to say it must be stable. One of QNX's projects is called the "LTE connected car", so it would also be safe to assume they have some experience with the possibilities 4G download speeds are presenting.

The tablet will have some power under the hood with a 1GHz dual-core processor, most probably NVIDIA Tegra 2, which, while not as gentle on the battery as the other upcoming dual-core chipsets, churns out the graphics performance of Samsung's Hummingbird chipset. 1GB of RAM is on board and, yes Virginia, there are two cameras. The front facing shooter is 3MP with a 5MP on back. 1080p HD video capture is supported by the dual-core chipset. The WebKit browser will allow for HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL and Java. The QNX guys are heavy users of Adobe Flash in their software, so it will be relatively safe to assume Flash won't be an issue, unlike on some other tablets we know of.

The PlayBook measures 5.1″x7.6″x0.4″ (130mm x 193mm x 10mm) and weighs less than 1 pound. It will not come with 3G connectivity although RIM says 3G/4G tablets will be offered in the future. Right now, users can get online via Wi-Fi or through a BlackBerry smartphone The device will launch early in 2011 in the U.S. and in the second quarter overseas. Pricing has not yet been disclosed.

source: AllThingsDigital